Armenian Christmas pudding (Anushabur)

January 7, 2018  •  Category: ,

Anushabur is the name of a wheat berries and dried fruits (and nuts) pudding from the Armenian tradition for Christmas and the New Year. My darling online friend Sylva Titizian sent me her detailed recipe and I am sharing it now, slightly adapted.

Anushabur, as Sylva says, means “sweet porridge”; she mentions that it always has to be on a Christmas or New Year table.


Wheat berries for all peoples of the Levant are a symbol of celebration, harvest, and abundance (versus famine).

Happy New Year!

Armenian Christmas Pudding (Anushabur)

Joumana Accad Mediterranean, Middle Eastern January 7, 2018 Whole Grain/Bulgur/Rice, Dessert, Armenian, pudding, dried fruits, anushabur, wholegrain, wheat berries, tagged,

8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Passive Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 lb (450 g) hulled wheat berries
  • 8 oz white granulated sugar (can substitute honey, maple syrup or molasses to taste)
  • 1 cup each of dried apricots, golden raisins, walnuts and blanched almonds
  • 1 cup pomegranate arils (optional, but recommended)
  • 1 teaspoon orange blossom water or rose water (optional)

Instructions

  1. Soak wheat berries in water the day before.
  2. Drain and add more water then simmer gently over low heat till they burst
  3. Add the sugar or molasses to taste
  4. Add the dried fruits and nuts.
  5. Simmer a few more minutes, add the rose or orange blossom water  then cool. Cover and keep in the fridge till serving time
  6. Serve with additional fruits and nuts and pomegranate garnish in a large bowl. 

Recipe Notes

Sylva's recipe used 1 kg (about 2 lbs) of wheat and 750g. (1 3/4 lb) of sugar. I prefer to sweeten it to taste and use molasses or honey or (better) maple syrup.

I always soak and drain the nuts prior to using in any cooking. Soaking and draining them ensures that they are clean and free of toxins.



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Comments

12 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Reply

    Bougainvillean says:

    Merry Christmas to all!
    Thank you for this interesting dish. I think I may prepare it for our next weekend’s family breakfast. It is packed full of nutrients and very colourful.

    On January 7, 2018 at 10:32 am

  2. Reply

    Kata Vuletić says:

    What a nice little treat! I like it very much. Merry Christmas!

    On January 7, 2018 at 11:26 am

  3. Reply

    Srour says:

    Beautiful
    My grandmother (from Aleppo) used to make Sliha, which is pretty much the same
    I like it with pine nuts, pistachios, cinnamon and anise seeds

    On January 8, 2018 at 9:40 am

  4. Reply

    marlene says:

    je suis toujours fascinee par les histoires qui accompagnent vos recettes. ca me fait toujours sourire et ca me rend nostalgique ! grand respect a l’effort que vous faites pour garder le meme niveau

    On January 26, 2018 at 9:38 am

  5. Reply

    Eve Bark says:

    Please sign me up for your lovely blog which to my delight I’ve just discovered!
    Cheers,
    Ève Granger Bark

    On March 29, 2018 at 5:08 pm

  6. Reply

    Sommer says:

    Hi! How much water exactly do you need when simmering? I can imagine this being particularly important to the pudding’s consistency.

    On May 24, 2020 at 10:28 am

  7. Reply

    Nelly says:

    My name is Nelly, I live in Montreal, for the last 60 years, born in Cairo, Egypt, love your recipes. The recipe Anushabur is the same recipe I make every year on December 5th, for Ste Barbe’s feast (Borbara) – Delicious, everyone loves it.

    Please continue with your great recipes.

    Nelly

    On December 6, 2020 at 8:42 pm

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