🍮 Muhallebi
Muhallebi is a smooth milk pudding thickened with cornstarch, lightly sweetened and scented with rose water. It sets into a soft, silky cream that is served chilled in small bowls, usually finished with a sprinkle of chopped pistachios. It is a classic dessert across Turkey and the Arab world.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 700 ml milk
- 70 g sugar
- 45 g cornstarch
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 20 g pistachios, chopped
Method
- Whisk the cornstarch into 150 ml of cold milk until smooth.
- Heat the remaining milk with the sugar until steaming.
- Pour in the cornstarch mixture and stir constantly over medium heat for 5–7 minutes until thick.
- Remove from heat and stir in the rose water.
- Pour into bowls, cool, then chill at least 2 hours; top with pistachios.
How to make it lighter
- Use semi-skimmed or skimmed milk for a lighter pudding.
- Cut the sugar to 40 g — rose water keeps it fragrant.
- Measure the pistachios: about 10 g per bowl is enough for crunch.
History
Its Arabic name is muhallabiyya, and milk puddings of this kind are known from both medieval Arab and Ottoman kitchens. Today muhallebi is sold in pudding shops in Turkey and made at home throughout the Middle East.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →