Meghli

Meghli, moghli, meghleh, (Arabic: مغلي‎), or karawiyah, is a Levantine dessert based on a floured rice pudding and spiced with anise, caraway, and cinnamon. The dish is often garnished with dried coconut flakes and various nuts including almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, and pistachios.[1] Meghli is commonly served to celebrate the birth of a child.[2][3]

Meghli
Alternative namesMoghli, Meghleh, Karawiya
Place of originLevant
Region or stateMiddle East
Serving temperaturefor people greeting a mother who delivered her baby or during christmas
Main ingredientsPowdered Rice, sugar, anise, caraway, cinnamon, coconut, almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts

Name

The name 'meghli' means “boiled” in Arabic, referring to the long time (up to an hour) it must be continuously stirred while boiling.[4]

Celebrations

The dish was traditionally served to celebrate the birth of a male heir, but has now become a dessert to celebrate any newborn.[4] The caraway is thought to assist the new mother in lactating and reduces bloating.

Meghli is also served during the Christmas holiday in recognition of the birth of Christ. Meghli is also symbolic of fertile soil , which is brown like the Meghli.

In Lebanon, it is often served cold. In Syria and Jordan, it is commonly called karawiya (the Arabic name for caraway) and more commonly served warm.

See also

References
  1. Dalal A. Holmin, From the Tables of Lebanon: Traditional Vegetarian Cuisine, Book Publishing Company (TN); 1 edition (June 1997), pg 164
  2. Meghli Archived 2010-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, Arabicnews,com
  3. Kamal Mouzawak, Merry Meghli! Archived 2012-07-15 at Archive.today, Poetry of Food, poetryoffood.com, retrieved 3-7-2010
  4. Anissa Helou, Lebanese Cuisine: More Than 250 Authentic Recipes From The Most Elegant Middle Eastern Cuisine, St. Martin's Griffin (June 15, 1998), pg 241
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