Saturday, April 30, 2011

Ashura/ Aşure / Noah's Pudding

12.18.2010
Click here and here to see the winner Asure of the "Best Asure competition"!



This was chosen as the best Ashura at a local competition. The judges were diverse : Turkish, American and Peruvian  :) So this means this Ashura has an internationally proven taste:)

I should mention that I am not a picky cook, the amount of the ingredients are subject to change ( I don't even remember for some of them how much I added.) Actually for ashura, in general there is no unique way and ingredient list to cook but major ones: wheat, beans, raisins ( I don't like it so skipped) apricots and of course sugar!
Enjoy!


Ingredients:
This would yield ~40 cups

1 cup wheat (I used a little more than that)
1 cup rice (precooked)
1 cup chick peas ( I used canned )
1 cup navy  & northern beans ( I used canned) )
1 packet ~ 100 gr of dried apricots (Turkish ones are the best! You can find in many American grocery stores as well) ( 
diced into small pieces and stayed in water to make it softer)
Figs diced into small pieces and stayed in water to make it softer)
Poppy seed
Sesame ( at least 2 full teaspoons, i cooked them)
Black seeds
1 table spoon butter
1cup milk
1 table spoon honey
1 pinch salt
1 orange peel, (diced into cubes and boiled in water, discard the water, it has a bitter taste)
Half lemon zest
~5 cups sugar

Other options  may be but not limited to:
Almonds, peanuts, apple,orange, pear, raisins, prune, any dry or or fresh fruit  as desired
Clove, rose water for the flavor
Topping: 
walnuts, pistachios , peanuts, sesame, coconut, almonds, pomegranate 
Also cinnamon, hazelnuts

How to prepare Asure / Ashura/ Noah's Pudding?
One night before: 
(Soak wheat  in water before if possible)
Boil wheat in a big pan with 5 cups of water for about 10 minutes and turn the heat. It will adsorb the water and get soften in the morning
The day you cook:Add ~4 cups of water to the precooked wheat and let it boil. 
*At each step stir continuously ,don't let the bottom stick Add chickpeas, dry beans and precooked rice. 
Add dry fruits.
Add seeds.Add milk
Add salt and sugar and boil for additional 10-15 minutes.
Serve with toppings, decorate and enjoy!
It will get thicker as it cools down so you may add boiled water as needed while cooking.*You can add more/less water/ sugar depending on your preference.
Afiyet Olsun, Good Appetite!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Brownie Cookie with syrup

These are really so yummy and unresistable cookies! No exaggeration, we , family of 3, finished all in a few hours!

Brownie Cookie with syrup
 (yield 20-25 cookies)

Ingredients
1/2 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup oil
3 spoons of Extra special dark cocoa
2 cups of flour
1 egg

Topping:
pisstachios or cocounut powder

For syrup:
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
Boil sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat 5 more minutes
Chill in fridge for an hour
Cookies should be hot and the syrup needs to be cool for best results

How to prepare:

  • Make syrup ready
  • Prepare a soft dough from the ingredients.
  • Make small balls and place on a pan covered with baking sheet.
  • Bake at 375 F until the cookies are cracked (check after 10 minutes)
  • Take the pan out of from the oven.

Dip cookies into syrup and take it out quickly ( If stay long  in the syrup ,they will be so soft and messy while eating)
Enjoy as soon as possible or better to wait overnight for best results, if you can!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Turkish Mom

This is the first post from my totally English blog "Turkish Mom "
I hope you will enjoy it despite of my broken English; get to know me, my life and Turkish culture a little.
If you have any questions please let me know through an e-mail or posting a comment,
Thanks!

Turkish Mom
is a mom of one
a wife of 1(no other option, yeah;),
a sister of 2,
an aunt of 3(for now)
a lover and beloved of many!
a graduate student
loves cooking, baking, eating (BMI=19, no worries ;)
loves shopping, particularly interested in deals, clearances so let her know!
enjoys sharing
lives around 15217