How to Make Hala Al-Ruz (Rice Dessert)

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 cups water
• 500 g cheese - sweetened akkawi or mozzarella
• 1 cup rice
• blossom water (mâ' zahr)
• mastic
• To get a recipe for a lemon-blossom substitute for decorating desserts, see this link: How to Make a Lemon-Blossom Substitute to Decorate Arabic Desserts
• For a very tasty Turkish-style ka'ak, see this link Turkish Ka'ak

Method

1. Slice the cheese into thin slices and soak them in water for a full day to make them less salty.
2. Cook the rice in 4 cups of water until the rice is soft and sticky.
3. Remove the rice from the heat and set it aside until it cools slightly.
4. Put the rice in a blender and blend well until it becomes dough-like.
5. Return the rice to the heat, add the sugar, and stir continuously; leave it until it boils.
6. Finally add the cheese pieces to the rice and stir well until they are completely melted.
7. Add orange-blossom (zahr) water to the mixture and mix it with the rice.
8. Then turn off the heat and pour the hot dessert into serving bowls and leave it until it cools.
9. After the Hala Al-Ruz cools, place it in the refrigerator and garnish as desired.
10. To make very delicious Turkish-style cake, here is this link: Turkish cake