Umm Ali / Om Ali / Egyptian Dessert / Middle Eastern Cuisine

Umm Ali, an Egyptian dessert you can whip up at home effortlessly and make it look as if it just arrived from the royal palace. Gem studded!!

All thanks to my friend Rafee of The Big Sweet Tooth for tempting me badly sometime back with Umm Ali. I must also thank you for the shout out on Facebook for my Page. The otherwise little stumped page has gained momentum of late. Thought I will begin the year with gratitude to all my readers and blogger friends. Hope you all will continue to shower some love this year too.

  My love  for Middle Eastern cuisine translated into a full course meal during the Holiday Season here in Nov. Though I have tried Chicken Shawarma , Ma'amoul (dates cookies) etc many times earlier this time my plan was an elaborate meal. I shall post all the recipes on the blog so do stay tuned. Please allow this sweet lover :)) to start with that day's dessert first.

   
I usually walk around at home with desserts on my shoulder like a street hawker :)))....often coaxing which later turns to pleading to finish up before it goes bad... the response is most often a cold stare as if I asked them to share their laptop or ipad for some time. How humiliating ..I know:)))) ... but to my surprise I must tell u this dessert was much sort after esp my husband got little upset when the dessert got over so soon.
I usually make Bread & Butter Pudding which I love (so I have no worry who will finish up) I must say adding puff pastry really elevates the taste makes it top notch dessert.

Ideal crowd pleasing dessert to take for potluck parties.

Ingredients:
Store bought puff pastry sheets( 1 pack): 2 sheets come in a pack use both (instead of one sheet I used 4 -5 slices of plain old bread / use croissant if u have )
Dry desiccated Coconut - 1/4 cup or as per taste
Mixed dry fruits and roasted nuts - Around 2 1/2 -3 cups
( Pistachios, cashew nut, walnut, pecans, raisins (black & golden) ,cranberry,apricot etc.. use pine nuts too if u like. )
Sweetened condensed milk - 1/2 tin (if u skip this use 1/2 cup sugar instead)
Whipping cream - 1/2 cup
Milk- 1 1/2 cup
Water- 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder -of 3 pods (use cinnamon powder -1/2 tsp instead)

Method:
1. Bake puff pastry as per pack instructions until fully puffed. If using bread let it become crisp and dry like rusk by putting it in the oven ( if using puff pastry and bread like me let the bread  dry out in the oven heat after baking puffs.)

2. Mix milk ,condensed milk whipping cream and water and the flavoring powder (cardamom / cinnamon). Pour it into a pan and heat until just warm.

3. Break the puff pastry into small pieces also the bread into a large bowl
Grease a 8 x 8 baking dish with some butter on the bottom and sides and spread half the puff pastry &bread bits on the bottom spread half the coconut and dry fruits mix(chopped roughly if u like).
spread the rest of the  puff pastry on top.

4. Pour the milk mixture on top with disturbing the whole thing too much make sure the top is soaked well.

5. Bake it at a preheated oven at 350 F for 30 minutes until the top is brown and most of all the liquid dries up. When the baking is 90 percent done sprinkle the rest of the dry fruits and nuts on top so they won't burn and taste bitter and look brown.

Allow the dessert to cool down for 10 minutes .Serve it warm or at room temperature .

We loved it with a generous scoop of sweetened condensed milk.

Hope you will give this recipe a try.
Meena

Sending Umm Ali to Rafeeda 's blog event