pearl wheat pudding

In my previous post, I posted a recipe for wheat porridge using whole wheat berries. It’s as nutritious as wheat can get. Today’s recipe is made with pearl wheat, a processed version of its whole counterpart. The pearling process strips the wheat kernel of its bran layer and germ (partly or entirely), making it less nutritious. Although less nutritious, pearl wheat is still a good source of fiber and lends itself perfectly for making a pudding.
This recipe is very similar to Gujarati rice pudding, only the rice is replaced here with wheat berries. Gujarati rice pudding is not thick like a typical Western rice pudding, instead, although the milk is thicken, only a small amount of rice is used, resulting in a pourable consistency. If you wish to make this wheat pudding thick, you can simply add all of the wheat berries to the milk instead of cooking half of it separately.

Pearl Wheat Pudding

• 160 g pearl wheat, divided into two portions
• 2 L 3.8% whole milk
• 90 g maple syrup, or more according to taste
• 1/2 tsp cardamom

1. Wash and soak pearl wheat for 16 hours.
2. When ready to make pudding, rinse and drain wheat.
3. Place half of the pearl wheat in a pot with 430 g water. Bring to boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes until cooked. Drain any excess water and set aside.
4. While half of the pearl wheat is cooking, in a large dutch oven (I use a 4.2 L enameled cast iron dutch oven and it works perfectly) , bring milk to a boil. Be careful as milk can overflow.
5. Lower heat to medium heat and add the remaining uncooked wheat berries.
6. Simmer milk for 40 minutes, stirring to ensure that it does not burn at the base and does not overflow. The milk should thicken and the wheat will be well cooked and slightly cracked.
7. Stir in the cooked wheat berries, maple syrup and cardamom and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
8. Serve warm or cold.