UMM ALI!

Umm Ali, a Egyptian dish is my contribution to Meeta from "what's for lunch honey" blog's Monthly Mingle "Arabian Nights" event this month.Thanks for hosting Meeta.



My Arabian adventure:
When I starting surfing the net for a Arabian dish,I chanced upon this Egyptian dessert which seemed like a cross between Bread pudding and Baklava! Besides, the addition of all those nuts,sweetened coconut and Cinnamon made it irresistible to me.I thought Umm Ali it is and the story behind this dish also made me curious.When I took my first warm bite with a scoop of cold Vanilla Ice Cream ,YUM! My daughter said "it tastes like Heaven mommy"!!What more proof do you want, eh?:D
(Recipe from here with some of my changes)


A little story of Egyptian "Umm Ali" dessert:
"The apocryphal story of Umm 'Ali is that it was invented during the reign of the Ottoman Turks. One day while hunting in the Nile delta, the sultan developed a ravenous appetite and stopped in a small village. The peasants wished to please the sultan, so the best cook of the village, Umm 'Ali , pulled out a special pan and filled it with the only ingredients she had around: some dried wheat flakes (perhaps stale broken pieces of gullash, a phyllo-like pastry), sultanas, nuts, and coconut. She covered it with sugar and milk and put it into the village's oven. It was so good that the sultan asked for Umm 'Ali 's dessert the next time he visited. Another story is related by Charles Perry, a food writer for the Los Angeles Times: Umm 'Ali was a pudding learned from an English nurse named O'Malley!"(Story from here)

Umm Ali or "Ali's mother":

I made this dessert with half the recipe that is one sheet of Puff pastry(You can use Phyllo pastry too) and half of all the ingredients shown in the recipe below.It serves six people easily.If you want more ,you can follow the following recipe exactly.Have fun!:)


You need:



1 pack of Puff pastry(17 ounces),1 14 oz can of Fat-free sweetened condensed milk,1 cup milk,4tbsp each of pistachios chopped,walnuts chopped,almonds or any nuts or any amount you like, 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes,1 tsp Cinnamon pd and 2 tbsp of golden or dark raisins.


How to make Umm Ali:


Pre heat oven to 400F.Spread the puff pastry on a foil on a baking sheet,bake for 15 mins or until puffed.Take out and cool.Turn down the oven to 350F.Cut the Pastry into 3-4" strips,cut into squares,and then into triangles.Arrange these in a oven proof dish.




Sprinkle nuts,coconut flakes,half tsp Cinnamon pd and raisins in that order.In a bowl,mix condensed milk and milk,heat in the Microwave for a minute.Mix well and pour over the dish evenly and sprinkle the rest of the Cinnamon pd.



Put it in the 350F oven and bake it for about 30-40 mins or until it is bubbly and the pastry golden on top.Do not burn,you can cover it with the foil for the first 15mins and then remove it to prevent burning.Cool it to thicken the sauce and serve. You can warm a piece in the Microwave and serve warm with cold Vanilla Ice cream.



Here is a plate for you!



Tastes very good, Ali's mom rocks!!:D