Albanian traditional wheat pudding

When it comes to traditional recipes, we Albanians cannot accept twists from the traditional cuisine. Better say, we have always something to say about every traditional recipe we food bloggers share on our websites.  The most engaging posts are those under the Albanian Traditional Cooking category.

I made this preface not unintentionally, what I mean is that the beautiful part of sharing traditional recipes is related to those small twists that every Albanian family, in every region of this beautiful country has made through the course of time. But, these twists does not necessarily mean that the recipe is not authentic or traditional of that region…. on the contrary, it is a pleasure to listen or taste a twist of a certain recipe made from a family.

Moreover (and I have to say this☺), our job (me and my fellow bloggers) is that of experimenting with ingredients, testing new techniques and if we evaluate that a recipe comes out delicious we share it with you, so if we don’t stick word by word to a certain recipe, don’t criticize us.

Now, back to the blog post, this is a traditional wheat pudding recipe that I’ve “elegantly” stolen it from a friend of mine.

[lt_recipe name=”Albanian traditional wheat pudding” servings=”6-8 cups” prep_time=”12H” cook_time=”1H” total_time=”13H” difficulty=”Medium” print=”yes” image=”https://bakemydayhappy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ashure-5.jpg” ingredients=”• 500gr Wheat (I have used Palma Nuts brand);• 2 – 2 ½ cups sugar ( more if you want it sweeter);• 1 cup chopped walnuts;• 1 cup golden raisins (I have used Palma Nuts brand);• 1 green apple finely chopped ;• 2 tbsp. honey;• 1 tsp. cinnamon;• 5-6 cloves;• 1 liter or more water depending on the wheat;” ]Start by soaking the wheat in cold water the night before; The next day, drain the wheat grains and transfer them to a large pot, pour the water in and let it cook until very soft. Turn off the heat and let the wheat sit in the pot overnight or for about 12 hours; If using a slow-cooker, add water just 5 inches above the grains and cook it overnight on low for 5 hours. Next day you’ll notice that the grains have absorbed the water and the thickened it as shown in the photo; Transfer the wheat grains to a large pot, add the sugar and cook it on low heat and stirring constantly for about 40-50 minutes until slightly caramelized and darkened in color; Add the honey, cinnamon, chopped apple, walnuts and raisins and mix until well combined; Divide the wheat pudding in individual bowls and let it cool down;[/lt_recipe]