Mahalabia
مهلبية·(muh-hal-uh-bee-yah)
Asrouniyeh: Afternoon Hospitality & Sweets
You pour a quart of whole milk. You drag a wooden spoon. You wait for the exact second the cornstarch catches. Mahalabia is a deceptively simple milk pudding that will scorch the second you look away. You need mastic—a tiny, golden resin that imparts a faint piney perfume and a luxurious, velvety texture that cornstarch alone can never achieve. Fortified with heavy cream to mimic the raw, rich milk of the homeland, these are the cold, fragrant bowls we scraped clean on humid Beirut afternoons. The scent from a bottle of orange blossom water means guests are arriving and something sweet is setting in the fridge, finished with a scattering of crushed pistachios on top.
Ingredients
- whole milk3 cup
- heavy whipping cream1 cup
- cornstarch1/2 cup
- granulated sugar1/2 cup
- mastic gum4 small
- granulated sugar1/2 tsp
- orange blossom water1 tbsp
- rose water1 tsp
- unsalted shelled pistachios1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Pound the mastic gum with the half-teaspoon of sugar into a fine powder.
Mastic is a sticky resin that will glue itself to your mortar if ground alone. The sugar acts as an abrasive, breaking the tears down into a fine, easily dissolvable powder.
- 02
Whisk the cornstarch into one cup of cold milk to create a smooth slurry.
This is the primary grandmotherly secret to a silky pudding. Never add dry cornstarch to a hot pot, or the exterior will gelatinize instantly and create stubborn lumps.
- 03
Heat the remaining milk, cream, half-cup of sugar, and pulverized mastic in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Place the pot over medium heat, whisking gently to dissolve the sugar. Let it heat until it is steaming and just beginning to simmer, but do not let it reach a vigorous boil.
- 04
Pour the cold slurry into the steaming milk while whisking continuously in one direction.
Stirring in a single direction ensures the starch swells evenly. Continue cooking over medium heat for five to ten minutes until the mixture thickens into a heavy custard and large bubbles breach the surface, then remove from the heat.
- 05
Stir in the orange blossom and rose waters strictly off the heat.
Boiling floral waters destroys their delicate fragrance and can impart a bitter taste. Adding them away from the flame preserves their bright, essential oils.
- 06
Pour the pudding into individual cups, cool to room temperature, and chill.
Allow the cups to sit on the counter for about twenty minutes. Once the steam dissipates, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate for at least four hours to set. Generously garnish with crushed pistachios right before serving.
From Cook Lebanese in America.