Oum Ali Dessert

Prep Time 15 min Cook time 15 min

Oum Ali (Arabic for Ali’s mother) is Egypt’s national dessert. It is a delicious, centuries old recipe that has the comforting warmth of its very distant cousin bread and butter pudding but with a dark and violent history.

Worthy of an operatic drama, the legend takes place during the Egyptian Mamluk era in the 13th century, before the Ottomans ruled Egypt.

The Originally Turkic, beautiful and intelligent Shagaret al-Durr was acquired as a bondmaid by Sultan Ayyoub. She became his favored wife but in 1249, after ruling Egypt for almost 10 years, the sultan died. Egypt was then under attack by the crusaders, and to avoid revealing any signs of national weakness, Shagaret al-Durr ordered that the Sultan’s death be concealed till the threat passed. Over time Shagaret al-Durr gained power and eventually ruled Egypt. However, the Caliph in Baghdad refused to recognize Shagaret al-Durr as Egypt’s new sultana. She therefore married her commander in chief, Ezz el Din Aybak, making him the titular Sultan but after a tumultuous power struggle she managed to have him assassinated. After investigations and testimonials by her maids, Shagaret al-Durr was found guilty and was beaten to death.

Aybak’s son, Ali, from a second wife, was declared the new sultan and his mother – Oum Ali – ordered the cook to create a new dessert to celebrate her son’s ascension.

So there you have it. Oum Ali is a quick and easy pudding that is served warm. It is made with airy filo pastry, milk and cream, filled with coconut flakes, raisins and a variety of crushed nuts all enveloped in a fascinating history.

What you need (for two portions served in 4oz ramekins)

A 1 1/2 inch wide and 3 inch long strip of frozen filo pastry sheets.
A palmfull of raisins
A palmfull of sliced almonds
A palmfull of shredded, unsweetened coconut
A palmfull of pistachio nuts
1 pint of half and half milk
4 Tbsp brown sugar ( add more to taste)

What to do

The trick to a good Oum Ali is to get the consistency right. You do not want it too dense neither do you want a result that is too runny. The secret is in the proportion of filo pastry to liquid. For 4 oz ramekins here is a good starter recipe and you can vary the amount of liquid until you get the consistency you like.

Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut a strip of filo 1 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches long along the width of the sheets.
Cut the strip in half so you end up with two small 1 1/2 inch square layers of filo.
Place them in a baking tray, separate the filo squares a little and bake them until they turn dry and flaky (about 8-10 minutes – you do not want them to turn too brown).

Cut a 1 1/2" wide and 3"long strip across the width of the filo pack.

Cut strip into 1 1/2" widths and spread filo squares over a baking sheet and tray

Set aside and while the filo cools down, warm a pint of half and half milk in a sauce pan, add 4 Tbsp brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Turn off heat and taste for sweetness.
Start assembling the dessert by first crumbling most of the sheets of each filo square into the bottom of each ramekins to about an inch deep.
Divide the raisins, sliced almonds and coconut flakes between the two portions and spread over the filo layer.

Bake filo in the oven at 400F for 10 minutes

Fill ramekin with a 1" layer of filo, then add raisins, almonds and coconut flakes. Finish with another thin layer of filo.

With the remaining filo squares add a second, thin layer of crumbed filo over the nuts and coconut flakes.
Fill each ramekin with half and half milk until it completely covers the dessert.
Place under a grill untill slightly browned ( about 5 minutes).
Garnish with chopped pistachios and serve warm. You can make the dessert ahead of time and warm it in microwave for 30 seconds before serving.*

*Note.

You can make the whole dessert in advance and then heat it in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds before serving.