Asure (Wheat Pudding)
Ingredients Measure Amount
Dövme (dehusked wheat for asure) 1 cup 180 grams
Chickpeas 1/3 cup 60 grams
Dry white beans 1/3 cup 60 grams
Rice 2 tablespoons 15 grams
Water 12 ½ cups 2.5 kg
Dried apricots 10 60 grams
Dried figs 5 125 grams
Raisins (seedless) ½ cup 50 grams
Orange 1 small size 120 grams
Sugar 1 2/3 cups 300 grams
Rose water 2 tablespoons 20 grams
Walnuts (not crushed) 2/3 cup 65 grams
Pomegranate ½ small size 50 grams
Servings: 10
Preparation :
Wash the wheat, chickpeas and dried beans. Soak them separately overnight
with beans and chickpeas in 1 cup and the dövme and rice mixture
in 2 cups of water. Add 3 cups of water to dövme and 2 cups of
water each to chickpeas and beans and place them individually on the
burner. Cook the dövme until the grains are dissolved and the
starc comes out. If necessary boil the chickpeas in pressure cooker.
Wash the dry fruit and soak them for 2 hours in 1 ½ cups of
water. Mix the cooked ingredients and the dry fruit in a pan and cook
for 15 minutes. Peel the orange and cut the rid, including the white
inner part into 3-4 cm long and 1 cm wide strips. Divide the orange
slices into 4-5 pieces. Add them alltogether to the mixture and cook
for another 5 minutes. Add the sugar and cook for 1-2 minutes and
turn off the heath. Add the rosewater and stir. Pour into dessert
cups. Garnish with walnuts and pomegranate pits.
Nutritional Value (in approximately one serving):
Energy 634 cal, Protein 15.0 g, Fat 8.9 g, Carbohydrates 133.2 g,
Calcium 150 mg, Iron 5.53 mg, Phosphorus 318 mg, Zinc 3 mg, Sodium
21 mg, Vitamin A 1164 iu, Thiamine 0.45 mg, Riboflavin 0.10 mg,
Niacin 3.35 mg, Vitamin C 5 mg, Cholesterol 0
Notes:
It is one of the oldest and most traditional desserts of the Turkish
cuisine. The month following the Feast of Sacrifice (Kurban Bayrami)
is known as the Asure month. Plenty of asure is cooked in every
household during it which is both served to the guests and distributed
to the neighbors and relatives. The legend regarding the origins
of asure goes as follows : "When the Flood finally subsided
and the Noah's Arc settled on Mount Ararat in Agri, those on the
vessel wanted to hold a celebration as an expression of the gratitute
they felt towards the God. But alas, the food storages of the ship
were practically empty and so they made a soup with all the remaining
ingredients they could find and thus ended up with the asure".
Following the legend, asure is today prepared by cooking together
15 or more ingredients. In some regions a piece of the sacrificial
meat is saved and added to the pot while asure is being cooked.
Rice can also be substituted for wheat or it can be used in combination
with it. The pudding can be enriched with almonds, hazelnuts and
currants. In addition to dried white beans and chickpeas, dried
broad beans and dried black-eyed beans can also be added. In some
regions molasses replaces sugar. To the later version, which is
known in the Corum region as "Pekmezli Hedik", anise is
added in Gaziantep. In other regions raisin gum is added. If a pressure
cooker is to be used, the chick peas, beans and the wheat can be
cooked together. In normal, non-pressure pots the cooking time can
vary between 1 - 2 hours depending on the type and quality of the
ingredients used. Due to the difference in cooking times and ways
of the ingredients, cooking them separately would be more appropriate.
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