Orange Blossom Water

Khshaf or Khushaf in middle east is a dried fruit and nut salad, an old fashioned dessert. But in Hama in Syria, Khshaf is a different dessert, Khshaf Hamwi is kind of milk pudding topped with syrup made of lemon juice, Sharab Tout Shami “mulberry syrup” and rose syrup, eaten in summer and very special in the holy month of Ramadan when it comes in summer.

Let’s make Khshaf Hamwi:

1, 2, 3, 4. Pour 700 ml full fat milk to a deep pot.

5, 6, 7, 8. Add 75 g cornflour (cornstarch) to milk, stir with a whisk until dissolve.

9, 10, 11, 1,2. Turn on heat and keep over high heat with continuous stirring using a wooden spoon until it starts to boil.

13, 14. Reduce heat and cook over medium heat with continuous stirring until start to thicken. Be careful not to thicken too much and do not allow to become thick like a paste, it should stay pourable.

15, 16. Pour the mixture to a 7.8 x 11.8 inch (20 x 30 cm) baking pan or baking dish with 1 inch (3 cm) height.

17, 18, 19. Tap the baking pan on the kitchen counter to level the mixture.

20. Put the baking pan in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

After 24 hours

21 to 28. Cut the mixture into cubes about  1 x 1 inch (3 x 3 cm).

29, 30, 31, 32. Pour 100 ml water over the cubes and let it set for 10 minutes, this will help the cubes to separate.

Syrup

34. Put 50 ml water in a jug.

35, 36. Add 1 teaspoon sugar to water and stir to dissolve.

37, 38, 39, 40. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to water and stir to dissolve.

41, 42, 43, 44. Add 2 tablespoons sharab tout shami (mulberry syrup) to water mixture and stir to dissolve. Read notes and tips about Sharab Tout Shami.

45, 46, 47, 48. Add 1 tablespoon rose syrup to the mixture and stir to dissolve. Set aside.

49, 50, 51, 52. Put ice cubes in a blender and crush them. Set aside.

53 to 60. Use a spoon and serve milk cubes to serving bowl.

61, 62. I prepared two serving bowls, and the quantity of the syrup is enough for two.

63 to 66. Pour the syrup over the milk cubes.

67, 68. Top with 1 tablespoon crushed ice.

69 to 72. Drizzle with sharab tout shami (not the syrup prepared but only sharab tout shami “mulberry syrup”).

73, 74. Drizzle with rose syrup (not the syrup prepared but only rose syrup).

75, 76. Serve immediately.

Khshaf Hamwi

From: Family Recipe / Servings: 5 People
PDF Text Only / Print With Images

700 ml full fat milk 75 g cornflour (cornstarch) 100 ml water Syrup 50 ml water 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp sharab tout shami (mulberry syrup) 1 tbsp rose syrup To Serve 1 tbsp crushed ice Sharab tout shami (mulberry syrup), to drizzle Rose syrup, to drizzle

Pour 700 ml full fat milk to a deep pot. Add 75 g cornflour (cornstarch) to milk, stir with a whisk until dissolve. Turn on heat and keep over high heat with continuous stirring using a wooden spoon until it starts to boil. Reduce heat and cook over medium heat with continuous stirring until start to thicken. Be careful not to thicken too much and do not allow to become thick like a paste, it should stay pourable. Pour the mixture to a 7.8 x 11.8 inch (20 x 30 cm) baking pan or baking dish with 1 inch (3 cm) height. Tap the baking pan on the kitchen counter to level the mixture. Put the baking pan in the refrigerator for 24 hours. After 24 hours Cut the mixture into cubes about 1 x 1 inch (3 x 3 cm). Pour 100 ml water over the cubes and let it set for 10 minutes, this will help the cubes to separate. Syrup Put 50 ml water in a jug. Add 1 teaspoon sugar to water and stir to dissolve. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to water and stir to dissolve. Add 2 tablespoons sharab tout shami (mulberry syrup) to water mixture and stir to dissolve. Read notes and tips about Sharab Tout Shami. Add 1 tablespoon rose syrup to the mixture and stir to dissolve. Set aside. Put ice cubes in a blender and crush them. Set aside. Use a spoon and serve milk cubes to serving bowl. I prepared two serving bowls, and the quantity of the syrup is enough for two. Pour the syrup over the milk cubes. Top with 1 tablespoon crushed ice. Drizzle with sharab tout shami (not the syrup prepared but only sharab tout shami “mulberry syrup”). Drizzle with rose syrup (not the syrup prepared but only rose syrup). Serve immediately.

Notes and Tips

Using Sharab Tout Shami (Mulberry Syrup) in this recipe is essential and there is no substitute.

Sharab Tout Shami (Mulberry Syrup) is one of Syria’s most traditional drink. Made of Mulberry that grows in Hama, Aleppo and Damascus – for photo of Tout Shami (Mulberry), click here.
To prepare Sharab Tout Shami: The mulberry is mixed with sugar and left for 24 hours, then squeezed by hand to extract juice and strained in a cloth to remove any remaining large chunks of the fruit. The juice is boiled until turns into concentrate, filled in bottles and stored in refrigerator. Sharab Tout Shami is used as drink, diluted with water. Also used to make ice cream, Toutiyeh (mulberry pudding “specialty of Syria”: mulberry syrup cooked with corn flour, served in bowls, garnished with ground fennel, ground anise and walnuts – served cold) and in Khshaf. In Syria, people make the syrup at home in the season of mulberry, but I’m in Dubai and I do not have mulberry so I used store-bought mulberry Syrup “Syrian Brands”. For photos of Mulberry Syrup, click here and here.

For photo of Rose Syrup, click here.

The quantity of syrup is enough for two bowls. The capacity of bowl = 300 ml.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 10th, 2018 at 9:35 PM and is filed under Syrian Baking and Desserts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.