Moroccan · Dessert
Mhalbi (Orange-Blossom Rice-Flour Pudding)
Mhalbi is a delicate, wobbling milk pudding set with rice flour and perfumed with orange-blossom water, chilled and finished with cinnamon and chopped nuts. Cool and lightly sweet, it is a favourite Ramadan dessert to make ahead and pull cold from the fridge after iftar, soothing after a day of fasting.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
- 1 litre milk
- 80 g rice flour
- 80 g sugar, to taste
- 2 tbsp orange-blossom water
- Ground cinnamon, to finish
- Chopped pistachios or almonds, to finish
Method
- 1
Slake the rice flour
Whisk the rice flour into about 250 ml of the cold milk until completely smooth.
- 2
Heat the milk
Warm the remaining milk with the sugar in a pan until steaming but not boiling.
- 3
Thicken
Pour in the rice-flour milk, whisking constantly, and cook over low heat until it thickens to a smooth custard, about 8–10 minutes.
- 4
Perfume
Stir in the orange-blossom water off the heat.
- 5
Chill and finish
Pour into cups or a dish, cool, then chill until set and top with cinnamon and chopped nuts before serving.
Chef's tips
- Whisk constantly while it thickens; rice-flour puddings turn lumpy the instant you stop stirring.
- Add the orange-blossom water off the heat so its fragrance isn't cooked away.
- Make it several hours or a day ahead — it needs time in the fridge to set to a clean wobble.
Frequently asked questions
Is mhalbi the same as muhallabia?
It is the Moroccan take on the wider Levantine muhallabia family; the defining Moroccan touch is the strong orange-blossom perfume and cinnamon finish.
Can I use cornflour instead of rice flour?
Yes; cornflour gives a similar set with a slightly silkier texture. Rice flour gives the traditional, faintly grainy body.