Recipe courtesy of Chef Ramzi  The Culinary Heritage of Lebanon, Arabic edition. (adapted)

Super easy pudding made with mango nectar and milk; just heat up some mango nectar, add some sugar and when it steams add some cornstarch previously diluted in water; a dash of lemon juice is always good with mango otherwise the taste is dull.

Milk pudding is a classic one in Lebanese cuisine and is called muhallabiyeh; for added richness, add some cream or kiri cheese or a can of ashta or clotted cream found in middle-eastern stores.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of milk
• 2 Kiri cheese squares or 1/2 cup of cream
• 8 tablespoons of cornstarch, divided between puddings
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water
• 1 teaspoon of rose water
• 2 cups of mango nectar
• 2 or more tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/2  cup of sugar (or more)
• 
  

METHOD:

1. Make the milk pudding first: dilute the cheese or mix the cream with most of the milk, reserving 1/4 cup to dilute the cornstarch in; add the sugar and heat up till steaming; add the cornstarch diluted in a bit of milk and stir for a couple of minutes until thick; add the flavoring and stir; cool and refrigerate till thick.
2. Do the same operation with the mango nectar, adding the sugar and lemon juice then cornstarch diluted in water.

NOTE: If the mango pudding is too runny, do the following: heat it up in the microwave until it reduces by a third or so. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, place in a saucepan, add the cornstarch and lemon juice, stir while it is steaming; it should thicken in one or two minutes. Add a flavoring if you wish. Pour through a strainer into individual custard cups on top of the thickened and cold milk pudding. Cool and serve cold.

You know what happens when you mindlessly grab a box of dried apricots at the market and stare at it once home? A few days later, you make a pudding. At least, that’s my reflex. When in doubt, make a pudding!

In the Lebanese kitchen, puddings  are thickened with starch; gelatin is not used; so here is a pudding of apricots, pistachios and milk called muhallabiyeh in Arabic; with a caramel sculpture, for fun.

I am going to list the ingredients and explain the -extra easy- method of making a Lebanese pudding. You will never have to worry about eating something rubbery or heavy.

INGREDIENTS: For the apricot pudding

• 12 ounces of dried apricots
• water
• one cup of sugar (or more, to taste)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• a generous handful of pistachios ( can use pine nuts instead, or  nothing!)
• 1 1/4 cup of cornstarch

For the milk pudding: (recipe can be multiplied)

• 2 generous cups of whole milk (or lower fat, if you like)
• 3 tablespoons of sugar (or more, to taste)
• 2  heaping tablespoons of cornstarch
• flavoring: a teaspoon of orange blossom water, rose water, or vanilla; some crushed mastic if you like.

METHOD:

1. Place the dried apricots in a bowl, cover them with water (one inch over the top of the fruits) and let them soak in the water for one or two days, refrigerated.
2. Transfer the apricots and their water into a pot, add more water if needed and cook on a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes or until the apricots are soft ( check by piercing with a fork). While the apricots are simmering, add the sugar and add the lemon juice at the very end, stirring a bit.
3. Transfer the apricots to a blender and puree for a minute or two until smooth. You should have 32 ounces or 500 ml.
4. Retransfer to the pot, and heat the mixture; while it is heating, dilute the cornstarch in a cup of water. AS  SOON as the apricot mixture starts steaming, add the cornstarch and armed with a wooden spoon or a whisk, start stirring continuously until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and place the pot on a flat surface; Take a large sieve and a large bowl and pour it into the sieve to strain it and get it as smooth as possible. Pat it with the spoon to help it through.
5. Throw a handful of pistachios in the apricot mixture and stir to distribute them evenly. Set aside. If not using right away, you can keep it in the fridge for a couple days.

NOW YOU CAN WAIT TO MAKE THE MILK PUDDING UNTIL THE NEXT DAY OR THE DAY AFTER!

1. Place the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat and add the sugar, stirring till melted.
2. Dilute the cornstarch in a bit of milk or water. When the milk mixture starts steaming, add the cornstarch mixture and stir continuously until thickened. Add the flavorings at the end, stirring all the while.
3. Pour the milk pudding through a strainer into a bowl (or easier yet, a bowl with a spout).
4. Start dividing the milk pudding onto the apricot pudding bowls or verrines.

TO MAKE THE CARAMEL GRAFFITI: Recipe from Nick Malgieri, light desserts

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 cup of sugar
• parchment or wax paper as needed

METHOD:

1. Place the water, sugar and corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Stir and heat till all is dissolved. Use a brush dipped in water to go around the circumference of the pan to make sure no sugar remains stuck to the walls of the pan.
3. Cook the syrup until the color turns golden-brown or amber.
4. Remove from heat and to stop the cooking, place the pan in the sink in a little water; be careful, it will sputter! Leave it only a few seconds.
5. Lay a large piece of parchment paper on a metal cookie sheet; using a spoon, take bits of caramel and thrown into the paper in an up-and-down motion, going one way and then the other way; sprinkle some nuts on top if desired.
6. Let the caramel cool, then cut with scissors or your fingers the shape of your liking and insert in the pudding right before serving. The caramel will keep in a tight container in the fridge for a few hours or in a metal box for a few days.

A recent article in the New York  Times about Beirut, with a photo of Tawlé, Kamal Mouzawak’s restaurant-kitchen.

Commercial kitchens from Milan to Sydney to Singapour to Dallas are serving Panna Cotta these days. I get the impression that most chefs the world over think that Italy is where the mediterranean starts and ends!

I wish they would serve what we call ashtaliyeh. Ashta is the word for cream in Arabic and ashtaliyeh is the pudding derived from it; a bit deceiving, because it does not contain cream!

This is a very creamy pudding, without any cream! It is thickened with cornstarch which avoids the rubberiness that comes from gelatin; it is nearly unsweetened and served with a syrup on the side. Flavorings are traditionally orange blossom and rose water and mastic.

This is a recipe from a Lebanese chef  and restaurant owner in the UK, Hussien Dekmak. It is an extra rich recipe that adds some cream cheese spread such as Kiri to the pudding; optional, since the pudding can just as easily be made with milk alone.

Time to make?  figure on less than 10 minutes; however, it needs to cool and firm up  in the fridge, preferably overnight.

INGREDIENTS :

Ashtaliyeh:

• 1  pint of milk (500ml)
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 75 g of Kiri (the equivalent of 5 small packages, 1/2 ounce each or 15 g); can substitute any cream cheese spread; OR skip it!
• 3 pebbles of mastic-optional-
• 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water and 1 teaspoon of rose water

For the syrup: (You will most likely have some leftover, which is fine, it will keep for several weeks in the fridge)

• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• a squirt of lemon (about a teaspoon)
• a teaspoon of orange blossom water, a teaspoon of rose water

To garnish the ashtaliyeh:

• A couple of tablespoons of pistachios, ground in a mortar with a pinch of sugar

METHOD:

1. Heat the milk, sugar and cheese (if using) over medium heat, stirring to dissolve both the sugar and cheese. Take the cornstarch and dissolve in 1/4 cup of cold water or milk. As soon as the milk mixture starts steaming, add the cornstarch and keep stirring nonstop for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens.
2. Add the mastic, the orange blossom and rose water, stir for 30 seconds or so and remove from the stove.
3. Pour the pudding mixture through a strainer into a bowl or measuring cup, pushing it through with a spoon to get it as smooth as possible.
4. Pour into several ramequins. Cool on the counter and then chill in the fridge overnight.

How to use the mastic:

The mastic or miskeh (in Arabic) is sold in middle-eastern groceries; it is imported from Greece. The store where I shop keeps it under lock and in small jars. It comes in tiny pebbles. It needs to be ground up in order to be mixed into the pudding in the last minutes of cooking. My method was to grind it in a tiny marble mortar with a pinch of sugar until powdery and throw the lot into the milk mixture; the problem is that this method leaves a residue of mastic in the mortar.

Another method which was recommended by Peter from kalofagas.ca is to freeze the mastic for a minimum of two hours (I would keep the jar in the freezer); then place the pebbles between two sheets of plastic wrap and pulverize them with a rolling pin. He claims this method uses up every last speck of mastic.

Khabeessa was first brought to my attention by Leila, who left a comment asking if I knew about it; well, I did not. Just like moufattaka, it is a dessert that is specific to the Sunni communities in Beirut. Beirut, Ras Beirut to be exact (the part of the city that is on the west side, facing the mediterranean) was originally a town inhabited by a majority of sunnis and greek- orthodox families, with a sprinkling of greek- catholics, sephardic jews, druze and other confessions. Each community coexisted and had its own traditions. I never tasted khabeessa growing up, so I was eager to try it!

I got the recipe and instructions for it from Hajj Makari and Hashem, who also make it to order. Basta  (01) 643 423 and from the book Al-helwayate al-arabiya wal-gharbiya, Sima Shbaro.

It is  a jelly, thickened with wheat starch, flavored with rose water  and mastic and  studded  with walnuts.

IF YOU LIKE LOUKOUM, YOU WILL LOVE IT!  Its  sweetness is offset by the crunch of the walnuts. It has an opalescent appearance and a diaphanous texture.

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will yield 6 servings

• 3/4 cup of wheat starch
• 1 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 1/2 cups of water
• 1/4  teaspoon of ground mastic (optional) or miski (grind the pebbles with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar)
• 250 g of walnuts, peeled and chopped coarsely
• 1 Tablespoon of rose water

METHOD:

1. Place the walnuts in a bowl and cover with water. Let them sit in the water for at least 30 minutes, then rub the skins off with your fingertips. Remove and pat dry on paper towels.
2. Place the water and sugar and starch  in a heavy-bottomed pan  and stir continuously until the mixture boils.
3. Cook and stir for a few minutes until it starts to thicken.
4. Add the mastic previously ground with a pinch of sugar. Keep stirring for a few more  minutes.
5. Add the chopped walnuts and the rose water and keep stirring until thickened even more.
6. Pour into shallow serving bowls or a large serving dish if you wish to  cut in small squares. Cool in the refrigerator. When the khabeessa is cold it will be easy to cut in squares.

Today, I checked  the stalls of the greengrocer down the street. I saw some lychees and got tempted. Then a magazine laying around Maxi-Cuisine had a recipe for gelée de rose et lychées, so I got busy for a few minutes in the kitchen. This  is a  very light and delicate-tasting and  a very feminine dessert;   I am sure it won’t garner  any masculine interest. Tant pis! (OH well!) The recipe in the magazine uses gelatin but I prefer cornflour (or cornstarch).

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) rose water syrup (can substitute a sugar syrup with one tablespoon of rose water flavor and a few droplets of pink food coloring if desired)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch diluted in 1/4 cup water
• 20 lychees (can substitute 1 or 2 cans)
• 1 teaspoon of rose water flavor

METHOD:

1. Pour the rose water syrup in a pan and add the water and stir a bit.
2. Peel the lychees and cut the fruit in two or three pieces and drop the pieces in the rose water mixture.
3. Heat the lychees and rose water until steam appears.
4. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir for a few minutes till it thickens. Add a teaspoon of rose water (optional)
5. Pour the pudding into individual goblets. Garnish with more lychees and  some pistachios.

This is a very traditional pudding. It is usually served when a son is born into a family or  a girl  if following many sons. Yes, I know,  coming from a society that was and to a large degree still is, unabashedly sexist. Never mind! This is an excellent and exotic dessert if you are looking to serve something different that can be prepared calmly in advance and  can be served to children because it is healthy. It contains no eggs and no cream and is thickened by rice flour. Rice flour is available in middle-eastern grocery stores and Asian stores; it  can be made at home by pulverizing medium-grain rice in a food processor until it becomes powdery;  just make sure to use starchy rice like Italian, or sushi or Turkish or Egyptian rice. I find it a lot easier to buy it ready-made in a bag; OR, if you wish to, you can buy a meghli mix at the middle-eastern grocer, in a box. The mix will have all the spices incorporated and will only require you to add water and cook the mixture.

The spices used here need to be respected if you want to recreate the traditional dessert. They consist of ground caraway, ground cinnamon and ground anise, with the caraway being the dominant spice. I heard that the spices were recommended to give to mothers after childbirth because they would make them strong!

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will yield 4 to 6 servings

• 100 g of rice flour
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 liter of water
• SPICES:  5 grams of ground cinnamon, 5 grams of ground anise, 10 grams of ground caraway
• Garnishes: Some shredded coconut;  some pine nuts, some walnuts, some pistachios ( soaked in water for a couple of hours and peeled)

METHOD:

1. While I was preparing the meghli, Mrs. Rebeiz, a longtime friend of my mother’s, stopped by to pay her a visit. She is a fantastic cook of traditional Lebanese cuisine; she gave me this tip: Soaking the rice flour in water in the morning before cooking the meghli will allow the rice particles to swell up and will help make a smoother pudding and reduce the risk of lumps. OK, great idea! Soak the rice in 1/2 liter of water for 2 or 3 hours before starting the pudding.
2. Soak the nuts in water and a bit of orange blossom water (thank you Leyla!)
3. Mix the sugar and spices in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Boil the one liter of  water in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Mix the rice and 1/2 liter of water mixture with a wire whisk and add to the boiling water. Reduce the heat to medium and stirring constantly, gradually add the sugar and spices.
5. Keep stirring until the rice mixture thickens, about 45 minutes to one hour.
6. Pour into a large serving platter or individual bowls to cool.
7. Garnish with some shredded coconut and a medley of nuts.

NOTE:

Some people like to use a pressure cooker to make meghli. Personally I think the long stirring is part of the fun! But if you are pressed for time, then by all means use the pressure cooker.

The word meghli means “boiled”; so I figured because you are boiling the pudding for a long time, the name is fitting!

It is now served at all celebrations and holidays. It is especially served at Christmas in Christian communities because it celebrates the birth of Christ.

Translated into English, this dessert is called: Bread of the Sultan’s palace or seraglio. The sultan referred to is the Turkish one, from the Ottoman period and the seraglio is a reference to the harem’s quarters. I am told that this dish is Lebanese which makes sense considering Lebanon was under Ottoman rule for four hundred years.  When you taste this dish, you will understand why the name is so fitting. The bread is doused and cooked in a caramel syrup until it is totally imbibed in syrup, the clotted cream or ashta sits majestically on top of the bread and one bite will make you wish you lived in the Sultan’s palace  among  the cadines (wives of the Sultan) or kalfas ( ladies in waiting)

Incidentally, I read a book called De la Part de la princesse morte, by Kenizé Mourad (tran. From the departed princess), that had a lasting impression on me. It is a true story written by the daughter of an Ottoman princess and recounts the last years of the Empire, the exile of the imperial family to Beirut and the marriage of the princess to an Indian Maharajah and her subsequent escape to Paris. A fascinating story that I read several times until this past summer when it really hit a personal note; I became friends with one of my dad’s nieces whose mother had been Turkish. This niece revealed to me that her grandmother had been the cousin of this Ottoman princess (whose book the story is about) and that she had in her possession a trunk full of letters, diaries and mementos from the Ottoman family!

This dessert is simple to make and although rich it has neither  eggs nor butter; the components can be assembled at different times and the dish prepared a few minutes before serving. It is usually prepared and served for a party in a large platter but I wanted to tailor it to individual servings instead.

I consulted Anissa Helou’s book Lebanese Cuisine for the recipe, but adapted the quantities; and for good measure, I also consulted Nada Saleh Seductive Flavours of the Levant, who uses a  slightly  different technique.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 round loaf white bread or 20  slices sandwich bread, crusts cut off (use the bread crumbs if you are making individual servings, it is easier to manage)
• 9 ounces sugar (1 1/4 cups)
• 4 ounces water
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water
• 1 tablespoon of rose water
• 2 cups of ashta (recipe follows) OR ricotta cheese (whole-milk or light version)
• 1 cup or more of pistachios

METHOD:

Preparing the bread:

1. If you are using a whole bread, you will cut off the crust on all sides and place the bread in a pan that fits its size. The thickness of the bread should be about one inch (2 1/2 cms) If you are using sandwich bread, use a food processor (or your hands) to obtain small pieces or medium-sized crumbs and place in the dish of your choice.
2. Place the sugar, water and fresh lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 15 minutes stirring,  until the caramel takes on a pretty golden-brown color.
3. Right before the caramel takes on that color, boil around one cup of water in a teakettle nearby. When the sugar is the color you want, place the saucepan in the sink, and while holding your face safely away from the pan, start adding very slowly the boiling water. Be very careful to avoid getting burned.
4. If using a whole bread, place the bread in the pan and cook it in the caramel until the caramel is absorbed. If using breadcrumbs, place them over the caramel and let the breadcrumbs absorb the caramel and cool, cooking them if necessary over low-medium heat, or in the oven till absorbed.

Preparing the clotted cream:

Homemade clotted cream or ashta:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups half-and-half or a mixture of milk and whipping cream
• 2 slices of sandwich bread
• 2 heaping  tablespoons of  cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons orange blossom water and 2 teaspoons rose water

METHOD:

1. Cut off the crusts of the bread and cut in small dice or pieces.
2. Place the half-and-half and the bread on medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
3. After about 10 minutes, the bread will have dissolved into crumbs and started melding into the cream. Continue stirring until it is steaming. At this point, add the cornstarch and water mixture and stirring constantly let the mixture thicken for one or two minutes. Add the flavored waters and stir about 30 seconds more.
4. Cool the ashta.

Fast and easy method using ricotta cheese :

METHOD:

1. Add to the ricotta cheese the orange blossom water and the rose water, beating slightly with a fork. Use as you would the clotted cream. Use 2 cups of ricotta cheese.

FINAL ASSEMBLY OF THE DISH:

1. Place the caramel-soaked bread (or crumbs) in the dish or ramequins that you selected, tapping gently to even out the top surface.
2. Cover the bread with a generous layer of cream or ricotta cheese. Place in the fridge for thirty minutes or so.
3. Cover the top creamy layer with finely chopped pistachios. Do not substitute any other nuts, if you want to stick to the traditional dessert.
4. Serve.

How would you like to eat a sort of crème brulée, but without the sinful calories, cream, egg yolks, and such?  This is a simple semolina pudding made up of semolina, milk, a bit of sugar, and flavored with orange blossom. That’s it! You can make it stylish by adding a couple teaspoons of brown sugar on the top and  caramelize it under the broiler. Then it will look  and taste like a creme brulée, in a much lighter version. Comforting and creamy and fragrant with orange blossom. It takes a few minutes to make.

The recipe is adapted from 280 recettes de cuisine familiale Libanaise from Fayez Aoun. This dessert is called in Arabic lekmat al helwa, which means “the morsel of the pretty girl”. I streamlined the recipe; enjoy!

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will serve 4 and up to 6

2 cups of milk

1/3  cup of fine semolina

1/4 cup of  sugar

2  teaspoon  of orange blossom water

4 teaspoons of brown sugar (for the crust)

METHOD:

1. Place the milk and sugar  in a saucepan and heat. Mix with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar.
2. When the milk mixture  starts to steam, add the semolina, and stir continuously until the mixture thickens. This should take less than 5 minutes.
3. Add the flavoring (orange blossom water preferably) and stir for a few more seconds.
4. Immediately pour the semolina pudding into small oven-proof containers. Let it cool.
5. About one hour (or longer) before serving, preheat the oven 350F and place in the oven to bake 10 minutes or so.  Two minutes before the 10 minutes are up, cover the surface with brown sugar and caramelize under the broiler until the surface is bubbly and melted.
6. Serve cold  or at room temperature.

NOTE:

Caramelizing the brown sugar is a last-minute step. It will melt in the fridge and leave a not-so-appetizing brownish liquid on top. If you want to make them ahead of time, just pull out of the fridge and put under the broiler right before serving!

Love apricots! However, I have not had good luck with the  fresh  apricots sold in supermarkets. They  are so often bland and pasty that I stopped buying them.  I remember my excitement the first time I found the amardeen of my childhood in a middle-eastern store…  we used to tear off pieces and  lick them slowly.. This was an after-school snack, our Levantine fruit roll-up!  Manufactured in Syria with apricots that come from the Ghouta  region near Damascus, this apricot leather is to me the best! Very intense apricot flavor, with the tanginess that makes it so irresistible.

My mom  would  prepare a pudding from the amardeen that she would decorate in a very artsy way using pine nuts, almonds and pistachios. Easy to make. Delicious. With extra  benefits: apricot is a remedy for anemia, as it is iron-rich. It is a gentle laxative, rich in Vitamin A and calcium and good for the eye and heart.

None of the cookbooks I had even mentioned this recipe, until I found it in The Arab Table, by May S. Bsisu. She calls it mohalabia kamar el deen, which is fitting since, just like the traditional mohalabia it is thickened with cornstarch and flavored with sugar and rose and orange blossom waters. Mrs. Bsisu also suggests combining both the traditional milk-based mohalabia and this amardeen pudding, one layer on top of the other. I love the idea, especially since in Lebanon they make an orange pudding and pour it on top. I prefer the tangy taste of apricots on top of milk.

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will serve 6 to 8 people or more if you use smaller goblets.

1 Large package of Amardeen (about 500g or 1 lb)

4 cups of water

1/2 cup of sugar or several tablespoons of syrup (atr) (or more, to taste)

6  heaping  tablespoons of cornstarch

1 Tablespoon of orange blossom water, 1 Tablespoon of rose water (or more, to taste)

To garnish:

1/2 cup of almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, or any other nut that you like to use

METHOD:

• The night before: Cut the amardeen in large pieces and cover them with water. Leave it overnight and even a day longer in the fridge.
• The next day, puree this mixture in a blender till it is smooth. If you wish, strain it by running it through a sieve into the pot, but I personally don’t find this step necessary. However, it is a good idea to keep track of how many cups you end up with, to calculate how much thickening agent you are going to need. You should have about 6  cups.
• In a large pot, pour the apricot puree, add the sugar  and stir to dissolve.
• Dissolve the cornstarch in  some water and add to the apricot mixture once it starts steaming. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Keep stirring for about 3 minutes and then pour the mixture, this time through a sieve, into a container with a spout.
• Divide the pudding into small goblets or one large platter.

Decorate the surface of the pudding after it has set with a medley of nuts. Sahteyn!

NOTE:

If you feel like combining milk and apricot flavors, prepare the muhallabia first. Use the same quantities as for the apricot.

4 cups of whole milk (or lowfat)

1/2 cup of sugar

6 Tablespoons of cornstarch

1 Tablespoon of orange blossom water and rose water combined

METHOD:

1. Place 3 cups of  milk and the sugar in a saucepan. Mix the one cup of remaining milk with the cornstarch in a separate little bowl.
2. Heat the milk and sugar till it steams. Now add the cornstarch and stir till it bubbles and thicken, a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Add the blossom and rose water and stir for a few seconds. Pour through a strainer into the serving bowl or bowls.
3. Let it cool at room temperature and then refrigerate.

NOTE: It is always possible to thicken more if the pudding is not getting as thick as you like by adding, one tablespoon at a time of cornstarch diluted in a bit of water. Wait for the mixture to thicken then add the cornstarch and stir constantly until thick. Pour through a strainer into the goblet.