My Red Line: Aşure

A friend asked:

‘What is your favourite dessert?’

I thought for a moment. My first answer was quince dessert.

The others took turns answering.

Then, when my star sign’s dessert turned out to be güllaç in the video she shared, I said, ‘Of course! How could I have forgotten?’

My relationship with desserts is not a serious commitment; it is more of a flirtation shaped by emotional ups and downs. It changes with my mood.

When Ramadan arrives, for example, a very definite character emerges within me:

A güllaç person.

I become someone soothed by the scent of milk, who reads rather too much into the pomegranate seeds and walnuts, and finds happiness in lightness. Even the first taste of those thin pastry sheets meeting milk leaves me with a gentle joy.

But when it comes to aşure…

Things change.

Aşure is my red line.

It is not a dessert for an occasional bite; it is almost a meal. Filling, abundant, cheerful… Dip in your spoon and there is a good chance of a surprise.

And aşure is not a dessert with ‘just a few ingredients’. Everything that goes into it has meaning:

The softness of wheat…

The surprising presence of chickpeas and white beans…

Dried apricots, dried figs, raisins…

The light, refreshing scent of orange peel…

Walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds…

Pomegranate seeds are a celebration in themselves…

Cinnamon and sesame on top… Perhaps a little more of pomegranate’s vivid red…

Some people still ask:

‘A dessert with beans in it?’

‘Are we eating dessert or dinner?’

But those who understand aşure know: it is not a mixture, but a harmony.

I have made it only once in my life. It took a long time, demanded patience, and left the kitchen rather messy. But the moment it reached the right consistency… that was the reward for the whole story.

Spooning aşure with just the right texture… then filling bowls and sharing them with the neighbours… perhaps that was the loveliest part.

Another day, my direction changes. I come across ruby-red quince dessert, cooked with lohusa şekeri, a traditional red spiced sugar, and scattered with cloves… Once cooled and topped with kaymak and Antep pistachios, it is a feast for the eyes.

Pumpkin dessert… Bright in colour, soft in texture. Combined with walnuts, honey and tahini, every spoonful offers a balanced harmony.

Then, before I know it, I find myself in Italian cuisine.

Panna cotta… Blackberry sauce running over it, that gently tart flavour… So elegant on the plate, you hardly dare touch it.

Tiramisu enters the picture: a little cool, a little classic.

Then a French breeze:

Soufflé. Warm chocolate flowing out the moment your spoon touches it… A happiness that deserves to be taken seriously.

And the star of modern times:

San Sebastián cheesecake. With its burnt surface, it does not try to be perfect. Its soft, flowing centre surprises you. With chocolate sauce poured over it, it says, ‘I am different.’

Then I suddenly change direction:

Künefe… Saray sarması… Fig dessert… Each belongs to a different mood.

Depending on how I feel that day…

The drifting scent of waffles sweeps me away; when the chocolate sauce meets strawberries and banana, it is delicious. Pistachio rolls are a happiness all their own.

That is why…

I cannot give just one answer to the question, ‘What is your favourite dessert?’

Meeting a different dessert each day leaves me with a happiness that accompanies that day’s mood.

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