Persian shallots (mousir) substitutes
Persian shallots (mousir) substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Fresh shallot plus a little raw garlic
Per 2 tbsp dried mousir
1 medium shallot + ¼ small garlic clove
Use one medium fresh shallot plus a quarter of a small garlic clove, both finely grated, for every two tablespoons of dried mousir slices. The garlic is the important part: mousir's job is raw pungent allium bite, not the sweetness a cooked shallot gives, so a plain shallot on its own tastes mild and a bit flat. For mast-o-mousir, stir the grated shallot and garlic into the yogurt and leave it in the fridge overnight, which gives the flavour time to spread the way soaked mousir does.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- What changes —
- similar taste, different texture
- Best for —
- mast-o-mousir (Persian shallot yogurt dip)
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of Persian shallots (mousir) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fresh shallot plus a little raw garlicmast-o-mousir (Persian shallot yogurt dip) | 1 medium shallot + ¼ small garlic clove per 2 tbsp dried mousirTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Fresh shallot on its ownmild yogurt dips | 1 medium shallot per 2 tbsp dried mousirYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Grated garlic plus grated onionyogurt dips at short notice | 1 small garlic clove + 2 tbsp grated onion per 2 tbsp dried mousirYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Dried onion or dried garlic flakes, soakedmatching the chewy texture in a dip | 2 tbsp flakes per 2 tbsp dried mousirTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Ramps or wild garlic, in seasonspring cooking | 3-4 leaves or 1 small ramp bulb per 2 tbsp dried mousirTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Chives plus a small amount of garlicmild yogurt dips | 3 tbsp chopped chives + ¼ small garlic clove per 2 tbsp dried mousirYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Fresh shallot plus a little raw garlic
similar taste, different texture
The best available answer. Grate both on a microplane rather than chopping, so the flavour disperses through yogurt or dressing instead of sitting in lumps.
- Best for
- mast-o-mousir (Persian shallot yogurt dip), yogurt sauces, salad dressings, pickles, any raw use
Fresh shallot is juicier and noticeably sweeter than mousir, and it lacks mousir's dry mustardy heat, so the dip tastes rounder and more oniony. The quarter clove of garlic restores most of that missing bite. Resist adding more garlic than that or the dip stops tasting of shallot altogether. Let it sit at least four hours, ideally overnight.
Fresh shallot on its own
different taste and texture
Fine if you actively do not want pungency, or if you are cooking the mousir into something rather than using it raw.
- Best for
- mild yogurt dips, children or guests who dislike garlic, cooked dishes, dressings
Sweeter, milder and juicier. The sharp wild edge that makes mast-o-mousir taste like mast-o-mousir is simply absent, so what you get is a pleasant shallot yogurt. Salt it lightly and leave it overnight, which sharpens it a little.
Grated garlic plus grated onion
different taste and texture
A workable emergency version when there are no shallots in the house. The onion supplies bulk and moisture, the garlic supplies the heat.
- Best for
- yogurt dips at short notice, dressings, cooked stews
This tips towards tasting like garlic dip, because onion is blunter and sweeter than shallot and gives the garlic nothing to hide behind. Squeeze the grated onion in a cloth first to get rid of its watery juice, or the dip will separate. Start with half the garlic and taste after an hour in the fridge, since raw garlic keeps getting stronger.
Dried onion or dried garlic flakes, soaked
different taste, similar texture
The closest match in method and appearance: hard dry slices that swell into chewy pale pieces after soaking, exactly like rehydrated mousir.
- Best for
- matching the chewy texture in a dip, long-life pantry cooking, camping and boat kitchens
Soak in cold water for an hour, then drain. Texture is genuinely close. Flavour is much more one-dimensional, and dried garlic flakes in particular have a toasted, slightly stale note that fresh mousir does not, so use mostly onion flakes with only a pinch of garlic flake.
Ramps or wild garlic, in season
similar taste, different texture
The only substitute that captures the wildness. Ramps and wild garlic are also foraged alliums with the same green, aggressive, garlic-and-onion-at-once character.
- Best for
- spring cooking, mast-o-mousir when ramps are at the market, yogurt dips, herb sauces
Closest in spirit but only available for a few weeks a year. Ramp leaves are greener and more herbal than mousir, so the dip takes on a faint chive-and-spinach colour and flavour. Use the bulb if you can get it, since the leaves are gentler.
Chives plus a small amount of garlic
different taste and texture
The mildest option, and the right one if you want something pleasant rather than authentic.
- Best for
- mild yogurt dips, topping potatoes, sandwich spreads
Chives are grassy and delicate, so this is a long way from mousir's blunt pungency. The result is a good herb yogurt but not a Persian shallot dip. Be honest with anyone who has eaten the real thing.
Questions
5 questionsCan I just use regular shallots instead of Persian shallots?
Yes, and it is the standard workaround, but add a small amount of grated raw garlic with them. Mousir is much sharper and more garlicky than a supermarket shallot, and it is also used raw rather than sweetened by cooking. Shallot alone gives you a mild, sweet, pleasant dip; shallot plus a quarter clove of garlic per shallot gives you something much closer to the real flavour.
How much dried mousir equals one fresh shallot?
Roughly two tablespoons of dried mousir slices, once soaked and drained, stand in for one medium fresh shallot by volume. The two are not equal in strength, though. Rehydrated mousir is considerably more pungent, so if you are going the other way and replacing mousir with fresh shallot, expect to add garlic to make up the difference.
Can I skip soaking the dried Persian shallot?
No. Unsoaked mousir stays hard and unpleasantly crunchy, and it carries a bitterness that only leaches out into the soaking water. Give it at least six hours in cold water with two or three water changes. If you are short of time, use hot water and two hours with three changes, though the flavour comes out slightly duller.
Can I just leave it out?
Not in mast-o-mousir, where the shallot is the entire flavouring and leaving it out gives you plain salted yogurt. In a stew or a rice dish where mousir is one aromatic among many, you can omit it and add a little extra onion and garlic instead, and nobody will notice much. The test is whether the ingredient is named in the dish's name.
Is mousir the same thing as garlic?
No, though they are related and mousir does taste garlicky. Mousir is Allium stipitatum, a wild allium harvested in the mountains of Iran and sold dried in slices. Garlic is Allium sativum and is sold fresh in cloves. Mousir sits between a garlic and a shallot in flavour, which is precisely why the best substitute is a combination of the two.
Tips for substituting Persian shallots (mousir)
5 tips- There is no true substitute for mousir, because nothing sold in an ordinary supermarket is that sharp. Say so and use fresh shallot plus a little garlic; it gets you most of the way, and Persian cooks abroad do exactly this.
- If you do have dried mousir, soak the slices in plenty of cold water for six to eight hours or overnight, changing the water two or three times. The changes are not fussiness: they wash out a harsh bitterness that will otherwise dominate the dip. Drain, squeeze and chop finely.
- Salt at the end, not the beginning. Salt draws water out of shallot and yogurt alike and can leave the dip loose and weeping if you add it hours ahead.
- Mast-o-mousir needs time more than it needs technique. Made and eaten immediately it tastes of raw onion; after a night in the fridge the sharpness settles into the yogurt and it tastes like a finished dish.
- Do not cook mousir hard. Its whole value is the raw pungent bite, and long simmering leaves you with something that tastes like ordinary softened onion, at which point you have wasted an expensive ingredient.