Türkiye's official Culture Portal records this version of Soğan Aşı in Denizli's regional cooking. The recipe, credited to a Denizli Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism local-food competition, combines cubed meat, a full kilogram of small onions, soaked chickpeas, tomato paste, powdered red pepper, salt and water. The onions are peeled, briefly held in salted water, rinsed and added whole to the simmering pot. The method below keeps those proportions and that order while supplying the doneness cues a home cook needs. The chickpeas and meat begin first because they need the longest cooking; the onions join only after the broth is established, helping them become tender without dissolving into the sauce. Here, aşı means a cooked dish or meal, so the finished bowl should be spoonable but more substantial than a thin soup.
Soğan Aşı — Recipe Card
Denizli-style meat, whole onion and chickpea stew
Makes 6 servings · Makes about 2.4 liters/10 cups; serves 6 as a main dish.US cup = 240 ml · tablespoon = 15 ml · teaspoon = 5 ml. Cup and weight conversions are approximate. Australian cooks: use a 15 ml measuring tablespoon.
Ingredient quantities and servings are scaled. Cooking times, pan sizes, frying oil depth, and temperatures stay the same; cook larger batches as needed.
Ingredients
How to make Soğan Aşı
Soak the chickpeas
Put the chickpeas in a large bowl with 1.5 liters/6 1/4 cups cold water. Soak for 8–12 hours in the refrigerator. Drain, rinse and discard the soaking water.
Brown the meat
Heat a heavy 4-liter/4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat in a single layer, working in two batches if needed, and cook for 8–10 minutes total until browned on several sides and some fat has rendered. If very lean meat begins to stick before releasing, add 1 tablespoon of the measured hot water and scrape the browned surface.
Start the stew
Reduce the heat to medium. Stir the tomato paste and sweet paprika into the meat for 30 seconds. Add the drained chickpeas, 1 liter/4 1/4 cups of the hot water and 12 g/2 teaspoons of the salt. Bring to a boil, skim any foam, then cover and simmer gently for 60 minutes.
Prepare the onions
While the pot simmers, place the peeled whole onions in a bowl with 1 liter/4 1/4 cups cold water and the remaining 6 g/1 teaspoon salt. Leave for 15 minutes, then drain and rinse. Trim only the dry tip of each root so the layers stay attached.
Finish gently
Add the whole onions to the pot and fold them into the broth without crushing them. Simmer partially covered for 35–45 minutes, stirring by lifting from the bottom rather than breaking the onions, until the chickpeas are creamy inside, the meat is fork-tender and the onions yield to a knife but remain whole. Add some or all of the reserved 120 ml/1/2 cup hot water if the stew becomes too thick. The meat must reach at least 145°F (63°C), followed by a 3-minute rest, though it will normally be hotter by the time it is tender. Serve hot.
Bring this recipe to your kitchen with a printable copy.
Print recipeRecipe from MyTurkishRecipes · https://myturkishrecipes.com/turkish-pearl-onion-and-chickpea-stew-sogan-asi. Quantities reflect your selected serving scale. Cooking times are estimates; follow the doneness cues.
A few helpful kitchen notes
Heat level
Mild. Sweet paprika colors the broth without significant heat. For a warmer version, replace 1/2 teaspoon of the sweet paprika with 1/2 teaspoon pul biber; keep the base recipe mild.
Keep the onions whole
Choose onions of similar size, about 2.5–4 cm/1–1 1/2 inches across. Trim the root end sparingly and stir with a lifting motion so the layers stay together.
Canned chickpea shortcut
Replace the dried chickpeas with two 425 g/15 oz cans, drained and rinsed, about 480 g/17 oz total. Skip the overnight soak and add them with the onions; reduce the first covered simmer to 45 minutes.
Very lean meat
The official method browns the meat without listing extra fat. If your meat has almost none, use up to 15 ml/1 tablespoon olive oil to prevent scorching; this is a practical home adjustment.
Allergens and dietary notes
The listed ingredients contain none of the major U.S. food allergens, but no allergen-free or gluten-free claim is made. Check the tomato paste and ground pepper labels and consider kitchen cross-contact when relevant.
How to store and reheat Soğan Aşı
Divide the stew into shallow covered containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. Keep at 40°F (4°C) or below and eat within 4 days. Reheat gently on the stove, adding a splash of water if needed, until the stew reaches 165°F (74°C) throughout; avoid vigorous stirring so the onions remain intact. Freeze for up to 3 months for best quality.
Soğan Aşı: questions and answers
What is Soğan Aşı?
This Denizli version is a Turkish stew of cubed meat, chickpeas and a generous quantity of small whole onions in a mild tomato-and-red-pepper broth.
Can I use ordinary yellow onions?
Yes. Select the smallest ones available, about 2.5–4 cm/1–1 1/2 inches wide, and peel them without cutting away the root base. If the onions are larger, halve them through the root so each piece stays together.
Why soak the onions in salted water?
The official Denizli method briefly places the peeled onions in salted water before rinsing and adding them to the boiling dish. This recipe preserves that documented step.
Should Soğan Aşı be soupy or thick?
It should have enough brick-red broth to spoon around the meat, chickpeas and onions, but it is a main-course stew rather than a thin soup. Add the reserved hot water only as needed.
