Haytaliyeh - Vegan Lebanese Milk Pudding

Haytaliyeh is a solid creamy milk pudding from Tripoli, Lebanon, however some claim it to be from Aleppo and that too would make sense (I have Syrian in my blood line too) so my ancestors and those who migrated to Lebanon could've brought it with them.

But I am no expert on the origin, all I know is - thank you Mum for another great recipe you made us as children.

Haytaliyeh is pronounced as hay-ta-lee-yeh. And is very similar to muhalabia except that it is normally served cold and is a jelly-solid rather than a runny pudding.

Haytaliyeh is generally served with ater (simple syrup) and mastic booza (Lebanese ice cream) but a good quality vanilla ice cream is equally as good.

Now I am trying to be good and reduce my sugar intake, so I am eating it with banana (nice-cream would be fabulous too) and maple syrup.

Some people love to enjoy haytaliyeh for breakfast, another breakfast recipe to look at is quinoa flakes breakfast porridge. It's a nourishing bowl of yum.

Lebanon boasts a great many milky puddings or just milky desserts. I have also shared rice pudding (Riz Bi Haleeb). This recipe has a lovely floral flavour.

🥘 Ingredients

• 1 litre Almond milk
• 240 g Raw Sugar
• 100 g Cornstarch (corn flour in Australia)
• 1 tbsp Rose water*
• 1 tbsp Orange blossom water
• 100 ml Cold water

🔪Cooking Instructions

Dissolve cornflour in cold water by whisking, set aside

In a pot over medium heat, add in almond milk, dissolved cornstarch, raw sugar, rose water, orange blossom water and continuously whisk without stopping. Whisk until thick and gloopy avoiding lumps

Pour milk pudding into desired glass baking tray

Allow to completely cool down at room temperature

Once cooled, cover with glad wrap and place in the refrigerator until solid

Cut up into desire cubed sizes and serve with desired toppings.

💭Recipe Tips

Putting cornflour into cold water and dissolving it will ensure there are no clumps. Whisk it thoroughly using only enough water to dissolve the cornstarch

I did make a version of vegan haytaliyeh using oat milk, the taste was great but the colouring was gray. If you decide to use your preferred plant milk, be aware the colour will vary.

Serving it; as mentioned earlier you can serve it with ice-cream, fruit, nuts and a drizzle of ater (simple syrup) or maple syrup. Generally you can cut it into the desired sized cubes and put it in a bowl (I used a flat plate to illustrate how it should look)

Use your desired glass tray, a square/rectangular one is easier (yes I used a round one) to cool haytaliyeh in (a glass tray makes it easier to cut up with a knife and a spatula to pull out the squares)

Allow haytaliyeh to full cool down at room temperature before covering and placing in the fridge

Allow it to fully firm up in the fridge, it should be firm enough to cut up into cubes

Depending on your sweet tooth, you can add more or less sugar. Traditionally white sugar is used, but raw sugar is fine (the colour is slightly darker).

⏲️Cooking Time

Continuous stirring the haytaliyeh milk pudding contents is a must, otherwise the cornstarch will clump up and stick to the bottom of the pot (even though we dissolved the cornflour prior to heating up) This will take 15 minutes, give or take.

📋Other Recipes

Here are some of my other favourite vegan Lebanese desserts;

• Similar to this recipe is sahlab, a thick sweet Middle Eastern milk drink or creamy muhalabi.
• Meghli - Spiced pudding
• Walnut filled pancakes
• Lebanese Baklava a light golden flaky pastry filled with nuts
• Sfouf Lebanese turmeric semolina cake - a stunner of a cake, bright and golden, perfect for with coffee & tea.

Recipe