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Mouhalabieh
Orange blossom milk pudding
Muhallabiyeh: silky milk pudding scented with orange blossom
Mouhalabieh is the pudding a Lebanese grandmother makes when guests drop by unannounced: milk set softly with cornflour and a little rice flour, perfumed with orange-blossom water and topped with chopped pistachios. It appears after Ramadan iftar meals, at Christmas in Beirut and on ordinary weeknights in Damascus, always cold and wobbling in small glasses or a shallow dish. No gelatine is used; the starch alone gives a spoonable, silky set. Chef's tip: mix the cornflour into cold milk before it meets the heat; added to hot milk it forms lumps that no amount of whisking removes.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 1 litre whole milk
- 1 ⅝ oz cornflour
- ⅞ oz rice flour
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp orange-blossom water
- 1 tsp rose water (optional)
To serve
- 1 oz pistachiosfinely chopped
- 2 tbsp sugar syrup or rose petals (optional)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Pour 200 ml of the 0.2 litre whole milk into a bowl and whisk in 1 ⅝ oz cornflour and ⅞ oz rice flour until completely smooth.
Step 2: Put the rest of 0.8 litre whole milk and 3 ½ oz sugar in a heavy pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and the milk is steaming, with small bubbles at the edge, about 6 minutes.
6 minStep 3: Whisk the starch mixture again and pour it into the pan, whisking constantly. Keep stirring over a medium-low heat, reaching into the corners, for 8–10 minutes, until the pudding thickens and coats the spoon so a finger drawn across leaves a clean line. Leaving the pan unstirred is the common mistake: it catches and tastes scorched.
10 minStep 4: Keep it at a gentle bubble for 2 more minutes to cook out the raw starch taste, then take off the heat and stir in 1 ½ tbsp orange-blossom water and 1 tsp rose water.
2 minStep 5: Pour into 6 small glasses or a shallow dish. Cool for 20 minutes, then cover and chill for at least 3 hours, until set and cold.
20 minStep 6: Scatter over 1 oz pistachios and drizzle with a little 2 tbsp sugar syrup or rose petals just before serving.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mouhalabieh take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
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