Marhaba.. Umm Ali

I practically drool everytime I imagine eating sweetened condensed milk. Because I was a 'healthy' girl since I was a teenager, I was generally warned to keep away from food items like these, not that it really did.. And sometime ago, while I was out for grocery shopping, I chanced upon tonnes of cans of condensed milk in an aisle. Brought back a lot of memories where I used to sneak upto the fridge and help myself to a generous dose of it :). I got a couple of cans, and ever since then I have been on a look out for recipes that uses it. My quest for vegetarian Middle-East recipes (specifically Falafel) brought me to the dessert section and I found: Umm ali (Ali's Mother), an awesome dessert recipe from the land of pyramids, Egypt. It must taste soooo good! Umm..! And all the more better with vanilla ice cream on top. Hoping to try it out tonight, will see how it goes..

Ingredients:

1 package of frozen puff pastry (17 ounces)
1 15 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
3 cups water
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup pistachios, shelled, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 - 3/4 cups coconut flakes (depending on taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Unroll puff pastry sheets and place on greased baking sheets. Bake for 15' until the puff pastry is golden and puffed. Remove from oven.

Break puff pastry into small pieces (~1-2 inches). Add nuts and coconut and be sure that they are mixed well and evenly distributed. Place nuts and pastry in greased 9x12 baking dish.

In a saucepan, heat sweetened milk, vanilla, and water on medium heat. Allow to cook for about 3-5'. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Pour milk over puff pastry-nut mixture. Pour cream on top and bake uncovered for ~15'.

Serve warm.