Today I am writing this post from Beirut (Lebanon) where the sun is shining.
I wanted to publish this recipe a couple of days ago, but between Christmas celebrations and family events it is only now that I can finally share it with you.
The Meghli is a traditional Lebanese dessert that is served to celebrate the birth of a baby. It is a delicious rice pudding spiced with anise, cinnamon and caraway and garnished with shredded coconut and nuts. And as this rice pudding is all about celebrating birth, during Christmas it is obviously served to celebrate the birth of Christ.
I prepared Meghli with my mother in law following the family recipe, a very simple recipe that now all of you will be able to follow.
This dessert is healthy and nutritious and naturally gluten free, as it is made using rice flour. It is also dairy free and vegan.
How was your Christmas? Did you enjoy healthy and delicious meals? Or you finished uncomfortably stuffed and feeling bloated? In any case I hope you enjoyed and had a good time with your loved ones.
If you try this traditional Lebanese vegan dessert, please let me know, leave a comment and rate it. I would love to know what you come up with. Enjoy!
- 125g (1 cup) Organic rice flour
- 150g (1¼ cups) Organic unrefined sugar, milled into powder
- 1 Tablespoon caraway powder
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon powder
- 1 Tablespoon grounded anise seeds
- 2l (8 cups) cold water
- 8 Teaspoons organic shredded coconut unsweetened
- 100g (1/2 cup) Walnuts (peeled and soaked in cold water)
- 100g (1/2 cup) Almonds (peeled and soaked in cold water)
- 100g (1/2 cup) Pistachios (peeled and soaked in cold water)
- 50g (1/4 cup) Pine nuts (peeled and soaked in cold water)
- Have all the ingredients prepared as indicated in the ingredients description.
- In a large cooking pot add the rice flour, the sugar, the caraway, the cinnamon and the anise and mix them well before adding the water. Add the cold water and mix well. Once it is well mixed put the cooking pot on the stove at low heat and stir well.
- Let the mixture cook at low heat, stirring constantly, for about 20 minutes. Depending on the type of rice you may have to cook it a bit longer until it reaches a certain consistency.
- Remove from the heat, pour directly into small individual cups or in a large serving dish and let it cool.
- Once it is cold add on top of each cup a teaspoon of coconut, and a few walnuts, almonds, pistachios and pine nuts.
It keeps well in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try it!! Thank you for the recipe!!
Thanks Gloria 🙂 Let me know how it goes
Nice recipe but peeled and soaked walnuts! ? I find this strange.
Thank you for the recipe anyway.
Hi Mazen, the reason to soak the nuts is to help with digestion. Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
Soaked nuts and seeds improve your body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Nuts and seeds are nutritionally dense and contain nutritional inhibitors that protect and ensure the survival of those nutrients. … By soaking nuts and seeds, they become softer and are easier to digest. western cultures eat them without soaking. It is not STRANGE!!!!! I make a lot of recipes and I usually soak or activate them!
Hi there
Thank you for the recipe!
If I have caraway seeds (cannot locate powder) do I need to toast before grinding?
Thank you
Hi Sandy, if you want to roast them that’s great but it’s not necessary 😉
Hello meghli rakes 1hour 30 minutes
Hi Nadia, the cooking time for meghli is 20 minutes, it can take a bit more or less depending on the rice to reach a certain consistency, but it’s about 20 minutes to cook the rice with the rest of ingredients 😉
Hi Margarita, thank you for the recipe, it looks absolutely delicious ant perfect for summer! I would like to ask, would it be a crime to use fennel seeds instead of anise? Apparently, in Lithuania, where I live, there is a quite difficult task to find anise seeds in a regular supermarket so I wonder if I can manage with it. It would be nice if I would be able not to violate traditional way of making meghli even if I use alternative ingredients(:
Hi Ieva, if you can’t easily find anise in Lithuania you could try to use fennel seeds because they are very similar spices. Let me know how it goes! 😉
Can this recipe be modified to be sugar free?
Hi Michelle, unfortunately I don’t think so
Hi Michelle, I am currently doing this without sugar at all. The taste is definitely not the same. However, if you add some dried raisins, few nuts and coconut flakes or grated coconuts, the taste will be just fine and you will get used to it. Ever since I started doing it sugar-free, I realized that I can replace the calories from sugar with more nuts and nutritious elements. Keep the recipe the same just remove the sugar. The first couple of times you will hate it, but then you will fall for it 😉
Hi Sarah and Michelle, if you do meghli every week you should think about removing sugar. But traditionally meghli is only served when a baby is born or for Christmas, so you shouldn’t worry about the sugar in it, just enjoy it 😉
Use Monk Fruit. A great substitute for sugar
I tried it and it turned out super watery! The same exact measure you have above ?♀️
Hi Sandra, I’m sorry to hear that. Depending of the type of rice you may have to cook it a bit longer until it reaches a certain consistency.
Hi is the recipe correct that there is more sugar than rice flour?
Hi Carol, yes it is correct 🙂
Do you cover the meghli after it cools and place them in the fridge? I’m wondering if the water will separate. Thank you.
Hi Susan, once it cools I put it in the fridge, but I don’t cover the cups. If you have reached a texture that holds itself when you try to tilt it the water won’t separate. Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
I just tried this recipe and it’s still warm but I couldn’t help but to taste because it looks so good. I made double the recipe so ended up with 16 dessert cups and there is only 9 left in the fridge because my brother’s couldn’t wait for them to chill as well. Great recipe thankyou
Hi Najla, I’m delighted to know you and your family loved my family recipe for Meghli 🙂 Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
Wonderful! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Happy healthy cooking and best wishes for 2019! 🙂
My daughter is married to a wonderful Lebanese man. Their fist baby was born on Monday. I would like to make this for them. One question – I don’t have those individual glass bowls. Can I use a glass or will it crack from the warm rice mixture?
Hi Jeanne, first of all, congratulations on the birth of your grandkid! 🙂
I would advice you to use bowls/cups that are heat resistant, just to avoid the risk of the glass cracking… Maybe, if you do not have heat resistant bowls, you could serve it in small coffee cups? Let me know how it goes and enjoy!
Brilliant just what I was looking for and inspiring to have a dish like this since the sixties!
Hi El, I believe this recipe exists well before the sixties, it has been in my Lebanese family for generations. When a recipe is good, there’s no reason to stop making it 😉 Enjoy!
I found a less complicated recipe for it in a newspaper from 1890! Yours looks a lot tastier 🙂
Wow, amazing! Enjoy and happy healthy cooking! 🙂
Hi just wondering how long can you keep it for
Hi Hasna, the meghli can perfectly last for 4-5 days in the fridge. Enjoy! 🙂
When you say ” Organic unrefined sugar, milled into powder” – are you referring to icing sugar? Thanks!
Hi Teresa, you could use icing sugar, but most of the icing sugar you find in stores is refined sugar. If you have an electric coffee grinder you can make your own. Personally I use unrefined sugar and I mill it into powder with my coffee grinder, this allows me to have better control on the quality of the sugar I use. I hope I answered your question. Enjoy! 🙂
What is the name of the unrefined sugar you are using? Canesugar or palmsugar?
Hi Anne, I usually use demerara sugar for the meghli. I hope you enjoy it 🙂 Happy holidays and happy healthy cooking!
Can I use caster sugar?
Hi Mart, sure you can use caster sugar, but it’d be best if you can mill it into powder. Enjoy!
How long do u soak the nuts for?
Hi Shereen,
Usually I soak them for around 30 minutes during the time I am preparing the meghli. Enjoy! 🙂
Yeah! Looks yummy and I’d like to try it!
Hi Channion 🙂 I’m glad you like it! You only need 30 mins to prepare it and it is a very healthy dessert, let me know how it goes!