This old- fashioned grape must pudding (moustalevria)* is one of my favorites. It has such a flavor that makes you think of exotic faraway places.
8 glasses clarified concetrated grape must
1 glass all-purpose flour
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh walnuts.
3-4 fresh arbaroriza leaves (rose geranium, Pelargonium graveolens)
sesame seeds
cinnamon powder
To clarify the grape must tie wood ash or ground limestone or bread in a small piece of cloth and submerge it in the grape juice.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Set the pot aside and let it stand overnight.
The next day pass the grape must through a fine sieve and pour the clarified juice into a second pot.
Place the juice over medium heat, bring it to a boil; the more you reduce it the sweeter it becomes.
Taste for sweetness and boil for a few more mintutes if needed. Let it cool.
In a bowl dissolve the flour in 1 1/2 glass of grape must. Mix it with the rest of juice, add arbaroriza and stirring constantly cook for about 40 minutes over low heat, until moustalevria is creamy and thick.
Remove from heat and add the walnuts.
Pour in individual bowls or in large shallow platter.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sesame seeds.
In a bowl dissolve the flour in 1 1/2 glass of grape must. Mix it with the rest of juice, add arbaroriza and stirring constantly cook for about 40 minutes over low heat, until moustalevria is creamy and thick.
Remove from heat and add the walnuts.
Pour in individual bowls or in large shallow platter.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sesame seeds.
*Moustalevria= moustos (must)+ alevri (flour)
Grape pudding is still very popular here, Joumana, however fresh walnuts and rose geranium are considered old fashioned favorites. Btw, in the past, this timeless and indeed ancient dish was a dessert for the rich and the poor. It was,too, a lovely autumn gift. Women used to make giant pots of mustalevria and sent bowls filled with it to friends and neighbors.
That is so funny Mariana! I was just thinking today of making this very same grape pudding; it is becoming back in style here, those ancient dishes, and with a friend of my mother's who is 85 and makes her own grape molasses in her kitchen I got so inspired and found out that this pudding was quite the homestyle dessert of these bygone days; it seems obvious then that the same cuisine was prevalent in Greece as in the Levant.