Noah's Pudding

Did you ever have one of those days where you have nothing in your fridge and pantry, or rather some stuff that is seemingly impossible to make a meal of? (Hmmm...I have a bottle of soy sauce, three saltines, and a can of olives...) Well, apparently, Noah had at least one of those days. According to the Muslim version of the Noah and the flood story, toward the end of the journey, there was not much food left on the ark, just a little of this and a little of that. So Noah threw it all together and made a pudding.

Last Sunday, my church was visited by a local group of Turkish Muslims. As a gesture of interfaith friendship, they brought us this pudding. It was like cream of wheat in texture, and extremely sweet. There are many variations on Noah's Pudding; this is the recipe the visitors had printed out for us.

Noah's Pudding

1 cup wheat
1 cup white beans
1 cup chickpeas
1 cup raisins
1 cup almonds
3/4 cup peanuts
12 dried apricots
5 1/2 cups sugar
Water (enough to cover)
Walnuts and cinnamon for topping

Although the recipe did not state the cooking method, I would venture to say it is boiled and simmered, perhaps something that could be made in a crockpot. Wheat? Maybe farina (cream of wheat). I would not use the 5 1/2 cups of sugar.

There are many recipes for Noah's Pudding on the internet, worth checking out. For example, here's another recipe for Noah's Pudding from Myrecipes.com which uses barley and rice.