Sumelek is a halva that Kazakhs and other Central Asian communities cook for hours while stirring to celebrate Nowruz. The liquid from sprouted wheat simmers with flour and oil in a cauldron and becomes sweet without added sugar. Enzymes in the sprouts convert the flour’s starch into sugar; prolonged cooking caramelizes that sugar and gives the dish its dark color. The result is a dark brown, malt-sweet cream eaten with a spoon.
Rinse the wheat and soak it in cold water for 12 hours. Drain, spread it 1 cm deep on a tray, and cover with a damp cloth. Sprinkle water over it and stir 2 times each day. It is ready to use when the sprouts are 2–3 cm long.
Process the sprouted wheat in three batches, adding 1 liter of water to each batch and blending for 2 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth, squeezing out the liquid. Process the pulp two more times with 1 liter of water each time, then strain again. You should have about 2.8 liters of cloudy, pale green liquid with a grassy aroma. Discard the pulp.
Put the flour in a large bowl and gradually whisk in 1 liter of the sprouted-wheat liquid until smooth and pourable, with no lumps.
Heat the oil in your heaviest pot over medium heat for 5 minutes. A few small bubbles should form around the tip of a wooden spoon when you touch it to the oil. To prevent splattering, add the flour mixture one ladleful at a time, stirring constantly, then pour in the remaining sprouted-wheat liquid.
When the mixture boils, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 7.5 hours. After the first hour, stir every 10 to 15 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides with a wooden spoon. At first the sumelek will be milky white and runny; it turns beige after the third hour and dark brown after the sixth hour. It is ready when it falls slowly from a spoon in a ribbon and tastes distinctly sweet and malty, even without added sugar.
Divide the rested sumelek among small bowls. Serve warm or at room temperature with bread.
Soak the wheat three days ahead and let it sprout under a damp cloth. The enzymes that provide sweetness do not develop sufficiently until the sprouts are 2–3 cm long. After cooking, let the sumelek rest, covered, for 1 hour; its surface will darken and bubble during this time.
Buğdayı filizlendirmek dört gün sürdü, günde iki kez yıkamak gerekiyor. Yıkamayı bir gün aksattığımda kokmaya başladı, atmak zorunda kaldım. İkinci deneme sabırla oldu ve filiz sütü gerçekten tatlı çıktı, hiç şeker girmedi.
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