Ashura(Noah’s Pudding) is a desert prepared by cooking many different kind of fruits, nuts and wheat in the same pan. It has a very rich ingredients list where one can see walnuts, hazel nuts, dried figs, pomegranate seeds, wheat grains, ground orange particles, beans, etc. Their tastes contribute to give the unique taste of each Ashura of its own depending on which ingredient was used at what amount. But however they are all sweet.
Having the same name, and being sweet in common but changing in flavor with the combination of those ingredients, Ashura reminds it tasters that they are all human at the end, no matter what they believe, how they look like, what language they speak. They can be friends, share their lives and can built a “sweet “society together just like those various kinds of ingredients cooked in the same pan.
Ashura is a call for uniting, sharing, caring and understanding each other for a better life together since it makes our souls sweet like itself.
Thus, TCC Albany, inspired by Ashura, invited people of different nations, cultures and faiths to celebrate the Ashura (Noah’s Pudding Day Celebration). The program was hold on Sunday, December 11th where guests were welcomed with a delicious Turkish dinner first and after that Ahsura was served for the dessert of the day. A short documentary clip about Turkey and the Turkish culture was also played during the dinner.
The Story of Noah and Ashura
The Prophet Noah called his people to the religion of God for many years. After repeated efforts to convey God’s message that they should leave paganism and believe in one God, people of his time teased him and called him crazy. Noah, upon God’s command, built an ark and embarked in it the believers and a pair of each species. They had a long and hard journey until the waters of the flood receded.
According to one version of the traditional story, days passed by and food became scarce on the ark, no food by itself was sufficient to make a decent meal. Noah then gathered scraps of the foods and mixed them together, producing a delicious dish. The people were saved from starvation. The very next day, the flood receded.
In another version, when Noah's ark landed on a mountain, there was great joy. To celebrate the end of the flood and offer thanks to God, those on the Ark prepared a delicacy with what food was left on the Ark.
Today we call the meal they prepared "Noah's Pudding" or "Ashura".
