KitchenNew Year & Christmas
Anoushabour
Wheat berries simmered with dried apricots and raisins, set like a soft pudding, and covered with nuts and pomegranate. The "sweet soup" of the New Year table.
The name says it: անուշ means sweet and ապուր means soup. Many families make a big pot between New Year's Eve and Christmas on January 6 and carry bowls to neighbors and relatives.
It is closely related to the wheat puddings made all over the region, such as ashure. Every family decides its own fruit, how thick it should be, and whether rose water goes in.
Ingredients
Amounts in the steps are for 12 servings.
Tools
- Large heavy pot
- Wooden spoon
- Wide serving dish or bowls
Steps
Drain the soaked wheat, put it in a large heavy pot with the water and bring it to a boil. Skim any foam.
Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, stirring now and then, until the grains burst open and the liquid turns thick and starchy. Add hot water if it gets too thick to stir.
Add the apricots, raisins and sugar. Simmer, stirring more often so nothing sticks, until the fruit is plump and the pot looks like loose porridge.
Turn off the heat, stir in the rose water if using, and taste for sugar. It will thicken a lot as it cools, so stop while it still looks a little runny.
Ladle into a wide serving dish or individual bowls and let it cool to room temperature, then chill.
Before serving, cover the top with the nuts and pomegranate seeds and dust with cinnamon.
Good to know
- No wheat berries
- Pearl barley works and cooks faster, about 45 minutes. Some families use barley on purpose.
- Too thick the next day
- Stir in a little hot water. Too thin? Simmer it a few minutes longer next time.
- Other fruit
- Dried figs, prunes and dried cherries are all common. Cut big fruit to the size of an apricot quarter.
Ask your grandparents
- Which fruit did your family put in it?
- Did you take bowls to the neighbors? Who got the first one?
- Was it New Year, Christmas, or both?