In My Mother's Kitchen: Noah's Pudding
Of all the recipes that my mother made, the one that I have never seen anywhere else at all is Noah's Pudding. My extremely vague and quite possibly entirely false recollection is that my family got this recipe when we went to some kind of historical event about pioneer days in Montana that featured this dish as an example of a food that might have been made back then. Perhaps it was a trip to the old historical Montana State Prison, which was not that far from our home in Butte. Or maybe I made it all up and it came from somewhere else. That I cannot say, but my family had it periodically throughout my childhood, particularly for breakfasts. I don't recall ever making it as an adult, but I should rectify that because it tastes good and is dead simple.
Noah's Pudding
3/4 cup bulgar wheat
1/2 cup rice (white or brown, see notes)
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (less if you used sweeter dried fruits)
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon (to personal taste)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped figs or prunes
1/4 cup zante currants
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Note: You can use virtually any dried fruit in this. Recipe written as my mother got it. She notes that she has never used zante currants or prunes, but suggests other dried fruits such as apricots, pears, apples, pineapple, mango, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, raisins, golden raisins, dates and figs.
1. If using white rice, combine bulgar, rice, water and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
OR
If using brown rice, combine brown rice, water and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add bulgar and simmer for another 20 minutes.
2. Add all other ingredients except walnuts. Stir well.
3. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts if using. Can be served warm or cold.
While writing this, I decided to see if anyone else made this recipe, and the internet tells me that Noah's pudding is an alternate name for Ashure, which is a Turkish dish associated with an Islamic holiday that commemorates, among other things, the day that Noah's Ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat. Supposedly Noah's family made this pudding with what was left of their supplies on the Ark. This had led to the dish being called "the oldest dessert in the world." I should note that some of the recipes I found online were rather more substantial, including ingredients like beans.
Of course, that origin story throws my already vague memory of where my family got the recipe info further confusion, because as far as I know there wasn't a substantial Turkish pioneer population in Montana, or if you assume my memory is off even further, in North Dakota either. And for that matter, I don't recall seeing this on the menu at any of the local Turkish restaurants, and to be sure I just checked the online menu for my favorite one. There are apparently variants from other Middle Eastern countries, but they didn't seen a lot of people to pioneer Montana either. Maybe my memory is wrong, or maybe the internet is, or both.
EDIT: More detail from my father:
N's LiveJournal memory concerning Noah's Pudding is colorful but wrong. The recipe is actually from a cookbook (page41) titled "America's Favorite Dried Fruit and Nut Recipes" published in 1984. This is one of those cookbooks created to advertise specific products, in this case Diamond nuts along with Sun-Maid and Sunsweet dried fruits, all of California. None of the other recipes in this slim volume entered your Mom's recurring use.
Print the legend.
Noah's Pudding
3/4 cup bulgar wheat
1/2 cup rice (white or brown, see notes)
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (less if you used sweeter dried fruits)
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon (to personal taste)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped figs or prunes
1/4 cup zante currants
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Note: You can use virtually any dried fruit in this. Recipe written as my mother got it. She notes that she has never used zante currants or prunes, but suggests other dried fruits such as apricots, pears, apples, pineapple, mango, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, raisins, golden raisins, dates and figs.
1. If using white rice, combine bulgar, rice, water and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
OR
If using brown rice, combine brown rice, water and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add bulgar and simmer for another 20 minutes.
2. Add all other ingredients except walnuts. Stir well.
3. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts if using. Can be served warm or cold.
While writing this, I decided to see if anyone else made this recipe, and the internet tells me that Noah's pudding is an alternate name for Ashure, which is a Turkish dish associated with an Islamic holiday that commemorates, among other things, the day that Noah's Ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat. Supposedly Noah's family made this pudding with what was left of their supplies on the Ark. This had led to the dish being called "the oldest dessert in the world." I should note that some of the recipes I found online were rather more substantial, including ingredients like beans.
Of course, that origin story throws my already vague memory of where my family got the recipe info further confusion, because as far as I know there wasn't a substantial Turkish pioneer population in Montana, or if you assume my memory is off even further, in North Dakota either. And for that matter, I don't recall seeing this on the menu at any of the local Turkish restaurants, and to be sure I just checked the online menu for my favorite one. There are apparently variants from other Middle Eastern countries, but they didn't seen a lot of people to pioneer Montana either. Maybe my memory is wrong, or maybe the internet is, or both.
EDIT: More detail from my father:
N's LiveJournal memory concerning Noah's Pudding is colorful but wrong. The recipe is actually from a cookbook (page41) titled "America's Favorite Dried Fruit and Nut Recipes" published in 1984. This is one of those cookbooks created to advertise specific products, in this case Diamond nuts along with Sun-Maid and Sunsweet dried fruits, all of California. None of the other recipes in this slim volume entered your Mom's recurring use.
Print the legend.