Sarit's Ashura Cereal
Sarit's Ashura Cereal
Sarit's Ashura Cereal
By Samin Nosrat
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Author:
By Samin Nosrat
Servings
10 cups
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Excerpted from Good Things by Samin Nosrat. Copyright © 2025 by Samin Nosrat. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
The first time I visited Honey & Co., the warm, tiny, Middle Eastern restaurant in central London run by pastry chef Sarit Packer and her chef-husband, Itamar Srulovich, I left with a bag of their Ashura Cereal, at Sarit’s insistence. In my hotel room later that night, I couldn’t resist tasting it even though I’d just brushed my teeth. The cereal looked like a cross between granola and Cracker Jack, with dark, shiny brown clusters of puffed wheat, almonds, pecans, and seeds. It smelled like burnt honey, spring flowers, and cardamom. As I bit into a piece, it burst in my mouth, somehow simultaneously light and rich, sweet and savory, crisp and full of air. Standing there in my pajamas, I ate nearly half the bag.
Childhood memories of sugary cereals such as Honey Smacks and Corn Pops guided Sarit as she developed this recipe. First, she made a honey syrup spiked with cinnamon, cardamom, and an almond-scented spice called mahlab. She then drizzled the syrup over a mixture of puffed wheat, nuts, and seeds and baked the whole thing into a gloriously crisp mass. Serve it as Sarit does, over yogurt with fresh berries or pomegranate seeds; or as her parents do, drowned in a bowl of milk; or simply eat it by the handful, straight from the bag, anytime you want a sweet, crunchy snack.
Ingredients
-
2/3 cup (150g) neutral oil
- 3/4 packed cup (150g) dark brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons (110g) honey
- 5 cups (80g) puffed wheat or Kamut
- 4 cups (80g) puffed millet
- Scant 3/4 cup (85g) pecan halves
- 1/2 cup (85g) almonds, very roughly chopped
- 1⁄3 cup (50g) pepitas
-
3 tablespoons (30g) toasted sesame seeds
-
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
-
2 teaspoons (6g) kosher salt
-
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-
1 teaspoon ground mahlab (optional, see note)
Directions
Adjust the oven racks to the lower-middle and upper-middle positions and preheat to 350°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the oil, brown sugar, and honey and set over medium-high heat. Whisk well and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Cook until the sugar dissolves completely, there is no graininess to the texture, and small bubbles appear uniformly across the surface of the mixture, about 5 minutes. The oil won’t incorporate fully, so don’t fret if the mixture appears separated.
- Meanwhile, in a large heatproof bowl, combine the puffed grains, pecans, almonds, pepitas, and sesame seeds and mix well.
- Once the honey mixture is smooth and evenly bubbling, add the cardamom, salt, cinnamon, and mahlab, if using. Stir well to incorporate the spices, then carefully pour the mixture over the dry ingredients. Working quickly, use a large silicone spatula to stir, turning the contents of the bowl over until everything is coated evenly with the syrup.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared sheet pans and use the spatula to flatten out the cereal in an even layer.
- Place the sheet pans in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove one sheet pan at a time and use the spatula to stir the cereal around. Switch the pans on the racks and rotate them front to back to ensure even baking. Bake until dark golden brown and well caramelized, 7 to 9 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and allow to cool entirely on the trays before breaking up the cereal into large clusters.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks (AS IF it will last that long!).
Recipe Note
This recipe is endlessly adaptable. You can use any combination of puffed grains totaling 160 grams. I love a fifty-fifty mix of wheat or Kamut and millet, but quinoa and corn work well, too.
If using whole Mahlab, grind it using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
