Ashure, Aşure, Noah's Pudding: A Turkish Delight

Aşure  with walnuts, pistachio and pomegranate
July 18, 2015 - David Cohen

Aşure,  or Ashure,  also known as Noah's Pudding , is a Turkish dessert porridge made of a mixture of grains,  legumes, fruits and nuts. It is an ancient and symbolic dish.  The word comes from the Arabic for ten or "tenth" -  ashura -  عاشر   - derived from the Aramaic and Hebrew word for tenth,  asor .  It is served during the first month of the Islamic calendar, Muharram.    The Day of Ashura (Arabic: عاشوراء‎ ʻĀshūrā’ , colloquially: /ʕa(ː)ˈʃuːra/; Urdu: عاشورا‎; Persian: عاشورا‎ /ʕɒːʃuːˈɾɒ/; Turkish: Aşure Günü),  is on the tenth day of Muharram. 

Recipe Template for Aşure: 

Note: Not all ingredients are needed -  the basic idea is to have at least one of each group: grain, legume, fruit , nut and spice. The dish can range from simple to quite elaborate.

Grains Wheat, dehusked (Aşurelik Buğday or dövme=dehusked wheat (buğday) )  Barley, dehusked (dövme arpa) Rice - dry	Quantity ~250 ml - 200 gm ~200 ml ~150 gm ~60 ml  - 50 gm	Processing Boil - water ~ 500 ml add water as needed similar Boil - water ~200 ml
Legumes White beans Chickpeas	100 ml ~60 gms  dry similar.	Soften by soaking overnight  - then boil  about 400 ml  water , add water as needed.
Nuts Walnuts Almonds Sesame seeds Pine nuts Pistachios	150 ml   ~60 gms	Note:  not all types are needed
Fruits Apricots - dried Figs - dried Raisins Fresh orange	~60 grams one small
Sweeteners Sugar	~200 ml ~150 gms	Sweeten to taste
Spices Cinnamon Orange peel Rose water Cloves	Two sticks Optional Optional A few	Spice to taste

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A bit dry at this point

• Cook, or par-cook, each grain and legume separately.
• Combine for final cooking in a double- boiler. (~ 60 minutes)
• Add the spices to the combination..
• Add water if needed to keep the mix liquid.
• Add some diced, dry apricots or other fruit . 
• Add sweeteners carefully, we don't want it too sweet.  
• Taste in process. The mix should be soft but some body should remain. We are not making baby food. :)

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Add water as needed - note the use of the double-boiler
technique.

Do not add nuts to the hot mixture. Allow the mixture to cool.  We want the fresh flavors in the final mix. 

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