It is a milk pudding made with rice flour and almonds and scented with rose water. I knew it first at the wonderful Turkish restaurant that flourished in Bendigo when I lived there in the 80's and 90's. We went there often and this was always my dessert.
I found a recipe some years ago, (Tess Mallos, Middle Eastern Home cooking, she found it in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan) but I have only now managed to make it.
I changed her recipe to strain out the almond meal, which gives the smooth beautiful texture of the dessert I remember.
Traditionally served with pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top, I found it goes beautifully with raspberries and would work with many other fruits.
MUHALLABIA
3 cups milk
3/4 cup ground almonds
Mix and bring gently to the boil. Leave to cool a little and squeeze out as much liquid as you can through muslin.
Bring the milk back to heat and add:
1/4 cup of rice flour blended with 1/4 cup of milk
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup castor sugar
Stir over a medium heat until bubbling gently. Let it cook for a few minutes. Keep stirring so it doesn't stick.
Remove from heat.
Stir in 1 tbsp of rosewater.
Pour into a bowl or bowls. I wet the little bowls so that it could tip out, (that is how it was served in my Turkish Restaurant) but it works fine to serve it set in bowls or spooned out from a large one. Let it get cold in the fridge before you serve it though! It is so delicate and delicious! Enjoy!
