Muhalabia (المهلبية)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium heavy saucepan, 2 to 3 liter
• •Whisk
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Six 120ml small glasses or beldi bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Bloom the saffron

   Take 2 tablespoons from the measured milk and warm it until just hot to the touch. Rub the saffron threads lightly between your fingers into the milk and leave them for 10 minutes, until the milk turns yellow-gold and smells floral. Powdered yellow dye has no place in this pudding.

   The saffron needs warmth and a little time to open. Drop dry threads straight into the pot and you lose half of what you paid for.
2. 2

   Make the slurry

   Pour 200ml of the measured cold milk into a bowl and whisk in the cornstarch until completely smooth. Cold milk matters: cornstarch clumps when it meets heat dry, and those little lumps stay with you.

3. 3

   Warm the milk

   Pour the remaining milk into a medium heavy saucepan with the sugar and salt. Warm it over medium-low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and tiny bubbles gather around the edge. Whisk in the bloomed saffron milk.

4. 4

   Thicken gently

   Whisk the cornstarch slurry once more, then pour it slowly into the warm milk while whisking. Cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, scraping the bottom and corners of the pan, until the pudding coats the spoon and a line drawn through it stays clean. Let it make small lazy bubbles for one full minute so the starch tastes cooked, not chalky.

   Do not chase a hard boil. The milk catches fast at the bottom, and the pudding will thicken more as it chills.
5. 5

   Perfume off heat

   Take the pan off the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon orange-blossom water. Smell it. If your bottle is quiet, add another teaspoon or two. La balance est dans les yeux, and here it is in the nose too. Pass the pudding through a fine sieve into a jug if you want it especially smooth.

6. 6

   Pour and chill

   Pour the pudding into 6 small glasses or beldi bowls. Tap each one gently on the counter to settle the surface, then let them cool until no longer hot. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until softly set and cold all the way through. It should tremble when moved, not stand like a block.

7. 7

   Finish at serving

   Just before serving, scatter the toasted almonds over the cold puddings and dust with a little cinnamon. Serve with small spoons, mint tea if you like, and one extra glass ready for whoever arrives late.

Chef Tips

• •Use whole milk. Lighter milk will set, but it tastes thin and the perfume has nothing soft to rest on.
• •Bloom saffron threads in warm milk before they meet the pot. With saffron, as with ras el hanout, you don't cheat.
• •Orange-blossom water varies from bottle to bottle. Start with 1 tablespoon, then smell and taste. Too much turns soapy, too little disappears.
• •Cornstarch needs that last quiet minute of bubbling or the pudding tastes chalky. Stop once it coats the spoon; the cold will finish the setting.
• •Garnish at the end. Almonds soften in the refrigerator, and cinnamon stains the surface if it sits too long.

Advance Preparation

• •Make muhalabia up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator.
• •Add almonds and cinnamon only just before serving.
• •Do not freeze it. The milk and starch separate after thawing, and the texture breaks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 190g)