Persian recipes and ingredients for everyday kitchens.

recipe

Soup Jo: creamy Persian barley soup with carrots

Creamy Persian pearl-barley soup with grated carrot, vegetable broth and a milk-based white sauce, starting with dry barley.

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Ingredients and method

Ingredients

  • 3/4 US cup dry pearl barley (not instant pearl barley or wheat bulgur), picked over and rinsed
  • 3 US cups water to cook the dry barley; add a little more only if needed as it softens
  • 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter for the soup pot
  • 3 US cups low-sodium vegetable broth for the first soup simmer
  • 1 medium carrot, grated on a coarse grater
  • 2 2/3 US cups additional low-sodium vegetable broth to thin the later soup
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to start, plus more after tasting
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter for the separate white sauce
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose wheat flour for the white sauce
  • 2 US cups 1% or 2% unsweetened cow's milk, divided into two 1-cup additions
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, optional
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened dried culinary barberries (zereshk), rinsed and drained, optional garnish

Method

  1. Rinse the pearl barley and put it in a medium saucepan with three cups water. Simmer uncovered or partly covered until fully tender, stirring occasionally and adding hot water if needed. Watch for foaming. Drain any remaining water and use the cooked barley promptly.
  2. In a large soup pot, soften the shallots in the tablespoon of butter over medium-low heat. Add the barley and first three cups vegetable broth. Simmer loosely covered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the carrot, remaining 2 2/3 cups broth, salt and pepper. Simmer until the carrot is tender and the broth has some body, about 20 minutes. Keep hot over low heat.
  4. In a separate saucepan, melt the two tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about two minutes until lightly golden; do not brown it deeply. Gradually whisk in one cup milk and stir until thickened. Add the second cup milk and heat until hot.
  5. Stir the hot white sauce into the soup. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook about 10 minutes, stirring along the bottom to prevent sticking. If too thick, add a little hot water or broth.
  6. Remove from the heat. Stir in parsley and optional lemon juice to taste. Divide the optional teaspoon of barberries among the servings as a tart garnish.
  7. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within two hours, or one hour above 90°F. Reheat leftover soup to 165°F (74°C), stirring to distribute heat.
Creamy barley soup with carrot shreds and parsley in a ceramic bowl

Start with pearl barley

Soup jo (سوپ جو, also soup-e jo) has several variations. This one uses Homa's vegetable-broth option and separate milk-and-flour sauce. Begin with 3/4 cup dry pearl barley and cook it fully before the soup stage; the cooked amount in a source is not a dry-weight instruction.

Pearl barley is not instant barley, hulled barley or wheat bulgur. Follow tenderness rather than a single cooking time. Keep the pot at a simmer and watch for foam instead of leaving partly cooked barley at room temperature for hours.

Sources: [1] [2] [3]

A smooth milk sauce without heavy cream

Whisk the milk into the butter-and-flour mixture separately, then combine it with the hot soup. This helps prevent dry flour lumps. Stir the finished soup along the bottom and use gentle heat to avoid scorching.

Hami Sharafi's mushroom variation uses a different milk quantity and a flour slurry. Mushrooms and that larger milk amount are not part of this version. Add lemon only after the soup is off the heat, according to taste.

Sources: [1] [2]

Allergens and finishing touches

Contains milk and gluten from both barley and wheat flour. Changing the flour alone would not make this soup gluten-free. Vegetable broth keeps the base meat-free; check its label for other ingredients.

The optional teaspoon of edible dried zereshk gives a few tart accents across the servings. It is a garnish, not a handful stirred into the pot. Plain parsley and lemon are enough if you prefer to omit it.

Sources: [1] [2]

Research sources

  1. Homa — Soup Jo, Cream of Barley Soup, Persian Mama (checked 2026-10-22)
  2. Hami Sharafi — Soup-e Jo Barley Soup, I Got It From My Maman (checked 2026-10-22)
  3. FDA — Safe Food Handling (checked 2026-10-22)