← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 150 g pearl barley or skinless wheat berries
• 50 g dried chickpeas (or 120 g tinned)
• 50 g dried haricot beans (or 120 g tinned)
• 2 l water, plus extra for soaking and cooking the beans
• 50 g short-grain rice, rinsed
• 115 g Dried apricots, chopped
• 50 g Raisins
• 50 g currants (or more raisins)
• 225 g Sugar
• 2 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch), mixed with 4 tbsp cold water
• 60 ml Rose water
• 1 Orange, zest finely grated (optional)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 Dried figs, sliced
• 30 g Walnuts, chopped
• ½ pomegranate, seeds only

Method

1. Soak the barley, chickpeas and beans overnight in separate bowls of cold water, then drain. (Skip soaking if you use tinned pulses.)
2. Cook the chickpeas and beans in separate pans of fresh water for 50–60 min until tender, then drain.
3. Meanwhile, simmer the barley in the 2 litres of water in a large pot, partly covered, for 1 hour until the grains swell and burst. Add the rice and simmer for 20 min more, stirring now and then.
4. Stir in the chickpeas, beans, apricots, raisins, currants, sugar and orange zest. Simmer for 15 min, stirring often so nothing catches.
5. Stir in the cornflour mixture and cook for 5 min until the pudding thickens to a loose porridge. Take off the heat and stir in the rose water.
6. Ladle into bowls and leave to cool; it sets as it chills. Decorate with cinnamon, figs, walnuts and pomegranate seeds.

Tips

• Aşure is made in big batches and shared with neighbours during the month of Muharram.
• Contains barley (gluten) and walnuts.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Ozlem's Turkish Table Turkey’s For Life