كراوية / مغلي
Warmly spiced caraway pudding commonly served during special occasions.
To me, karawya (ka-rao-ya) -- or meghli, as it is also known -- is the dessert of happiness. It is a celebratory pudding that is served in the Middle East to mark a new baby.

I've been waiting eight months to make this! A close relative of mine recently welcomed a new baby and gave me a wonderful reason to make this traditional Middle Eastern dessert.
Karawya is a sweet rice pudding spiced with cinnamon and caraway. Unlike regular rice pudding, this dessert is an earthy brown colour and contains no visible grains of rice. It is topped with shredded coconut and nuts and is served either warm or cold.
This pudding is very easy to make as it only requires a handful of ingredients that you may already have in your pantry.

The ingredients

Rice flour: This will form the base of the pudding. It also acts as the thickening agent so no additional starch is needed.
Caraway: This is the star ingredient of the pudding. You will need 1.5 tablespoons of ground caraway.
Sugar: Use granulated sugar. This recipe calls for less than the typical amount of sugar, so make sure you taste it and adjust the sugar levels accordingly.
Cinnamon: 1.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
Nutmeg: Buy whole nutmeg and grate it using a mini grater.
Anise: I like the mild licorice flavour that anise adds to desserts. You will need ½ teaspoon of ground anise.
Desiccated coconut: You can use either sweetened or unsweetened. Since I use less than the typical amount of sugar in the pudding, I like to use sweetened coconut as a topping.
Mixed nuts: Traditionally, shredded coconut, blanched almonds and pistachios are used. Some people even add pine nuts and walnuts. If you are using whole or chopped nuts, you should blanch them or allow them to soak in water for a few hours. If you are using ground pistachios, there is no need to soak them. All these ingredients should be easy to find as they're readily available in most grocery stores.
Water: You will need 5 cups of water for the pudding and about 1.5 cups for blanching.
How to make karawya/meghli

- Begin by soaking the nuts in hot water for at least one hour.

2. Pour 5 cups of water in a large pot over medium heat.

3. Add rice flour and stir constantly for about ten minutes. The mixture will thicken.

4. Add sugar, caraway, anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg and continue stirring for another ten minutes.

5. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.

6. Strain the nuts. Pinch the pistachios to remove the peels. The peels should easily slide off. Discard the peels.

7. Pour the pudding into serving cups.

8. Top each cup with desiccated coconut then decorate with nuts. Serve warm.
Caraway pudding - a staple for nursing mothers
Caraway seeds and star anise have been traditionally used around the world to increase a nursing mother's milk supply. In the Middle East, the new mother's relatives will make batches of this delicious rice pudding to both feed the mother and to serve guests who come to meet the new baby.
Serving, Storing and reheating karawya/meghli
In Syria, karawya is served warm. In Lebanon, meghli (as it is known there) is served cold. Across the Middle East, caraway pudding is served in a small bowl or dessert cup and garnished with desiccated coconut and a medley of nuts.
It can be stored in the fridge for up to four days. To reheat, simply place a bowl in the microwave or reheat it in a small saucepan on the stove.
Common Questions
Yes!
This recipe already has reduced sugar and you can definitely reduce it even more, but keep in mind that you will lose some flavour.
Store soaked nuts in water in separate containers in the fridge. They will last for up to five days.
They are both the same thing, but the term karawya is used in Syria and meghli is used in other parts of the Levant. Syrian serve karawya warm while Lebanese tend to serve it cold.
Leftover pudding can be stored in the fridge for up to two days. However, this texture of this pudding is best when it is served fresh.

Karawya/Meghli
Ingredients
- 90 g rice flour
- 100 g sugar
- 5 cups water
- 1 ½ teaspoon caraway
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon anise
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Topping
- ¼ cup desiccated coconut sweetened or unsweetened
- 8 walnut halves blanched
- ¼ cup almonds blanched
- ¼ cup pistachios blanched
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat water and rice powder over medium heat while stirring constantly for about 8-10 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.
- Add caraway powder, sugar, cinnamon, anise and nutmeg and continue stirring for 8-10 minutes.
- Allow to cool slightly and pour into serving cups. Garnish the top with the shredded coconut and nuts. Serve warm.
Nutrition

كراوية / مغلي
المكونات
- 1 كوب و 2 ملعقة طعام
- 100 غرام سكر عادي
- 5 اكواب ماء
- 1 ملعقة صغيرة ونصف قرفة
- 1 ملعقة صغيرة ونصف كراوية
- نصف ملعقة صغيرة ينسون
- نصف ملعقة صغيرة جوزة الطيب
للتزيين
- ¼ كوب 25غرام برش جوز الهند
- ½ كوب 50 غرام جوز
- ⅓ كوب 50 غرام لوز
- ¼ كوب 40 غرام فستق حلبي
التعليمات
- . يسخن الماء ومسحوق الأرز على نار متوسطة مع التحريك المستمر لمدة 8-10 دقائق، أو حتى يتكاثف الخليط.
- يضاف مسحوق الكراوية، والسكر، والقرفة، والينسون وجوزةالطيب ويقلب لمدة 8-10 دقائق.
- يترك ليبرد قليلاً، ثم يصب في أكواب التقديم ويزين بجوز الهند المبشور والمكسرات. يقدم دافئا.
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