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| Alternative names | Ashura, anoushabur (անուշապուր), aşure, noah's pudding |
|---|---|
| Type | Porridge |
| Course | Dessert |
| Region or state | Armenia,Turkey,Middle East,Balkans |
| Main ingredients | Grains,fruits andnuts |
Ashure,aşure,anoushabour,anoushabur,Noah's pudding ortrigo koço is a sweet pudding that is made of a mixture consisting of various types ofgrains,fresh anddried fruits, andnuts.
In theBalkans andTurkey,Muslims make the dish during the month ofMuharram in which theDay of Ashura takes place.[1]Armenians make it as aChristmas pudding and forNew Year's celebrations, where it is a centerpiece,[2]Sephardic Jews prepare the dish to celebrate the Jewish holiday ofTu BiShvat.[3][4] In someJewish,Christian, andMuslim traditions, a similar dish is prepared to commemorate a child's first tooth, or the passing of a family member.[4]
Ashure was traditionally made and eaten during the colder months of the year due to its heavy and calorie rich nature, but now it is enjoyed year-round. The dish is traditionally made in large quantities and is distributed to friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues, classmates, and others, without regard to the recipient's religion or belief system as an offering of peace and love.
For the people of theancient Near East, foods composed of boiled whole grains came to be associated with spring and harvest rites since ancient times. This association spread to Asia, Europe, and Africa. Rites related withTammuz, theBabylonian god of wheat and fertility, were recorded as late as the 10th century by an Arab traveler who wrote about boiled wheat among the dishes consumed at a pagan celebration held atHarran.[4]
Jews,Christians andMuslims have all consumed boiled wheat in a variety of ways under various names for millennia. These dishes have been sweetened in various ways with sugar, fruit molasses, and dried fruits. Although they are connected toAbrahamic religious holidays like the tenth day ofMuharram,Christmas,Lent,Easter, andTu BiShvat, as well as occasions like a child's first tooth or a family member's passing, their roots can be traced back to fertility and rebirth rituals used by early farmers in the Near East.[4]
According to one tradition, it is claimed that when theark came to rest onMount Ararat, the family ofNoah celebrated with a special dish. Since their supplies were nearly exhausted, what was left (primarily grains, dried fruits and the like) was cooked together to form apudding and that "pudding" is now calledanoushabour.[5]
Armenians make anoushabur to commemorate this event, but also other events.[6] After a baby is born, Armenian families observe a period of seclusion for up to 40 days, culminating in abaptism ceremony (knunk).[7] In general, Armenians enjoy anoushabur as a part of festive spreads. Armenian sources note it was cleverly used to maintain thefast, yet celebrateChristmas eve with a sweet treat. It’s also used in thanksgiving offerings, duringweddings orhouse blessings. Sharing Anoushabur is a gesture of communal warmth, linking family, faith, and gratitude. Anoushabur is distributed to the poor, as well as to neighbors, friends and relatives. Since Armenians serve this pudding duringChristmas (6 January) and onNew Year's Eve (Armenians of Jerusalem celebrate it at 13 January), it is sometimes called "Armenian Christmas Pudding".[8]
This traditional Armenian sweet porridge is made fromwheat orbarley,dried fruits (such asapricots,raisins, andprunes), sugar, spices (likevanilla andcinnamon) and nuts (almonds andpistachios are most common). The grains are simmered until tender, then combined with the fruits and nuts, then sweetened, and flavored withrose water and the spices. Anoushabur may be garnished with pomegranate seeds, dried fruits and cinnamon.[9][10] The pudding may be accompanied by multipleArmenian desserts and nuts, such as almonds or pistachios.[11]
Anoushabur (անուշապուր) is a compoundArmenian word. "Anoush" (անուշ) means sweet and "Abur" (ապուր) means soup or porridge, so the word Anoushabur literally means "Sweet soup" or "Sweet porridge".[12]
According to one tradition, it is claimed that when theark came to rest onMount Cudi orMount Ararat, the family ofNuh orNoah celebrated with a special dish. Since their supplies were nearly exhausted, what was left (primarily grains, dried fruits and the like) was cooked together to form apudding, what is now calledashure.[13]
Turkish families make ashure pudding to commemorate this event.[6] Ashure is distributed to the poor, as well as to neighbors, friends and relatives.[14]Evliya Çelebi says in his travelbookSeyahatname that "Ashure is a porridge (as) that should be cooked on the tenth of Muharram."[15]
According to a lateOttoman writer, passages from theQuran were spoken over the cauldron of cooked aşure in memory of deceased family members before it was served to neighbors, suggesting that for certain Sunni families the meal had a connection to remembering the deceased.[4]
Today, a dish akin to this is prepared to honor a child's first tooth. According to the Ottoman historian Ahmed Cavid (d. 1803), women gave it away to loved ones, friends, and the impoverished as a gesture of gratitude for the child's survival of the difficult first year of life. In Turkey and many other Middle Eastern countries, this tradition is still common among Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The dish can be either sweet or savory and is known inGreek as kofyas and in Turkish as diş buğday ('tooth wheat').[4]
Aşure is also made during theHıdırellez spring celebration, which is the occasion where it is most similar to its ancient pagan roots.[4]
Sephardic Jews prepare Ashure, also known as "trigo koço", for the Jewish holiday ofTu BiShvat. It is made out of boiling wheat grains combined with sugar, crushed walnuts, and cinnamon. According to Aylin Öney Tan, this practice may have originated from earlyJewish communities in Anatolia during theByzantine period rather than being brought toOttoman Turkey by Sephardic Jews who settled there following theirexpulsion from Spain andPortugal in the late 15th century.[3][4] Several Jewish communities prepare Ashura, also known asb'Lila, to celebrate a child's first tooth.[4][16]
This dish is prepared in Bosnia and Bulgaria under the names hašure and ashoure, respectively.[4] It is also popular inAlbanian cuisine.[17][18]
Ashure porridge does not have a single recipe, as recipes vary between regions and families.[19]
Traditionally, it is said to have at least seven ingredients. Some say at least ten ingredients must be used, in keeping with the theme of "tenth", whileAlevis always use twelve. Among these arewheat,barley,rice,white beans,chickpeas,pekmez,date molasses,pomegranate molasses,beet juice,dried fruits likedates,raisins,currants,apricots,figs,apples andnuts likepistachios,almonds,hazelnuts,walnuts,pine nuts andsesame seeds. However, many renditions addorange,lemon andlime peel to add depth to the pudding.Anise seed,black cumin seeds,prunus mahaleb,pomegranate arils,cardamom,cinnamon,cloves,nutmeg,allspice and desiccated or shreddedcoconut may be used as garnish, and some variations are flavored withanise liqueur,rose water and/ororange blossom water.
The word Ashure comes from the Arabic word "Ashura" (Arabic:عَاشُوْرَاءʿĀshūrāʾ ), meaning 'tenth'.[15]
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