Hashure, or Noah’s Pudding, is a delicious wheat pudding. This ancient dessert is also known in Albanian lands as “qyshkek” and you’ll find it served at weddings and other festive occasions. 

The main ingredients are wheat berries, dried fruit, various nuts, and sugar. We’re using maple syrup instead of sugar. 

Ingredients

• 300 grams of wheat berries
• Dried fruit. Around 50 grams of each:
  • Chopped figs
  • Chopped dates
  • Dried cherries
  • Dried blueberries 
  • Dried cranberries
  • Chopped walnuts
  • Chopped walnuts
  • Chopped pecans
• Some cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 cup of maple syrup for sweetness
• 1-2 tbs of starch for thickening
• Ground cinnamon for topping
• Some pomegranates for topping

First rinse the wheat and let it boil in a pot with around a liter of water. When the water boils, lower the temperature to simmer, stir the wheat, and throw in a few cinnamon sticks with a teaspoon of salt. Stir, cover, and let it simmer for two hours.

You can chop the fruit and nuts while you’re waiting. As the two hours draw to a close, mix your starch with cold water until it dissolves. Remove the cinnamon sticks from the pot and add your dissolved starch along with a liter of boiling water.

Start stirring your fruits and nuts in, one by one. Add your maple syrup or sugar. Keep stirring while simmering to thicken the mixture and release the flavor of the fruits and nuts.

When it’s reached a thick consistency, turn the heat off and let it cool before putting it into containers to serve or store. Top with cinnamon powder, chopped nuts, pomegranate seeds, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

You can serve hashure hot or cold. It gets thicker and more flavorful after a few days in the fridge.

Ju bëftë mirë!