Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding) ارز باللبن

I hadn't made Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding)  ارز باللبن  for ages and one morning decided the boys might like it for breakfast so I set about making it and took a video of it in the process.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure, just click on the image below.  

My memories of Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding)  ارز باللبن  are vague but I do remember mum in the kitchen making it and every time there would be 6 bowls of it sitting on the bench.  I feel like there was always too much, probably because I was the one who ended up consuming 5 of the 6 bowls, and no, they were not consumed in the one sitting.  But still, over several days it does add up so I don’t think I requested rice pudding often but in winter I am sure it was featured once or twice.  The other thing about rice pudding is that since we didn't have dessert as such at home (mainly fresh fruit chopped up in summer and nuts or the like in winter) this was the closest thing to dessert for me.  A bowl of creamy rice pudding with my favourite flavour - vanilla!

Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding)  ارز باللبن

It does take time to make a creamy rice pudding from scratch, kind of like making a risotto where you stand at the stove and stir for 20 to 30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed.  A creamy rice pudding takes the same love and commitment.  Stir in a big dollop of butter, a generous amount of sugar and drizzle in vanilla essence.  You could of course use vanilla from a vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds and throw in the pod while it is cooking (heavenly) however it may prove to be too costly if you made rice pudding a regular winter dessert. 

                                                     Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding)  ارز باللبن ingredients 

Alternatively, for those so inclined you could omit the vanilla and add in a few drops of your favourite flavour such as cinnamon, coconut essence, almond essence or something like that.  Hmmm, I never really went for anything other than vanilla but coconut or almond sound appealing to me right now.

(mental note to self : try adding another flavour to rice pudding next time )

                                                                        Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding)  ارز باللبن

Rice pudding is of course nice just like that but for a bit of texture and colour add some chopped nuts, such as almonds or walnuts, or sultanas as a garnish.  Then curl up with your bowl of rice pudding in front of the television with a blanket over your knees and watch your favourite movie…for the ultimate in a relaxing night in.

Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding)  ارز باللبن

Recipe

This is the old fashioned type of rice pudding where you cook the rice with the milk, rather than add pre-cooked rice to milk.  The result is a hearty, creamy dish.  We used to eat it at home for breakfast, or as a snack.  Extra pudding can be place in bowls, covered and kept in the fridge, just warm in the microwave with a little extra milk before serving with chopped nuts, sultanas or cinnamon.

Serves: 4

4 cups / 1 L milk, plus 100ml extra, if required

175g / ¾ cup short grain white rice

65g / ¼ cup white sugar, or as desired

40 g butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon, sugar, sultanas or chopped almonds to garnish.

Bring milk just to the boil in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat.  Add rice and reduce heat so that it cooks uncovered at a simmer for 30-35 minutes, or until rice is tender.  Stir the rice occasionally as the rice and milk can burn. Stirring also stops a “skin” from forming on the surface. 

Add sugar and stir well.  Add extra milk or water if all liquid is absorbed and rice is still not cooked.  Once cooked and creamy, take it off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.  Transfer to serving bowls and sprinkle with cinnamon and extra sugar or top with sultanas and chopped almonds, if desired.

Fig men

Snacks are essential in our household mid-morning and mid-afternoon. It keeps us all going, especially the kids.  One child’s crazies are often subsided with a snack of some kind.  Thinking back to living with my parents I recall that we snacked a fair bit too.  More often than not it was nuts, seeds or fresh fruit.  Dad would roast whatever was in season, chestnuts, peanuts etc. or there would be a bowl of pumpkin or watermelon seeds which mum would leave out on the bench.  

Dessert was fresh fruit (and often still is!).  Watermelon, grapes, honeydew or cantaloupe (rockmelon) was very normal for finishing off a meal in summer.  We also grew fruits including plums, apricots, figs, prickly pear, persimmons and pomegranates (and you all know how much I like Pomegranates) as well as having really great almond and walnut trees.  

These two nut trees would produce enough nuts to fill a fruit box or two or three each season.  I don’t think I came across anyone else who grew almonds or walnuts in their backyard but they are unbelievably delicious when they are fresh.  Almonds with their white flesh are sweet and soft.  Walnuts are slightly crunchy but still tender with their natural and healthy oil.  

Konafa   كنافة 

Goulash, Baklava   جلاش  Baklawa  بقلاوة 

With so many nuts there was never a shortage for chopping up and using them in dishes such as Konafa   كنافة , Quataef /kataif, and Goulash, Baklava   جلاش  Baklawa  بقلاوة    These pastries are common Egyptian sweets that are filled or stuffed with chopped nuts, sugar, coconut and / or sultanas then drenched in thick sugar syrup.

Kataif / Qatayef قطايف 

Goulash, Baklava   جلاش  Baklawa  بقلاوة 

Kataif / Qatayef قطايف 

Besides the sweets the nuts were laid out on newspaper and dried so they would be like the nuts you get from a shop.  In the evenings I remember my dad getting dried figs then cutting a slit across the centre to form a sort of pocket and filling them with almonds or walnuts.  

fig men

The crunch of the nuts sandwiched between sweet popping seeds from the figs was a fantastic combination.  I think the walnuts are perfect with the dried figs.  I am not sure if they were something my dad put together himself or whether he had them growing up but I find them a very easy and sweet treat and I just love the look of them, little fig men (reminds me of Pacman when I was growing up).  I dare say that dressing them up by drizzling a little melted chocolate over them would render them a great accompaniment to tea or coffee instead of the usual biscuit fare.

I have a few ready today for the kids to enjoy, a much more nutritious alternative to chips and lollies!

 

Basbousa with Yoghurt بسبوسة بالزبادى Basbousa bil Laban Zabadi

Basbousa with Yoghurt بسبوسة بالزبادى   Basbousa bil Laban Zabadi   

It has been a while since I put up a video so that seemed like the best thing to do now.  I realise I put up the recipe for Basbousa way back in June but I now I have the video to go with it.  And just in case you don't feel like hunting for the Basbousa with Yoghurt بسبوسة بالزبادى   Basbousa bil Laban Zabadi  Blog from June here is the recipe I put up back then.

 2 cups semolina, (1 cup coarse and 1 cup fine semolina if you can get it)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup plain yoghurt

125g unsalted butter, melted

Syrup :

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

juice of half a lemon

a few drops of vanilla essence.

To make syrup:  Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes until syrup thickens.  Add vanilla and leave to cool.

For the Basbousa, combine semolina, sugar, baking powder, and yoghurt in a large bowl.

Add melted butter and mix. Transfer mixture into a greased tray, 30cm x 25cm, and press firmly.  Cut into squares. 

Bake at 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4) for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove Basbousa from oven and pour cooled syrup over hot Basbousa.

As for the video, I thought I had the kitchen to myself but I do get an impromptu visitor, which was nice but as they say the show must go on. 

The video is on YouTube but as usual just click on the link below to view how to make Basbousa with Yoghurt بسبوسة بالزبادى   Basbousa bil Laban Zabadi. 

Basbousa with Yoghurt بسبوسة بالزبادى   Basbousa bil Laban Zabadi   

 

Basbousa with Yoghurt بسبوسة بالزبادى   Basbousa bil Laban Zabadi   

Basbousa with Yoghurt بسبوسة بالزبادى   Basbousa bil Laban Zabadi