Riz bi Haleeb is a delicious creamy Lebanese rice pudding gently flavored with orange blossom. Made with some of the most basic ingredients, this eggless and gluten-free pudding is a must try recipe from the Middle East.
Rice pudding is a universal dessert as every country has one recipe of its own. Being an Indian, kheer is my favorite rice pudding as it’s the first and most frequently eaten rice pudding by me.
Nevertheless, I also love exploring and trying different rice pudding recipes from around the world. It really amazes me how despite having common main ingredients – milk and rice, how unique they all taste.
Today’s recipe – Riz bi Haleeb is a very popular rice pudding from Lebanon. The literal meaning of Riz bi Haleeb is Rice in Milk. This dish is quite similar to Indian rice kheer and many believe that it got originated from kheer only.
However, some minor changes in the kheer recipe give it a distinct flavor.
Unlike kheer which gets it thick creamy consistency after patient cooking over low flame, Riz bi Haleeb is thickened by adding corn- starch slurry to it.
Another ingredient which makes Riz bi Haleeb unique is the mild essence and flavor of orange blossom water which is used in many Middle Eastern recipes.
Orange blossom water is a by-product of the process of distillation that is used to obtain the essential oil from the seeds, peel, leaves, bark, and pulp of orange.
You can easily find this product in a Middle Eastern store or online.
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How to make Riz Bi Haleeb?
Riz Bi Haleeb
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup basmati rice
- 5 cups milk
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 2 teaspoon orange blossom water
- 4 tbsp chopped pistachio
Instructions
- Wash rice and soak in water for around 15 minutes.
- Boil milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add soaked rice and allow to cook for around 20-25 minutes or until the rice is nicely cooked.
- When the rice is cooked, add sugar, mix and cook for another minute so that sugar gets dissolved completely.
- In a bowl mix cornflour with some milk at room temperature to form a paste. Add this paste to the pot and mix. Let the pudding cook for another few minutes till it starts getting thickened.
- Add orange blossom water, mix and switch off the gas.
- Pour the pudding in serving bowls and garnish with chopped pistachios.
- Allow the pudding to reach room temperature. It can be served warm as well as chilled. If you prefer chilled, put in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
Nutrition
Hi
I’ve tried your Thai dessert sticky rice with mango and it turned out simply divine
where do I get orange blossom water here in India
Thanks a lot, Kanchan. Happy to know that you enjoyed the Thai mango rice, that's one of my favorite desserts too. Orange blossom water is available on Amazon India. To be honest, I feel it's very expensive in India because it gets exported from the Middle East. I live in Dubai where this ingredient is used in a lot of dishes so is very inexpensive. Orange blossom water has a very unique flavor (not at all like orange) and I haven't come across anything that tastes like it so can't suggest a perfect substitute. However, if you want you can try making this dish with rose water or kewra. Hope this helps.
I love rice pudding and have made so many different versions from different international regions. I will definitely have to try this version soon!
Thank you 🙂
This pudding looks delicious. Looks great with so many pistachios on top. I have never used orange blossom water so learnt something new today.
Thanks a lot Mina. I also got introduced to orange blossom water after moving to the Middle East.
I love using orange blossom water whenever I get it so am sure I'd love riz bi Haleeb. Such different flavors from the normal kheer. This creamy dessert is super tempting.
Thanks Mayuri. Though there are only a few minor differences in the procedure, it tastes so different than kheer.