Mahalabiya

Ingredients

The pudding

• 1 litrewhole milk
• 80 gcornflour
• 120 gsugar
• or to taste
• a pinch of salt

To flavour

• 2 tablespoonsrosewater
• 1 tablespoonorange-blossom water
• or rosewater alone
• a pinch of ground mastic, optional

To top

• 80 gpistachios, chopped
• a little ground cinnamon
• dried rose petals, optional
• sugar syrup, optional

To serve

• chilled, in small bowls
• or in glasses
• with Arabic coffee

Directions

1. Bring it to a simmer and hold it there. Cornflour can also be cooked too long. Add it gradually and taste as you go. Too much makes it taste soapy.
2. Chop them rather than grinding them. Put the cornflour in a small bowl. Add about two hundred millilitres of the cold milk. Whisk it into a smooth thin paste. It must be completely smooth first. Whisk it thoroughly before it goes in.
3. Pour the rest of the milk into a heavy pot. Add the sugar and the salt to it. Warm it gently over a medium heat. A thin pan burns it on the bottom. Use a pot larger than you think you need. Never walk away from a milk pot on the heat. Pour the slurry in very slowly. Whisk it hard as you pour it in. Keep whisking until it is all in. Whisk continuously through this stage.
4. Bring it back to a bare simmer. Let it cook for about three minutes. Stir it constantly the whole time. Stir right into the corners each time. Do not stop stirring at any point. Taste a little to check for rawness. Cook it on if it still tastes starchy. Flavouring it is done off the heat.
5. Take the pot right off the heat. Stir in the rosewater gradually. Add the orange-blossom water with it. Add the mastic if you are using it. Taste it well as you add them in. Pour it through a fine mesh sieve. Pour it into small bowls or glasses. Cooling it down takes some care. Let them cool to room temperature.
6. Press film onto the surface to prevent it. Give them at least four full hours. Adjust the cornflour next time if needed. Scatter chopped pistachios over each bowl. Dust a little cinnamon over them.
7. Add dried rose petals if you have them. Serving it is always done cold. Take them straight from the refrigerator. Serve Arabic coffee alongside them. It keeps three days refrigerated. Add the nuts only when serving.

Technique

• Cornflour must be mixed to a smooth slurry with cold milk before it goes near the pot, since dry cornflour tipped into hot milk lumps at once and those lumps never break down; it also does not thicken properly until it reaches a simmer, and prolonged boiling breaks the starch down so it thins again.
• The pudding is loose when hot and sets firm only as it chills, so do not judge the set while it is warm; it needs at least four hours in the refrigerator and preferably overnight.
• Rosewater brands vary enormously in strength, so add it gradually off the heat and taste as you go; too much makes the pudding taste soapy, which is the commonest fault with it, and heating drives the aroma off.

Substitutions

• Rosewater alone works where orange-blossom water is unavailable.
• A pinch of ground mastic gives the piney aroma used in some Gulf versions.

Variations

• Some versions have sugar syrup poured over and others are left plain with just nuts.
• It is set in individual bowls across most of the region, though a single dish works.
• Muhallabia across the Levant and Turkish muhallebi are the same idea.

History

Milk pudding thickened with cornflour, scented with rosewater and topped with pistachio.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mahalabiya?

Mahalabiya is a dessert from Qatar: rosewater milk pudding topped with pistachios. Milk pudding thickened with cornflour, scented with rosewater and topped with pistachio.

How long does Mahalabiya take to make?

Mahalabiya takes 10 minutes plus chilling of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mahalabiya?

Yes, within limits. Rosewater alone works where orange-blossom water is unavailable. A pinch of ground mastic gives the piney aroma used in some Gulf versions.

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

Chop them rather than grinding them. Put the cornflour in a small bowl. Add about two hundred millilitres of the cold milk. Whisk it into a smooth thin paste. It must be completely smooth first. Whisk it thoroughly before it goes in.