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.

Delicious Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة )

Considering that over the last few months I have lived a sheltered life and barely stopped to notice the weather let alone follow current affairs or even family affairs for that matter, it was quite an achievement to go out for a family barbecue yesterday.  But even more so because I made not just one sweet to take - but two!  On top of that I even managed to make a video of the them!!!

Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة  )

Well, there are no more daily trips to the hospital and no more sick kids to nurture through the day and night so even though I am seriously sleep deprived (my gorgeous bundle wakes me every hour and a half all night, most nights) I feel excited to have made a video.  The first for a while and it was the video I had intended to make the day I went to hospital for some monitoring of the baby and ended up having an emergency caesarean and was out of action for over a month.  That video was for Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة  )

 Check it out here: 

Baklava (Baklawa  بقلاوة  ) is quite a well known Mediterranean sweet and can be found in Turkish, Lebanese and Greek restaurants but it has also become more mainstream in the last few years and available in many places.  While there are many ways to flavour Baklava with the use of vanilla, rose water and orange blossom water, the syrup may also be made with honey which adds a very distinct flavour also.  At home my mum made Baklava with vanilla and I too use vanilla whenever I make this dish, but then I absolutely love the flavour and aroma of vanilla so I cannot go past it for a flavouring in deserts or sweets.  I personally find rose water too strong in many versions of Baklava so I stick with the vanilla.  If you were to use rose or orange blossom water be sure to add a little to the syrup at a time and taste it as you go because it is always easier to add more than it is to try and tone down an overpowering flavour.  Start with a teaspoon at a time would be my suggestion.

Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة  )

Anyway, back to the barbecue, I took the Baklava to lunch and considering it was family (who I would have thought would be over traditional Mediterranean sweets by now) I didn't expect a big response to my dish but I was pleasantly surprised.  Not only was most of it gone by the time I bothered to look, my step mother (bless her heart) told me it was perfect!!  Yay :)

So here it is, my perfect Baklava

Syrup:

2 cups/ 500g sugar

2 cups / 500ml water

½ lemon juiced

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

One quantity of syrup 
2 cups / 225g pistachio, walnuts or almonds, coarsely chopped

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,

½ teaspoon ground cloves,

375g / 1 packet Filo pastry at room temperature

250g ghee, melted (or unsalted butter if you really cant get hold of ghee, better still, buy the butter and watch my video of how to make Ghee and make some yourself .  Check it out on YouTube here:

Make the syrup and leave to cool.  Preheat oven to moderate 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4).  Brush the base and sides of a 30 x 25 cm cake tin with melted butter.  In a bowl combine the chopped nuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves powder.  Remove a single sheet of Filo pastry at a time, fold each sheet in half and place in tray. Brush the top with butter and fold in edges to fit.  Repeat using half the packet of filo pastry making sure to brush with butter on each sheet, overlap and fold the sides where necessary.  Sprinkle the nut mixture over pastry and then continue to layer the pastry with the remaining sheets.  Pour remaining butter over the top.  Cut into diamond or square shapes, making sure to cut right through to the base.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the Baklava is puffed and lightly golden on top.  Remove Baklava from oven and pour the cooled syrup over the hot Baklava    Leave to cool before cutting along the diagonals again to remove from the tray. 

Note : Cover remaining pastry with a damp tea towel to keep from drying out.  Baklava can be prepared days in advance, stored in the fridge and baked on the day they are to be served.  They will also keep for several days after baking in a cool oven or air tight container, but do not store in the fridge.

Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة  )