Soup-e Jo
Creamy barley and chicken soup · سوپ جو
- 15 min Prep
- 1 h 30 min Cook
- 6 Servings
- Easy
A silky barley soup with shredded chicken, carrots and a touch of tomato, brightened with lime and parsley. A favourite for iftar and cold days.
Soup-e jo is the soup Iranian mothers make when someone is unwell, and the soup that starts many iftar meals during Ramadan. Pearl barley cooks slowly until it releases its starch and turns the broth creamy.
A splash of cream or milk at the end is common in Tehran-style soup-e jo; leave it out for a lighter, brothier soup.
Ingredients
Servings
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Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot and soften the onion for 8 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken, drained barley and water. Bring to a boil, skim, then cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
- Lift out the chicken, shred the meat, and discard the skin and bones.
- Add the carrots and shredded chicken to the pot and simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often, until the barley is very soft and the soup is creamy. Add hot water if it gets too thick.
- Stir in the cream (if using), lime juice and salt, and heat through without boiling.
- Serve sprinkled with parsley, with lime wedges on the side.
Tips & variations
- For a vegetarian version, skip the chicken, use vegetable stock and add a diced potato with the carrots.
Where to buy the ingredients
Persian grocers carry the saffron, dried herbs, spices and long-grain rice that Persian cooking depends on:
Ash Reshteh
Abgoosht (Dizi)
Kuku Sabzi