Ashure

Earliest origins For the people of the ancient 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 with Tammuz, the Babylonian 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 at Harran. Armenians make anoushabur to commemorate this event, but also other events. In general, Armenians enjoy anoushabur as a part of festive spreads. Armenian sources note it was cleverly used to maintain the fast, yet celebrate Christmas eve with a sweet treat. It’s also used in thanksgiving offerings, during weddings or house 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 during Christmas (6 January) and on New Year's Eve (Armenians of Jerusalem celebrate it at 13 January), it is sometimes called "Armenian Christmas Pudding". This traditional Armenian sweet porridge is made from wheat or barley, dried fruits (such as apricots, raisins, and prunes), sugar, spices (like vanilla and cinnamon) and nuts (almonds and pistachios are most common). The grains are simmered until tender, then combined with the fruits and nuts, then sweetened, and flavored with rose water and the spices. Anoushabur may be garnished with pomegranate seeds, dried fruits and cinnamon. The pudding may be accompanied by multiple Armenian desserts and nuts, such as almonds or pistachios. Anoushabur (անուշապուր) is a compound Armenian word. "Anoush" (անուշ) means sweet and "Abur" (ապուր) means soup or porridge, so the word Anoushabur literally means "Sweet soup" or "Sweet porridge". Turkey According to one tradition, it is claimed that when the ark came to rest on Mount Cudi or Mount Ararat, the family of Nuh or Noah 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 a pudding, what is now called ashure. Turkish families make ashure pudding to commemorate this event. Ashure is distributed to the poor, as well as to neighbors, friends and relatives. Evliya Çelebi says in his travelbook Seyahatname that "Ashure is a porridge (as) that should be cooked on the tenth of Muharram." The Balkans This dish is prepared in Bosnia and Bulgaria under the names hašure and ashoure, respectively. == Ingredients ==

Ashure porridge does not have a single recipe, as recipes vary between regions and families. 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", while Alevis always use twelve. Among these are wheat, barley, rice, white beans, chickpeas, pekmez, date molasses, pomegranate molasses, beet juice, dried fruits like dates, raisins, currants, apricots, figs, apples and nuts like pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts and sesame seeds. However, many renditions add orange, lemon and lime peel to add depth to the pudding. Anise seed, black cumin seeds, prunus mahaleb, pomegranate arils, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and desiccated or shredded coconut may be used as garnish, and some variations are flavored with anise liqueur, rose water and/or orange blossom water. == Etymology ==

The word Ashure comes from the Arabic word "Ashura" ( ''''), meaning 'tenth'. == See also ==