Htayliyyeh

Ingredients

• 1.5 liters milk
• 5 tablespoons or 1 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon mastic
• 1/2 cup sugar syrup (sheera)
• 1/4 cup orange blossom water
• optional ice cream
• a pinch coconut
• a little finely ground pistachios
• a little coarsely chopped pistachios
• a little very cold water in a spray bottle

Instructions

1. Place the cold milk in a pot, then add the cornstarch and stir it in the pot until the cornstarch dissolves completely.
2. Place the pot over the heat and continue stirring constantly so that the milk does not burn or change flavor.
3. When the mixture in the pot begins to thicken, add the mastic to the pot and continue stirring until the cornstarch taste disappears and the mixture is ready.
4. Pour the mixture from the pot into a tray or serving dish and spread it evenly.
5. Put very cold water in a spray bottle, then spray it over the surface of the tray or serving dish so that the milk skin does not wrinkle.
6. Set the tray or serving dish aside for about half an hour until the mixture cools.
7. After the mixture cools, mix the milk with the sugar syrup and orange blossom water in a bowl.
8. Pour the milk, sugar syrup, and orange blossom water mixture from the bowl over the cooled mixture in the tray or serving dish.
9. Cover the tray or serving dish with kitchen plastic wrap, then leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
10. The next day, strain the milk that has collected in the tray or serving dish into a bowl.
11. Cut the Htayliyyeh in the tray or serving dish into pieces of the desired size.
12. Place the Htayliyyeh pieces in a serving bowl, then add some of the strained milk flavored with orange blossom water.
13. As an optional choice, ice cream can be placed in the serving bowl first, then the Htayliyyeh pieces are placed on top.
14. Garnish the serving bowl with coconut, finely ground pistachios, and coarsely chopped pistachios.
15. Add 2 tablespoons of the strained milk to the serving bowl, then ice cream can be placed on top with a little sugar syrup added when serving.