Khailmag

Ingredients

Cream

• 800 gurum, clotted cream
• or 800 ml double cream
• reduced to a thick clotted state

To thicken

• 150 gplain flour
• 150 gsugar
• or to taste

To add

• 150 graisins
• 50 gchopped dried fruit, optional
• a pinch of salt

To serve

• warm, in small bowls
• suutei tsai, salted milk tea
• boortsog, fried dough
• at Tsagaan Sar and for guests

Directions

1. Flour, sugar and raisins are worked into it. It is made by cooking urum until the butterfat separates. Flour is stirred into the separated fat. Raw floury taste means it needs longer. Heat whole milk gently in a wide pan. Do not let it boil at any point.
2. Hold it warm for a long time on the heat. A thick skin forms on the surface. Lift that skin off with a slotted spoon. Repeat it over several heatings. Reduce it down first to thicken it. Put the clotted cream in a heavy pan. Use a wide pan with a thick base. Warm it over a low to medium heat.
3. Let it melt down slowly and gently. A thin pan scorches the milk solids. Let it bubble steadily over the heat. Stir it regularly with a wooden spoon. Give it about twenty-five minutes. Keep cooking after the fat has separated. The solids need to brown properly.
4. Stir them constantly at this stage. Take them to a deep golden brown. Sprinkle the flour over the hot mixture. Stir it in thoroughly and quickly.
5. Keep stirring for a good five minutes. The flour must lose its raw taste. Taste a little to check for rawness. Stir the sugar into the hot mixture. Let the sugar dissolve completely. Add a pinch of salt along with it.
6. Adjust the sugar to your own taste. Stir the raisins through the mixture. Let them warm and soften in the heat. Give the raisins about five minutes. Add a splash of milk if it is too stiff.
7. Cook it longer if it is too loose. Serving it is done warm in small bowls. Spoon it out while it is still warm. Serve suutei tsai alongside it. It keeps for a week refrigerated. Warm it gently to soften it again.

Technique

• The cream is deliberately cooked until the butterfat splits out, which in most cooking would be a failure but here is the whole point: the clear fat rises and the milk solids beneath brown and caramelise, giving the nutty toasted flavour that defines the dish.
• Urum is the Mongolian clotted cream, made by heating fresh milk slowly and repeatedly and lifting off the thick skin that forms, collected over several days; it belongs to the tsagaan idee, the white foods, which carry real ceremonial importance.
• The flour must be cooked in the separated fat for a good five minutes until it smells toasted and nutty, since a raw floury taste means it needs longer; and the milk solids catch and burn easily once the fat has separated, so stir constantly at that stage.

Substitutions

• Double cream reduced down stands in for urum, though the cooked flavour differs.
• Chopped dried fruit can go in alongside or instead of the raisins.

Variations

• The sweetness varies considerably between households.
• Some cooks add more flour for a stiffer set and others keep it loose.
• It appears at Tsagaan Sar alongside the other white foods.

History

Made by cooking down urum clotted cream until the butterfat separates, then thickening it with flour and sugar.

Frequently asked questions

What is Khailmag?

Khailmag is a dessert from Mongolia: caramelised clotted cream cooked with flour, sugar and raisins. Made by cooking down urum clotted cream until the butterfat separates, then thickening it with flour and sugar.

How long does Khailmag take to make?

Khailmag takes 15 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Khailmag?

Yes, within limits. Double cream reduced down stands in for urum, though the cooked flavour differs. Chopped dried fruit can go in alongside or instead of the raisins.

What is the most important thing to get right in Khailmag?

Flour, sugar and raisins are worked into it. It is made by cooking urum until the butterfat separates. Flour is stirred into the separated fat. Raw floury taste means it needs longer. Heat whole milk gently in a wide pan. Do not let it boil at any point.