Noah's pudding (Aşure)

1. The evening before, soak the hulled wheat, chickpeas and white beans separately in plenty of water.

2. Cook the wheat in 2 litres of fresh water over low heat for 1 hour; meanwhile cook the chickpeas and beans separately until tender and drain.

3. Add the chickpeas, beans, sugar, diced apricots and figs, raisins, grated orange zest and cloves to the wheat and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring, until thick and creamy (add water if needed).

4. Remove the cloves and ladle the pudding into small bowls or one large dish.

5. Cool and chill for at least 3 hours.

6. Before serving, decorate with roughly chopped walnuts, pomegranate seeds and cinnamon.

Tip: Legend has it Noah cooked it on the ark from the food that was left. In the month of Muharram it's made in a huge pot and shared with the neighbours – hence the large quantity.