Anoush Abour (Noah’s Pudding) Recipe

Anoush Abour (Noah��s Pudding)

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This popular Armenian Christmas and New Year’s dish is a softened wheat berry porridge topped with dried fruits and nuts.

Liana Aghajanian

Updated on July 20, 2023

Tested by

Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Anoush Abour (Noah’s Pudding) — Photo:
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox

Active Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

14 hrs 25 mins

Yield:

10 to 12

A must-have at any Armenian Christmas table, anoush abour translates to “sweet soup” and is a fruity, nutty delicacy made of softened wheat berry pudding topped with a mosaic of pomegranate arils, slivered almonds, and dried apricots. Within the Levant, wheat berries are a symbol of celebration, harvest, and abundance, and they form the base of this traditional dish. Enjoy chilled or at room temperature. Wheat berries can be found at specialty grocery stores or online at centralmilling.com.

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Ingredients

1 cup uncooked wheat berries (about 6 ounces)
12 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried apricots (about 7 1/4 ounces), roughly chopped, plus whole dried apricots, for decorating
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup black raisins (about 3 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup golden raisins (about 3 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup blanched almonds (about 3 ounces)
1/4 cup pine nuts (about 1 1/4 ounces)
1/4 cup walnuts (about 1 ounce)
1 cup pomegranate arils (about 5 ounces)
1/4 cup slivered almonds (about 1 1/4 ounces)

Directions

Place wheat berries in a colander, and rinse under cold water. Transfer to a large pot, and add 12 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Cover and remove from heat; let wheat berries soak overnight at room temperature (12 hours).
Uncover pot; bring wheat berries and soaking water to a simmer over medium-high. Reduce heat to low; simmer until wheat berries are tender and water has reduced to about 1/2 inch above wheat, 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours, stirring 2 or 3 times during cooking time to ensure no wheat berries stick to bottom of pot.
Add apricots, sugar, black raisins, golden raisins, blanched almonds, pine nuts, and walnuts to mixture in pot; stir to combine. Simmer over low, undisturbed, until fruits and nuts soften, about 10 minutes.
Pour pudding into a large heatproof dish or platter; let cool at room temperature until set, about 30 minutes. If serving cold, cover and refrigerate until ready to decorate. If serving at room temperature, decorate top of pudding with pomegranate arils, slivered almonds, and whole apricots, and serve.