Muhallebi

Name: Muhallebi
Prep time: 22 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 142 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Levantine
Ingredients: 4 cups milk; 1/2 cup sugar; 5 tablespoons cornstarch; 1 tablespoon Orange blossom water or rose water; 3 tablespoons ground pistachios; 1 tablespoon dried rose petals

Silky milk pudding with orange blossom water, chilled with a pistachio and rose topping — the calmest and quickest dessert.

Vegetarian

Cooking time: 2 hr 22 min
Hands-on time: 22 min
Free time: 2 hr
Difficulty: Easy
Cuisine: Levantine
Calories: 430
Contains: Nuts, Dairy

When the family is craving something sweet and time is short, muhallabia is the answer, a recipe centuries old: milk, cornstarch, sugar, and ten minutes. Its silky coolness with orange blossom water is enough — and the pistachios on top are the perfect finish.

Before you start

Before you beginRead the steps completely, measure the ingredients, and prepare the tools before turning on the fire or oven.
Heat and restingPrepare the ingredients precisely and allow the dessert time to cool or set before cutting.

Ingredients

6people

Amounts follow the number of people

To prepare muhallabia

4 cups milk — Full-fat and refrigerated until ready to use
1/2 cup sugar — fine white
5 tablespoons cornstarch — Sifted, then spooned lightly into the cup
1 tablespoon Orange blossom water or rose water — Add gradually until the texture is right
3 tablespoons ground pistachios — For the top
1 tablespoon dried rose petals — For decoration — optional

When doubling the quantity, use two molds of the same size instead of one deep mold, and maintain an even thickness for cooking.

Equipment

Heavy-based pot — Milk catches easily on a thin base.
Hand whisk — Constant stirring as the cornflour goes in is what prevents lumps.
Serving glasses — Poured in hot and chilled for two hours.

Method

Dissolve the starch in a cup of cold milk and stir until it disappears completely.
3 min
You’ll know it’s ready when
The mixture is smooth and white with no grains, and it falls from a lifted spoon in a single stream.
Tip: Cold milk is a must — starch in hot milk clumps up immediately.
Place the remaining milk and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
6 min
You’ll know it’s ready when
You don't feel any sugar granules on the bottom of the pot, and the milk is hot with a light steam rising from it without boiling.
Tip: The heavy pot prevents the milk from burning at the bottom.
Lower the heat, and gradually add the starch mixture while stirring continuously.
2 min
You’ll know it’s ready when
No lump floats to the surface after the entire mixture is added.
Tip: Pour with one hand and stir with the other — adding it all at once creates lumps.
Continue stirring over low heat until the mixture thickens.
6 min
You’ll know it’s ready when
It coats the back of the spoon, and if you run your finger over it, the mark remains clear and does not run.
Tip: Do not lift it too early: the texture looks thin while hot and thickens considerably after cooling.
Remove it from the heat, add the orange blossom water, and pour it into the glasses immediately.
5 min
You’ll know it’s ready when
The surface is smooth and bubble-free — gently tap the glass on the table to make the bubbles rise and burst.
Tip: Add the orange blossom water off the heat: heat drives off its scent.
Chill it in the refrigerator, then garnish with pistachios and rose petals just before serving.
2 hrYou can walk away
You’ll know it’s ready when
It has set and wobbles when the glass is moved, and the top is completely cold.
Tip: Decorate it just before serving, not hours before, so that the pistachios remain crunchy.