Instructions: Rinse the wheat place in a pan cover with water add salt and bring to the boil.

Simmer gently halfcovered for 35 minutes.

Drain. 2

Bring the milk sugar and honey to the boil add the wheat and simmer for about 1ols minutes. Withdraw from the heat and mix in the rose water nuts and pomegranate seeds. 3 Offer with extra nuts hot milk and sugar.

Belila is an old Egyptian dessert which has recently become fashionable in smart Cairo hotels but it has changed its identity and it is now served as a healthy breakfast to the trend and health conscious. The dish consists of whole wheatgrains which have been boiled and are then served with sweetened milk nuts and flavourings such as orange flower water or rose water. The wheat expands in volume and should not be overcooked or it will turn into a mass. So keep an eye on it towards the end. Many variations of the dish can befound round the Mediterranean.

For instance the Greek kolyva offered at funerals and on All Souls Day is similar but in a dry form without the milk and with a larger variety of nuts and spices. The same can be said about the Turkish asure which has an enormous variety of ingredients forty according to tradition and it includes rice and pulses such as beans and chickpeas as well as assorted driedfruits. This again is a kind of thick milkypudding and is supposed to be what Noah cooked with all the ingredients he had on the ark. All these dishes seem related to the ancient Greek panspermia a selection of wheat and nuts offered to the dead and the God of Hades.

Serves 6

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