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Home » Desserts

Mahalabia Milk Pudding

Published: Aug 22, 2024 by Janelle Hama *This post may contain affiliate links. Disclosure

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I always love preparing Muhalabia, a cold and silky milk and rice flour pudding that can be easily made with just a few ingredients. This popular Arabic dessert is adored by everyone that eats it.

Muhallabi in three bowls with pistachio and rose petal garnish
Muhallabi is creamy heaven

Lebanese people adore their muhalabia as it is a quick go-to Arabian dessert that takes about 10 minutes to make and has a delightful fragrant sweet flavor.

It is also known as muhalabi, muhalabiyeh, mahalabi, mahalebi depending on the country and region and can be found across the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.

Traditionally made with full cream milk, this version is a creamy vegan milk pudding, similar in texture to panna cotta or creme caramel (if using cornstarch, but I usually reserve this ingredient to make haytaliyeh).

Normally, this milk pudding is enjoyed as a cold dessert after dinner in our family, but feel free to indulge in it anytime you like. It is reminiscent of Lebanese rice pudding.

Key Ingredients

Muhalabi ingredients

The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.

I always made muhalabia with full cream milk, but in the last few years following a plant-based diet, I now make this as a vegan pudding using a dairy-free milk, usually organic almond milk. The one thing I have noticed with the different plant milk is the coloring, so experiment with different kinds of milk until you find one you like. 

A white rice flour is dissolved into the milk to achieve the thick creamy texture, which is usually sweetened with white sugar, however, I have used turbinado sugar (raw sugar) instead of white as it is less processed.

Another opportunity to use rice flour in a sweet pudding is moghli, which doesn't include any milk.

These next few ingredients might be new to you, mastic is a plant resin that has a unique fresh flavor, this is a legendary ancient ingredient used across the Middle East, Greece and Turkey.

If you can’t get your hands on mastic, just leave it out, but I do recommend it, whilst I have linked to it so that you can buy it online, it is normally found at the counter of your local Middle Eastern/Mediterranean grocer. I also use it to make sahlab, a warm milk drink.

As the name suggests, orange blossom water and rose water are made from flowers and contribute a very delicate floral flavor. I adore these ingredients and always buy the Cortas brand in a duo pack, my pantry isn’t complete without them.

If you prefer not to include both mastic and the blossom waters, replace them with vanilla.

Garnishes

Typical Arabian garnishes include dried rose petals, crushed pistachio or a dusting of cinnamon. You could also opt for coconut shavings, or your favorite fruit - fresh or preserve.

Or for extra sweetness, top it with a sugar syrup.

muhalabi garnish ingredients

Janelle's Tips

Stirring the rice flour through cold milk before heating helps to eliminate lumps, ensuring this cold milk pudding is lump-free.

A continuous stir is required as this milk dessert starts to heat up. If there is no constant movement, the rice will clump into lumps at the bottom of the pot. Stirring also helps to avoid burning at the bottom.

Do not bring to a hard boil at any point, it should simmer only.

lebanese vegan milk pudding muhalabia before garnish
Muhalabia before adding garnish

Storage

As muhalabia is a chilled dessert, I like to pour it straight out of the pot and into individual portions, then wait until they cool down to room temperature before covering them with cling film and keeping them in the fridge for up to a week.

When it comes to serving I pull the portions out of the fridge and garnish as per the suggestions above.

muhallabi in a bowl with pistachio and rose petal garnish

Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.

Recipe

Muhallabi in three bowls with pistachio and rose petal garnish

Muhalabia Milk Pudding

Muhalabia, a creamy and sweet Arabic milk pudding made with rice flour, is a quick-to-prepare cold dessert perfect for any occasion.
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

  • 4 cups Milk I use almond milk, use what you like
  • ½ cup Rice flour or corn starch
  • ½ cup Sugar up to ¾ cup, I use raw sugar
  • 1 pinch Mastic crushed and powdered (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon Orange blossom water or up to a tbsp
  • 1 teaspoon Rose water or up to a tbsp

Garnish

  • 1 Pistacchio crushed (optional)
  • 1 Rose Petals dried (optional)
  • 1 Ground cinnamon
Metric - US Customary
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Instructions

  • In a cold pot, mix the almond milk and rice flour until well combined.
    stir through rice flour in almond milk
  • Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the sugar and stir continuously until it fully dissolves.
    Once the mixture thickens, turn off the heat. Stir in the mastic for 30 seconds, then add the orange blossom water and rose water, stirring for another minute.
    muhllabi in a pot
  • Pour the mixture into individual serving cups and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Garnish with rose petals, crushed pistachios, or cinnamon before serving cold.
    muhallabi with garnish in 3 bowls

Video


Notes

Prep time doesn't factor in cooling period.
4-8 servings. Depending on your individual-sized portions, anywhere from ½ - 1 cup.
 
 

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 93mg | Potassium: 388mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 400IU | Vitamin C: 0.05mg | Calcium: 311mg | Iron: 0.2mg

N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.


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Comments

    5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Jan

    July 15, 2021 at 12:04 pm

    5 stars
    Very creamy for a vegan muhalabia recipe. This is going on the regular list.

    Reply

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