Mahalepi is a refreshing Cypriot pudding typically made from just 4 ingredients; nisiaste, water, rose water and sugar. It is usually made in the summer time and served cold. Nisiaste powder is made from grinding corn kernels which have been sundried. When cooked, nisiaste is similar to a custard texture and is neutral in taste.
The lovely flavour of the Mahalepi comes from the rose syrup poured on top once ready to serve. Sometimes sugar is also added for extra sweetness or a crunchy texture.
The origin of Mahalepi comes from the Middle East and countries such as Lebanon and Syria have quite similar recipes also.
MAHALEPI RECIPE
Ingredients:
3 tbsp cornflour (nisiaste)
2 cups water
3 tbsp sugar (optional)
30ml rose cordial syrup
20ml Rosewater
Method:
Boil 1 ½ glasses of water in a saucepan. Dissolve the 3 tablespoons of cornflour in the rest ½ a glass of cold water.
Pour the cold dissolved mixture in the hot water and stir continuously with a wooden spoon over a low heat.
The cooking should be done by stirring continuously until the cream becomes thick and bubbles and drops heavily from the spoon. Before taking the mixture off the heat, stir in the sugar until well incorporated.
Pour the mixture into a large glass dish and leave to cool. When it has cooled, place in the refrigerator to chill.
Once chilled, cut the Mahalepi into squares and divide into small, shallow plates or small cups
Serve by pouring a little water into each dish and top with rosewater and rose cordial.
If you’d like extra sweetness and texture, add a teaspoon of sugar. Some people also like to add ice-cubes or triantafillo (rose) ice-cream to make their Mahalepi extra cold!
Fun fact:
Believe it or not, Mahalebi is a street food. Street vendors with carts used to sell it in Cyprus. They made it with corn starch and water, nothing else, and would then put it in empty condensed milk tins and cooled it on ice blocks. When the customer would come to buy some, they would flip it in a plate and would either wet it with some rose water and sprinkle as much sugar as the customer wanted, or just pour triantafillo on top.
Mahalepi is sometimes prepared with milk instead of water.