Tasty Muhallabeya or Cornflour Pudding

Muhallabeya (Cornflour Pudding) is a traditional North African recipe for a chilled cornflour (cornstarch) dessert flavoured with lemon, orange water, almonds and pistachios. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic North African dish of Muhallabeya. Typically it is decorated with a mix of almonds and pistachios, but toasted almonds can also be employed for this purpose.

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
• about 4 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
• 700ml full-fat milk
• 2 tbsp orange flower water
• 1/2 tsp freshly-grated lemon zest
• 50g mixed blanched almonds and pistachios

Method

1. Using a bowl combine the cornflour and sugar then blend to a smooth paste with a little of the milk. Bring the remaining milk to a boil in a pan then add a little to the cornflour mixture and stir to combine.
2. Now add the cornflour mixture to the remaining boiled milk in the pan. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
3. Take off the heat and stir-in the orange flour water and lemon zest. Pour in a serving dish and allow to cool until a skin forms on the surface. Scatter the nuts over the top then set aside until cold. At this point cover the bowl and chill until cold.
4. Serve cold.

(Source: celtnet.org.uk)