EGYPT
Um Ali
30 minutes
6 people
Easy
The recipe for Um Ali is centuries old. There are several stories about the origins of the recipe. One of the stories is quite gory, so we will spare you that one. Another story is a bit more plausible. An Egyptian sultan was hunting in the Nile Valley. He became hungry and stopped in a nearby village to eat. The locals arranged for him the best cook in the village, Umm Ali ('Ali's mother' in Arabic). She prepared this pudding and the sultan liked it so much that it became a national dish, named after its maker.
Preparation
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Grease the baking dish with butter.
Coarsely chop the nuts.
Step 1: Bake the puff pastry sheets
Cover the baking tray with the sheets of puff pastry and bake them in the oven for about 5 minutes until golden brown.
Let the sheets cool.
Step 2: Heat the milk
Pour the milk, sugar and 125 ml whipped cream into a pan and bring to the boil while stirring.
In the meantime, go to step 3, but keep a close eye on the milk and stir occasionally.
Step 3: Make the base
While the milk is boiling, break the puff pastry sheets into pieces. Not too big and not too small.
Place the broken pieces as a base in the greased baking dish.
Sprinkle the nuts with raisins and ground coconut over the puff pastry. Save a few nuts for garnish at the end.
Step 4: Make the filling
Pour the boiled milk over the nuts in the bowl.
Tip from Jacqueline: Pour the remaining whipped cream over the mixture, so that the top will brown well.
Place the baking dish in the oven for about 15 minutes. But keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. Once the top is brown, it is ready to serve.
Step 5: Serve the Um Ali
Let the Um Ali cool down for a while.
Sprinkle the remainder of the ground nuts on top.
This dessert can be eaten hot or cold, but Jacqueline told us that it tastes best warm.
Ingredients
For 6 people:
Ingredients
5 sheets of puff pastry;
Approx. 100 grams of nuts of your choice (such as pistachio, almonds, walnuts, peanuts)
50 grams of raisins (approx. 50g);
50 grams of coconut grater (approx. 50g);
125 grams of sugar
500 ml semi-skimmed milk (whole milk or soy milk is also possible)
200 ml whipped cream (packet not a spray can)
Butter for greasing
Supplies
Oven dish
Baking tray
Want to get in the mood? Here a music suggestion!
Bil hana wa shifaa! ('Enjoy your meal!')
