Ashure

Method

1. 1 Soak wheat, chickpeas, and white beans separately for 12 hours, as each expands at a different rate.
2. 2 Simmer the wheat for 1 hour until the grains burst and the water thickens; it is the wheat starch that makes the porridge thick, not any other flour.
3. 3 Cook chickpeas and white beans separately for 40 minutes before mixing them into the wheat mixture.
4. 4 Add sugar, cinnamon, dates, and chopped apricots, and cook for another 20 minutes.
5. 5 Scoop into a bowl, then sprinkle with crushed walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds. Let it cool until the dessert thickens.

With an appliance

• Pressure cooker 1 hr 20 min

  Replace steps 2 and 3: simmer the wheat for 30 minutes and the beans for 20 minutes in a pressure cooker, allowing the pressure to release naturally after each cooking cycle.