Navruz holiday - sumalak

One of the features of the Navruz holiday is a special treat called sumalak:

It's made of six-day sprouted wheat cooked with a few stones in a big cauldron for 12-24 hours until it becomes the consistency of caramel. People told us a lot about it (the story of the poor mother who had nothing to cook for her children but stones which miraculously turned into sumalak, making wishes, all-night parties to feed the fire and stir it), but among the busy Dushanbe teachers in our circle no one was actually staying up all night to make it. There might be staged versions of it at festivals, like the above photo I got from the internet, or like this demo the MGU students included in their display:

However, to see the real thing made, one must probably go to a village:

http://omukhtan.blogspot.com Thank you 2012 Fulbright ETA in Khujand.

But you can buy it in the Dushanbe green bazaar, which is where I went on Wednesday, March 22.

Lee thinks it tastes like very slightly sweet cream of wheat. I think it tastes like not-too-sweet caramel.