Every autumn, when Georgia's grapes are pressed for wine, some of the fresh juice is boiled down into badagi, a thick, concentrated grape juice. Thickened with flour and stirred until glossy, it becomes pelamushi, a deep purple pudding set in bowls and topped with walnuts. The same mixture, poured over strings of walnuts and dried for days, becomes churchkhela, the long candles of grape and nut that hang in every Georgian market. Pelamushi is the home version, ready the same day.

It tastes intensely of grapes, with a texture somewhere between a set custard and a firm jelly, and it is naturally free of eggs, dairy and, with nothing more than juice and flour, almost everything else. It is a simple, striking end to a Georgian meal and a fitting one for any race in grape harvest season.

The pudding

Ingredients

• 8 cups (1.9 liters) 100 percent dark grape juice
• 1 1/3 cups (170 g) all purpose flour
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon

Method

1. Pour the grape juice into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil steadily, uncovered, for 35 to 45 minutes, until reduced by half. Skim off any foam. Pour off 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) into the bowl and let it cool; keep the rest in the pan.
2. Sift the flour into the cooled juice in the bowl, whisking constantly, until there are no lumps. Pour it through the sieve to be sure.
3. Bring the juice in the pan back to a simmer over medium heat. Pour in the slurry in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Switch to the wooden spoon and stir without stopping for 8 to 12 minutes, scraping the bottom. Taste and stir in sugar and cinnamon if you like.
4. Rinse the bowls with cold water and leave them wet. Pour in the hot pudding and smooth the tops. Cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 2 1/2 hours.

The walnut topping

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (50 g) walnut halves

Method

1. Toast the walnuts in the dry skillet over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan often. Let cool and break into pieces.

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