Umm ali is a traditional Egyptian bread pudding eating during dessert, and is one of the easiest meal to make.
This dish can be traced back to around the 12th century in Egypt and Umm Ali literally means “Ali’s mother”. It’s typically made with Rooa which is an Egyptian flatbread but this flat bread can be replaced with croissants or puff pastry. It has a sweet and milky taste, warm and comforting, and has a gorgeous mix of textures. The nuts, the crunchy edges of the puff pastry or croissants, the soft middle of the soaked pastry and the broiled cream topping. It smells amazing the second it comes out of the oven.
Here is an incredibly easy way to make it;
Ingredients
- Croissants or Puff pastry
- 2-3 cups of Milk (full cream milk).
- 1 cup of Heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon of Sugar
- Cardamom / Cinnamon Powder
- Nuts and rasins
Procedure
- Tear the croissants into rough pieces, and bake at high heat for 5 minutes
- Combine milk, sugar, heavy cream, and cinnamon powder in a pot. Stir, and bring to a boil on medium heat. Remove from heat.
- Place the croissants on a skillet in a single layer. You can also use a baking dish for this recipe.
- Pour the hot milk mixture over the croissants.
- Top with whipped cream, and spread it evenly all over the surface of the pudding. You could also use eshat balady (clotted cream) for the topping, or even cool whip.
- Boil the Umm ali for about 2-3 minutes or until the top layer is golden brown and has caramelized. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with Nuts and rasins
