Noah’s pudding {aşure}
could this be the oldest dessert in the history?
I wouldn’t know about facts but the myth surronding this Anatolian pudding is a heartwarming tale, and a tale that needs to be remembered at times like the one we are going through right now.
it symbolizes the celebratory meal Noah made when he came off the Ark. according to the myth, when the Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, every live being on it, humans and animals, celebrated with a special dish. since the supplies were almost exhausted, what was left, primarily grains and dried fruits, was cooked together to form a pudding, what is now called in Muslim tradition aşure and in Armenian tradition anoushabour.
aşure {ashure} is a sign of peace, of community, and of hope for a bright future. it is meant to be shared with your family and friends and neighbours. every year in the “Muharrem” month of the Islamic calendar (which is a lunar calendar of 355 days, so the timing moves forward 10 days in one solar year) aşure is cooked with blessings and prayers and distributed among neigbours, friends and family.
I am not a religious person, furthermore I don’t like any religion at all. I believe religions in general are the oldest form of politics. and I don’t like politics. belief is something else, every person is entitled to their belief system, be it one God or energy or…. some traditions are more geography bound than others, and some are cherishing things I believe. like counting one’s blessings. like showing gratidute. like sharing.
that’s why I make aşure every year.
at my restaurant Kantin in Istanbul for 18 years we made aşure in cauldrons several times during the aşure month (Muharrem) and shared it with the neighboring shopkeepers and the street vendors on the our street and distribute to friends and guests living or working in 1 km radius of our restaurant. it was my way of saying thank you and showing gratitude to everyone who existed together with us, our community.
as I’ve added the last ingredient to the pot at the end of a very laborous 2 days, I’ve always said a prayer in my own words for all the things I have been blessed with and sent the aşure bowls to our community with the restaurant’s waiters with the instruction that they should utter the exact words upon delivery: “may your blessings be ours, and ours yours!”