Moghli (meghli), is a humble spiced vegan rice pudding topped with soaked nuts and desiccated coconut. This easy and delicious Lebanese dessert is naturally sweetened.
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Moghli is said as ‘meghli’ in the Lebanese accent. It is the word for ‘boiled’ in Arabic. Pronounced as megh-lee.
Moghli is a Lebanese dessert typically reserved for special occasions such as heralding a newborn or Christmas.
This spiced rice pudding is made for the new mother as it is believed to help with the milk production via the spices within; cinnamon, caraway and anise.
Pre-soaked nuts also assist with digestion and a boost of protein, the same concept as eating soaked almonds.
For guests who are visiting the newborn and mother, you can expect to be served this wonderful Lebanese dessert.
😋Why you’ll love this recipe
- Very flavoursome
- It’s a gluten-free dairy free dessert
- Made with simple ingredients
- Free from processed sugar
✔️What You’ll Need
🥘Ingredient Notes
Nuts - generally a combination of walnuts, almonds*, pistachio and pine nuts* are used.
You can however choose to only use the ones you prefer. Use only raw nuts with not flavourings.
These should be soaked overnight, in particular walnuts and almonds. I recommend if you are using whole pistachios to overnight soak these in water, if you are using chopped pistachio you can add these without soaking.
All soaked nuts should be peel free - see pro tips below.
Spices - a combination of caraway* and cinnamon* is an excellent flavour in itself, you can also add anise seed. These spices are ground. Either purchase ground up or use a spice grinder to grind whole seeds. Do not skimp on the spices as they are the star flavouring.
Maple syrup* - this Lebanese dessert normally calls for white sugar, however, I have substituted this.
🔪How to Make Moghli
Step 1 - Place all nuts in separate soaking containers, fill with water, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Step 2 - Combine all dry ingredients in a pot.
Step 3 - Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk through.
Step 4 - Turn heat on medium and whisk continuously until it thickens. Once thickened, turn off the heat and immediately pour into individual serving glasses (see notes). Allow these to cool down to room temperature.
Step 5 - Add a layer of desiccated coconut and nuts on top. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate. Serve cold.
🍳Variations
- Sultanas - if you like the taste of sultanas (currents or raisins*) you could add this to the topping
💭Pro Tips
- Almonds - for larger almonds* - separate the two halves. For smaller almonds use as-is (as per video) You can purchase already peeled whole almonds or almonds with skin. If purchasing with skin, these will easily come off once soaked
- Walnuts - these can be difficult to peel, just peel as much as you can.
- Toppings - the amounts can be adjusted to suit
- Consistency - meghli should be thick but pourable whilst it is warm (as per video). As it cools down it will thicken considerably and set into a pudding. Sometimes cracks will form on the skin, this is normal and will be covered by the coconut and nuts.
- Cooking - Avoid bringing this rice pudding to a hard boil. Continuous stirring is required as rice flour thickens very fast and will clump if there is no motion
- Pouring - prepare the individual glass vessels before cooking, this will help you to work quicker with pouring. Fill each vessel ¾ full to allow for toppings.
- Serving - when serving meghli, the toppings are integral to the overall dessert and must be substantial but not overwhelming.
FAQ
Meghli stores in the fridge for approx. 4-5 days. Ensure that each portion is covered to avoid it drying out.
🥘Related recipes
Some other gluten free dairy free puddings that might interest you;
- Muhallabi - milky ground rice pudding
- Riz Bi Haleeb - whole rice grains in milk pudding
- Haytaliyeh - milky pudding
Did you enjoy this Lebanese spiced rice pudding known as making moghli (meghli)? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a rating. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk.
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Janelle x
Creamy Moghli Lebanese Dessert (Meghli)
Ingredients
Pudding
- 1 cup Rice flour
- 1½ cups Maple Syrup
- 1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon Ground caraway
- 1 tablespoon Ground anise optional
- 5 cups Water
Toppings
- ½ cup Almonds raw
- ½ cup Pistachio raw
- ⅓ cup Dessicated coconut
- 2 cups Water
Instructions
Toppings
- Place all nuts in separate soaking containers, fill with water, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Pudding
- Combine all dry ingredients in a pot.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk through.
- Turn heat on medium and whisk continuously until it thickens, approx 20 min. Once thickened, turn off the heat and immediately pour into individual serving glasses (see notes). Allow these to cool down to room temperature.
- Add a layer of desiccated coconut and nuts on top. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate. Serve cold.
Video
Notes
- Almonds - for larger almonds - separate the two halves. For smaller almonds use as-is (as per video) You can purchase already peeled whole almonds or almonds with skin. If purchasing with skin, these will easily come off once soaked.
- Walnuts - these can be difficult to peel, just peel as much as you can.
- Toppings - the amounts can be adjusted to suit
- Consistency - meghli should be thick but pourable whilst it is warm (as per video). As it cools down it will thicken considerably and set into a pudding. Sometimes cracks will form on the skin, this is normal and will be covered by the coconut and nuts.
- Cooking - Avoid bringing this rice pudding to a hard boil. Continuous stirring is required as rice flour thickens very fast and will clump if there is no motion
- Pouring - prepare the individual glass vessels before cooking, this will help you to work quicker with pouring. Fill each vessel ¾ full to allow for toppings.
- Serving - when serving meghli, the toppings are integral to the overall dessert and must be substantial but not overwhelming.
- Muhallabi - milky ground rice pudding
- Riz Bi Haleeb - whole rice grains in milk pudding
- Haytaliyeh - milky pudding
Equipment
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
Leslie S
Mmm, I absolutely love this! What a great mix of spices. I found the almonds and pistachios complimented the rice pudding better than the walnuts, but perhaps that’s just personal preference. I recommend buying blanched (skinless) almonds. I soaked mine for two nights and still had trouble peeling them. Overall, this recipe has wonderful warming flavors and is easy to make.
Janelle
Hi Leslie,
So glad you enjoyed this meghli recipe and that's a great tip 🙂
Have a lovely day.
J
Angel
First time making anything like this. The flavor in this is wow. I'm making this next month with a new baby on the way in the family. Thank you Janelle
Dimmi
I could not help myself, I made this, no celebration. Love the taste. I added extra nuts
Janelle
Yay! I love extra toppings too. Pistachio and coconut. yum!