Mango mahalabia recipe, my fruity and slightly tangy twist o the original Middle Eastern milk pudding.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
What is Mahalabia?
Mahalabia, also known as Mahalabi and Muhallabia is a Middle Eastern dessert of slightly sweetened cooked milk that is flavoured with rose or orange water. Very much like Blanc Mange, it is extremely easy to make, takes only a few minutes, then placed in the fridge to cool.
One of the most popular recipes on this site is my old, traditional Mahalabia recipe. It regularly gets picked up or featured on Middle Eastern and North African websites and publications, especially during Ramadan.
Mango Mahalabia
For a long, long time now, I’ve wanted to do variations of it, and this Mango Mahalabia with a touch of Sumac, is the first of a few that I have in mind.
Why Sumac? When I first settled on mango for this mahalabia, I started thinking of spices and other flavours that would go with it. Cardamom is traditional but I decided to leave that out as I wanted to deviate a little from the traditional flavour.
Sumac came to mind as it’s one of my favourite spices and I figured that its spicy, lemony aroma would certainly go well with the mango.
Sumac is usually a spice used in savoury dishes. Click here to read more about it and its substitute. On this site, there are many, many recipes that use sumac, like Musakhan (Palestinian Chicken and Bread recipe), Turkish Shepherd Salad and the Lavender and Sumac Roast Chicken.
I don’t think I’ve come across it being used in sweet recipes, other than in my kitchen. But I’m sure when this recipe hits the stands, it’s going to start a trend! But you know what they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
Mango Mahalabia Recipe
This Mango Mahalabia is super easy to make, this is what we’ll be doing:
- chop and puree some fresh mango ( you can also used canned mango puree).
- Place everything into a saucepan and heat until slightly thickened.
- Pour into serving glasses and chill.
f you love creamy desserts like panna cotta (click for recipe), you’ll love this!
The first time I made this, I held off on the sumac, until the end, just to see if the recipe needed it. While the mango mahalabia was delicious, there was definitely something missing from it. So, in went the sumac, a pinch at a time, until I was satisfied.
You can’t taste the tang from the sumac but what you do get is a more well rounded creamy, fruity flavour. If you can’t get sumac, just substitute it with 1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice, mixed into the cornflour (cornstarch) paste.
What does it Taste Like?
It’s creamy and fruity with a wonderful hint of lemon from the sumac.
And as I tasted the final chilled product, I was reminded of an old forgotten but favourite childhood dessert by an aunt in Singapore. She used to make custard with evaporated milk and peaches, and this definitely shared similar notes, especially the evaporated milk.
That’s Auntie Rehana, in the picture below, second from the left, with her siblings, cousin and mum (my granny). My mum is to the extreme right. This picture was taken sometime around 1960, give or take, judging by my youngest aunt’s age (the baby). Incidentally, my granny made all those dresses worn by the young ladies.
More Mahalabia Recipes
If you enjoy the recipe, drop me a comment and let me know. And if you are feeling like a star, don’t forget that 5-star rating!
If you make this recipe, post it on Instagram and tag me @azlinbloor and hashtag it #linsfood.
Lin xx
Mango Mahalabia with a touch of Sumac
Ingredients
- 2 ripe mangoes
- 250 ml fresh milk full fat
- 250 ml evaporated milk
- 2 Tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in the US)
- 3 Tbsp white sugar
- ¼ tsp sumac OR 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Garnish
- crushed pistachios or nuts of your choice
- slices of mango
- other fruit like strawberries raspberries, chopped up dates, etc
Instructions
- Peel and chop the mangoes up roughly and place them in a blender along with half the fresh milk. Blend to a smooth paste.2 ripe mangoes, 250 ml fresh milk
- Make a paste with the cornflour and about 3 Tbsp of the fresh milk.2 Tbsp cornflour
- Combine this cornflour paste, the mango puree, both types of milk and the sugar in a heavy based saucepan or milk pan and stir to mix.3 Tbsp white sugar, 250 ml evaporated milk
- Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring it occasionally.
- After about 5 minutes, you'll notice the milk mixture begin to thicken slowly.
- Lower the heat down slightly to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring for another 5 minutes until the mahalabia resembles thick custard. Now you need to be careful here as the milk can catch if your heat is not low enough, or if the pan doesn't have a thick enough base. You don't want burnt milk or bits in your mahalabia! Just in case, do not scrape the bottom of the pan as you are stirring and a non stick pan is also always best, mainly for cleaning!
- When the mahalabia is as thick as custard, turn the heat off and sprinkle the sumac all over and stir for about 5 seconds to disperse it thoroughly.¼ tsp sumac OR 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Pour into serving dishes/cups and place in the fridge to cool for at least 3 hours. It will thicken when cold. If you are going to chill it overnight, cover the cups/dishes with cling film or saucers to prevent the Mahalabia from absorbing any smells but also to stop the surface from becoming dry.
- Just before serving top with your garnish of choice, whether nuts or slices of mango or other fruit.slices of mango, other fruit like strawberries, crushed pistachios or nuts of your choice
Hi Azlin, I would like to try this for Christmas dessert (hélas, I am not such a talented cook). As the mangoes are sometimes tasteless or sour or with a huge or just a small pit when I buy them, I prefer to buy frozen cubes this time. Just to be sure of the sweet taste.
But is it possible you can give me an indication of the total weight of the mango-flesh? Thank you so much.
Hi Magda, a rough idea of how much you need will be 2 cups of chopped up mango cubes.
The cup will be the measuring sort, and should take 250ml of liquid.
I hope that helps.
What type of flowers you used for garnish?
What you can see here are roses: I’ve got dried tiny rose buds and dried rose petals.
This is simply amazing too! I love the combination of mango and the use of sumac is so cool! Thank you! PS: Love the family pic, that’s a beautiful group of ladies!
Thank you so much! Let me know if you make it.
I purchased Sumac at a Pakistani? market. It turned out it was mixed
with a LOT of salt. Is this normal? I would prefer no salt at all in the Sumac.
You can get both types and yes, unfortunately, it’s cheaper when there’s a whole lot of salt in it. Ideally, you definitely want one without salt.
ive not done this before but doesnt the mango curdle the milk?
Not at all, Maria. After all, don’t forget mango lassi! Mango isn’t a highly acidic fruit.
What a simple, yet beautiful dish. I can’t wait to try it. I love sumac and think it would be perfect with mango.
They certainly go well together. Thank you.