Halawet Al Riz is delicious – full stop! Bring the flavors of the beautiful city of Tripoli in Lebanon to your kitchen with this cheesy rice pudding that we call Halawet El Riz; in Lebanon, people don’t typically prepare it at home. you will find it in pastry shops such as “Al Hallab & Sons”. “Halawet Al Riz” is a one pot dessert that is similar to halawet ek jibn but with less to clean up, though it takes patience and a bit of stovetop skill to make it but the results will bring rave reviews when done right, it is so flavorful.
A few readers asked for the recipe, and I had to test it a few times to get the best result —yes, my aim here on this blog is to provide reliable recipes that help you cook and bake with confidence. Nothing earns the stamp of approval unless it has been vetted by team of taste testers (yes it is me, my husband and friends)! As Ramadan approaches, you may be looking for special desserts to keep you going throughout your dawn-to-dusk fasts. This is something extraordinary for your guests that will literally blow them away, yes, it is a great Ramadan dessert that never fails to impress.
Tips and tricks to consider!
Rice Flour!
- Rice flour is a fine flour you get from grinding raw rice to a fine powder. It is ready available in health food stores or even local grocery stores, It is used in both sweet and savory baked goods. Unlike wheat flour, you can make your own at home! Start by measuring out 2 cups of short-grain rice like Arborio rice or Egyptian rice. Rinse the rice thoroughly under running cold water to remove impurities, then spread the rice out on kitchen paper towels and allow to dry out for 1 hour, this will help to achieve a finer flour texture. Transfer it to a highpower blender or food processor, and grind in batches, until it reaches a powdery consistency. Measure the needed amount in the recipe and store the rest in an airtight container for later use.
Flavor enhancers: mastic and orange blossom water
- This sublime dessert gets its deep Middle Eastern flavors and aromas from a combination of mastic gum and orange blossom water, lending it a lovely hint of sophisticated floral taste.
Cheese!
It is a straight forward pudding; the only tricky part is to ensure that your cheese is perfectly melted.
- Avoid using pre-packaged shredded cheese as it often contains additives that can prevent proper melting.
- Choose the right cheese: Not all cheeses are created equal when it comes to melting. Opt for cheeses that have good melting properties such as Tchiki Akkawi or mozzarella, though I gravitate more to Tchiki Akkawi for its flavor, but still mozzarella is great for stretchiness. These types of cheeses have higher fat content and lower moisture, which makes them melt smoothly. Akawi cheese is a type of Middle Eastern cheese that is commonly used in a wide variety of sweet and savory dishes. It is heavily salted and need to be soaked to get rid of its saltiness, use the best quality you can find, the best substitute would be mozzarella cheese, and rememer that the quality of cheese will definitely affect how the final taste of halawit al riz is.
- If you are using Tchiki Akkawi cheese then it needs to be desalted since it is loaded with salt for preservation. Cut the cheese into squares, cover with water and soak it for 8 hours, changing the water every 1 hour to reduce its saltiness. Skip this step if you are using mozzarella!
- Add the cheese at the right time: Timing is crucial when it comes to melting cheese in “Halawet Al Riz”. Wait three minutes after cooking the pudding before adding the cheese. If you add the cheese too early, it may become grainy or separate. If you wait too much the pudding will cool and the cheese will not melt. Make the pudding as mentioned in the recipe, remove from heat, wait exactly three minutes , then gradually add in the shredded cheese and stir gently until it melts and integrate with the pudding.
Cornstarch
Cornstarch here plays as a thickening agent that helps “Halawet Al Riz” reach the desired glossiness and thickness.
Halawet Al Riz / Sweet Cheesy Rice Pudding
Description
This is not the classic rice pudding recipe most people know, but it is something a little bit more dense with a hint of sophistication coming from the cheese, great on its own, but accompanying it with ashta (Lebanese clotted cream and sugar syrup (atter) will take the "Halawet Al Riz" to another level! Use good-quality cheese, whether Akkawi or mozzarella, for best results. Add this to your Ramadan playbook!
Equipment
- Pot
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 heaped tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon mastic gum crushed with a pinch of sugar using a mortar and pestle
Make the ashta (cream filling):
- Place the milk heavy cream, cornstarch and mastic in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture boils and thickens. Set aside, cover with a piece of parchment paper to prevent a skin from forming on top. Leave to cool down completely.
Make the sugar syrup
- Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
Instructions
- If you are using Akkawi cheese, you need to desalt it. Cut the cheese into squares, cover with water and soak it for 8 hours, changing the water every 1 hour to reduce its saltiness. If you are using mozzarella cheese skip the soaking step and shred the cheese.
- With a mortar and pestle crush the mastic with a small pinch of sugar.
- In a bowl, combine together the rice flour, sugar and crushed mastic.
- Transfer water to a heavy based stainless steel pot and bring to a boil.
- Add the rice flour and sugar mixture and whisk well over high heat; once the mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to low and whisk until the mixture thickens a bit.
- Hold the pan handle with the left hand, a whisk in the right hand. and whisk for further 10 minutes allowing the rice to cook, make sure stir well to avoid scortching. keep it constantly in movement on the bottom of the pan so that as much as possible of its volume is exposed to the heat. Gradually add the diluted cornstarch and now use a wooden spoon or spatula keep on stirring and folding for further 12 to 14 minutes until you receive a thick translucent pudding.
- Add the orange blossom water, give a quick stir and remove from heat. Set aside for 3 minutes then add the cheese and stir well to homogenize the cheese with the pudding. Timing is crucial when it comes to melting cheese in “Halawet Al Ri”. Wait three minutes after cooking the pudding before adding the cheese. If you add the cheese too early, it may become grainy or separate. If you wait to much the pudding will cool and the cheese will not melt so, remove from heat, wait exactly three minutes , then gradually add in the grated cheese ; stir gently until it melts completely. Spread it to a large shallow bowl or to individual plates. Serve it cold.
Notes
Halawet Al Riz is great on its own, but for a more dramatic taste serve it with Ashta (Lebanese clotted cream), and sugar syrup (atter) recipe below! Or even with my Lebanese milk Ice
Ashta
sugar syrup (atter)
To assemble the Halawit Al Riz
Spread a layer of Halawit Al Riz on a plate and use the back of a spoon to spread it to the desired thickness. Add a generous dollop of ashta (Lebanese clotted cream) on top, garnish with crushed pistachios and drizzle the sugar syrup, sublime! Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
