Ashura (Asure)

"Sweet with grains" is one of the largest area of Turkish Cuisine. And ashura is one of the well known, the holliest of all kind . We cook it on the 10th of Muharram. In doing so we strive to remember ( not celebrate ) historical and religious experience happened on that day since our Prophet advised us to keep fasting and giving charity while observing these days. So it is not an ordinary sweet. It contains the community spirit since we cook and share it with our neighbours and relatives.

Ashura varies in different regions even houses, as colourful as Turkey. This classic recipe is centuries old. I tried to master this version and this time I am really satisfied with the result.
You need little bit of time, one large pot and lots of little saucepans. I will try to explain it step by step, they have some important tips so please read it carefully.

1. The day before, just before bedtime wash 250 g of hulled wheat with 5 cloves, put them in a large pot, add boiling water on top them, boil vigorously for 5 minutes, turn the heat of, put the lid on. Next day when you open the lid they will look mushy and horrible. Don't worry.And most importantly NEVER EVER STIR YOUR ASHURA. Once you stir, you have to stir till the end.

2. Take 1/2 glass of white canellini beans, 1/2 glass of chickpeas, 1 glass of apricot and 1 glass of sultanas, put them in 4 different cups, generously cover with water. Now you can go to your bed.

3. Next day boil canellini beans and chickpeas separately until they get really soft, I mean really soft.Because when you add sugar in the end they will get harder. I add 1/2 orange peel - chopped to each cup and boil together. So orange smell infuse into the legumes. Drain well and put into the large pot.

4. Again boil sultanas and chopped apricots separately but this time never waste their juices, add into the pot.

5. Prepare 1 large apple and 1 quince, all chopped, boil them with 5 cloves. Discard cloves, keep the juice and add into the pot again.

6. Add more water to your pot, start to boil them on a moderate heat. When it reached to boiling point add 3 cups of sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 glass of milk. Now you are allowed to stir. When sugar dissolved very well and ashura is simmering mix 1/2 glass of rose water with 3 tbsp of farina or arrowroot, add to the pan and stir very well.When it turn into a thickish soup turn the heat off. It is ready. ( I also added 1 glass of hazelnut - roughly chopped )

7. Pour it into individual cups. I garnished with walnuts, boiled figs and currants. You can use other dried fruits and nuts, even fruits like pomegranates..

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ASURE

1. Bir gun once 250 gr asurelik bugdayi yikayin ve 5 tane karanfili asure tenceresine koyup bol sicak su ilavesiyle bir muddet kaynatip sondurun, agzini sikica kapatin, sakin karistirmayin. Ertesi gun bugdaylar sekilsiz, patlak bir hal alacaklar, ama merak etmeyin seker konuldugunda duzelecekler, hem de bu sistemle nisasta kullanmak zorunda hissetmeyeceksiniz. (Ben asureyi seker katma asamasina kadar karistirmiyorum, boylece malzemelerin bunyesindeki nisasta aciga cikmiyor, dibine tutma tehlikesi de olmuyor.)

Ayrica 1/2 bard kurufasulyeyi ve 1/2 bard nohutu, (isterseniz 1/bard kuru ic baklayi),1 bard dolusu kuru kayisi dogranmisi ve 1 bard kuru uzumu ayri kaplara islayin.

2. Ertesi gun 1 portakalin kabugunu soyup kucuk kucuk dograyin, kurufasulye ve nohutlara ilave edip duduklude nohutlar iki parmaginiz arasinda rahatca ezilecek kivama gelene kadar haslayin, suzup yavasca bugdayin ustune ilave edin. (Portakal kabuklari muthis bir aroma veriyor, bu yontemle hem acisi gitmis hem de kokusu kurulara nufuz etmis oluyor, sakin atmayin.)

3. Bu arada baska kaplarda kayisi ve kuru uzumleri haslayin, sulariyla birlikte tekrar yavasca bugdayin ustune ilave edin ve asurenin altini acip isitmaya baslayin.

4. 1'er elma ve ayvayi soyup kucuk kucuk dograyin, 5 karanfille birlikte haslayin, isterseniz karanfilleri atip suyuyla birlikte digerlerinin ustune ekleyin.

5. Butun malzemenin ustune cikacak kadar sicak su ekleyip orta ateste kaynatin. Malzemeler alttan yukariya dogru rahatca daireler olusturarak kaynamaya basladiginda -boyle kaynamiyorsa suyu az gelmistir- 3 bard seker, bir tutam tuz ve 1 bard sut ekleyin. Artik karistirmaya baslayabilirsiniz.

6. Seker tamamen eriyip tatli kivamini buldugunda 1/2 bard gulsuyu (istenirse 3 kasik bugday nisastasiyla karistirilip) ilave edilir, bir tasim kaynatilip alti kapatilir.

Istenirse daha beyaz bir asure icin daha fazla sut katilabilir. Sonradan kestane havasi kazanan 1/2 bard kuru ic bakla kullanilabilir. Meyva miktari arttirilabilir. Elde irice parcalanmis findik, yesil fistik ilave edilebilir. Bugday bulamayanlar, ozellikle yurtdisindakiler yerine iri-kalin bulgur kullanabilir, o zaman aksamdan islatmaya da gerek yok.

7. Kaplara paylastirilip haslanip dilimlenmis incir, kuru dut, cam fistigi, kavrulmus susam...vb ile suslenir.

not: Bu yontemle hazirlandiginda aksamki hazirligi abartip 1/2 saat desek ertesi gunu haslama ve pismelerle asure yapimi toplam 1,5 saati buluyor, son derece pratik ve cabuk oluyor. Basinda durup karistirmaniz da gerekmediginden benim gibi zamani kiymetli olanlar icin bicilmis kaftan..