Um Ali أم علي

Literally, Um Ali means the mother of Ali but in the culinary world, Um Ali is a traditional Egyptian dessert that was named after the lady who invented it. Basically, it consists of crushed bread pieces mixed with crushed nuts, covered in sweetened milk and topped with cream. It’s, then, baked into a sweet bubbling concoction with a golden face and often garnished with more crushed nuts. It’s served warm when the flavors are at their peak. The recipe I used comes from the famous Egyptian Chef Osama Alsaid and here is the youtube clip.

Note: He is demonstrating two recipes in this video, don’t be confused when you see him adding rice to the milk. It’s a different recipe.

The best type of bread for this dessert is croissants or puff pastry because of the butter content of those breads. Puff pastry is found in the freezer section and it usually comes in a large rectangle or smaller squares. I used puff pastry because I already had some in the freezer but for those of you who like to save time croissants works wonderfully in this dessert.

Allow the puff pastry to thaw completely at room temperature by leaving it on the counter for thirty minutes.

When the puff pastry is ready, cut it into squares if you are using the large rectangle. Mine was pre-cut and this is how it looks like.

Gently roll out the squares and pierce with a fork. Don’t roll it out too much, just give it a gentle pull. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. You don’t need to grease the baking sheet since the dough has plenty of butter and it wouldn’t stick to the baking sheet.

Here is how it will look when it is out of the oven.

You will see that it has a flaky texture and a buttery flavor. Crush the baked dough in a large bowl forming small pieces.

Nuts are a basic element and a variety are used. You don’t need to measure just add as much or as less as you like. I used desiccated coconut shreds, shredded almonds, pistachio pieces and walnuts. I left all the nuts as is except for the walnuts which I crushed with the flat of palms.

Mix them together in an oven pan and place in the oven for few minutes to bring out the flavor and give it some color.

Since this must be served warm, you may go ahead and do the previous steps ahead of time and keep them covered until forty minutes before serving since the rest is mainly assembly and oven time.

Place four cups of milk and a cup of sugar in a medium heavy saucepan. Bring to high heat and let the milk come to boil.

Meanwhile, place the crushed puff pastry in the small to medium ramekins depending on your desired serving size. I used three different sizes since I didn’t have enough. You may also use one large deep baking dish and serve it in bowls after baking. Personally, I think personal dishes are best for this since the soft texture makes it difficult to style for presentation after being scooped out of a big dish.

Fill about half of each dish with the flaked pastry.

Top with nuts.

Cover the nuts with another layer of pastry. Don’t go all the way up; we’ll need some room for the milk.

Or you can leave it like that.

Your milk should be ready by now.

Pour the hot milk into each dish, covering the pastry and nuts completely.

You need two cups of whipping cream and two tablespoons of powdered sugar. Mix together in a mixing bowl and whip for five minutes or until fluffy and light.

You should do this step ahead of time before assembling the dishes. Once you pour the milk onto the pastry, everything should go quickly so the milk will not soak in the pastry and turn into a mushy dough.

Top each dish with a generous layer of whipped cream and spread it evenly.

Cover with powdered sugar.

Place the individual ramekins on a large baking sheet for easy transportation.

Bake in preheated oven for 23 minutes. Turn the broiler on for a minute or two to give a nice golden face.

Remove from oven and garnish with nuts.

Um Ali

Recipe: Osama Alsaid

Ingredints:

Frozen puff pastry or store-bought croissants

2 cups mixed nuts (coconuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts)

4 cups milk

1 cup sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Powdered sugar for browning

Method:

• If using puff pastry, allow pastry to thaw at room temperature then bake at 400 degrees F until brown and puffy, 10-12 minutes. Crush baked pastry or croissants into pieces and place in a bowl. Leave aside.
• Place mixed nuts in an oven pan and toast in the oven at 350 degrees F until lightly golden.
• Place heavy cream and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or an electric mixer, beat cream on high speed for five minutes or until light and fluffy.
• Forty minutes before serving, fill ramekins half way with crushed pastry, top with a layer of mixed nuts, top with a smaller amount of crushed pastry, pour milk over pastry to cover completely, cover top with cream and dust with powdered sugar.
• Place ramekins on a large baking sheet and place in a preheated oven.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 23 minutes or until milk is bubbling and face is a light golden color.
• If more color is desired, place under a broiler for 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from oven and garnish with nuts and serve immediately.
• Enjoy!

أم علي

طريقة الشيف أسامة السيد (أنظري الفيديو في الأعلى)

المقادير

خمسة مربعات من عجينة البف بستري أو كرواسان جاهز

كوبين من المكسات المشكلة (فستق، جوز الهند، لوز مبشور، جوز مجروش)

أربعة أكواب من الحليب

كوب من السكر

كوبين من كريمة الخفق مع ملعقتي طعام سكر بودرة و يمكن إستبدالها بالقشطة

سكر بودرة للوجه

الطريقة

ندع العجينة المجمدة في المطبخ لمدة نصف ساعة حتى تصل إلى حرارة الغرفة

نفرد المكعبات قليلاً ثم نخرمها بالشوكة

تصف المكعبات على صينية الفرن ثم تدخل في فرن مسخن مسبقاً بحرارة 400 فهرنهايت

تُحمّر لمدة تترواح بين عشر أو إثنا عشر دقيقة

تخرج من الفرن و تكسر ثم تترك جانباً

نخلط جميع المكسرات معاً ثم نضعها في صينية فرن

تُحمّر في الفرن قليلاً حتى تكسب لون ذهبي فاتح و تظهر رائحتها

نخفق كريمة الخفق مع السكر البودرة حتى تصبح لدينا كريمة مخفوقة متماسكة

قبل التقديم بأربعين دقيقة: من المهم إعدادها قبل التقديم مباشرة حتى لا يتبخر الحليب أويتشرب الخبز كل السائل فيصبح كالعجينة. بإمكانكِ إستخدام أطباق صغيرة أو طبق كبير و لكن الأفضل إستخدام الأطباق الصغيرة حيث يكون أرتب و أجمل في التقديم

نصف العجينة المكسرة في الطبق ثم نغطيها بطبقة من المكسرات ثم طبقة من العجينة

نصب الحليب بحيث تكون كمية الحليب تغطي العجينة تماماً

نغطي الوجه بكمية وافرة من الكريمة ثم نغطي الوجه بالسكر البودرة

نضع الأطباق في صينية كبيرة و تدخل الفرن المسخن مسبقاً بحرارة 350 فهرنهايت لمدة ثلاثة و عشرين دقيقة أو حتى تتحمر قليلاً

افتحي الفرن من الأعلى لمدة دقيقة أو دقيقتين حتى تتحمر جيداً

تخرج من الفرن و تزين بالمكسرات

تقدم ساخنة و بالهناء و العافية

Um Ali

Recipe: Osama Alsaid

Ingredints:

Frozen puff pastry or store-bought croissants

2 cups mixed nuts (coconuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts)

4 cups milk

1 cup sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Powdered sugar for browning

Method:

• If using puff pastry, allow pastry to thaw at room temperature then bake at 400 degrees F until brown and puffy, 10-12 minutes. Crush baked pastry or croissants into pieces and place in a bowl. Leave aside.
• Place mixed nuts in an oven pan and toast in the oven at 350 degrees F until lightly golden.
• Place heavy cream and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or an electric mixer, beat cream on high speed for five minutes or until light and fluffy.
• Forty minutes before serving, fill ramekins half way with crushed pastry, top with a layer of mixed nuts, top with a smaller amount of crushed pastry, cover top with cream and dust with powdered sugar.
• Place ramekins on a large baking sheet and place in a preheated oven.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 23 minutes or until milk is bubbling and face is a light golden color.
• If more color is desired, place under a broiler for 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from oven and garnish with nuts and serve immediately.
• Enjoy!