Day of Ashura

Also known as “Noah’s Pudding” or “peace pudding” as my beautiful friends from our children’s Steiner preschool have called it. Ashura is a porridge like pudding that is made of a mixture consisting of fruits, grains, dried fruits and nuts.

There really isn’t “a” recipe as this Holy pudding represents many cultures' beliefs, Islamic and pre-Islamic alike, and therefore is celebrated to commemorate many spiritual events believed to happen on this day.

Traditionally, it has at least seven ingredients. Some say at least ten ingredients must be used, in keeping with the theme of "tenth" day of Muharram. Our recipe is that we use { barley, dried apricots, chickpeas, white beans, sultanas or currants, dried figs, peanuts, slithered almonds, pine nuts, rice, choice of sugar honey, choice of milk (this isn’t traditional but added to lighten the colour of the pudding) and lastly, crushed walnuts and sesame seeds on top to serve }

If you’ve made this before or ever tasted it you’ll know how delicious it is, but I’ll have to be biased and say my mum makes it the best.

“Traditionally, ashure is made in large quantities to commemorate the ark's landing and is distributed to friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues, classmates, and others, without regard to the recipient's religion or belief system as an offering of peace and love.”