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Haleeb zanjabeel
Haleeb zanjabeel (حليب زنجبيل): warm Gulf milk with ginger, cardamom and saffron
When the short Gulf winter brings chilly evenings to Riyadh, Kuwait and the desert camps, families pour cups of haleeb zanjabeel, hot milk steeped with fresh ginger, cardamom and a few threads of saffron. It is offered to guests in the majlis, given to anyone with a cold, and sipped at breakfast or late at night. It tastes warming and gently spicy, creamy and pale gold. The commonly made mistake is boiling the ginger hard in the milk for too long, which can curdle it and makes it harsh; steep it gently instead. Sweeten with sugar or honey to taste. Chef's tip: simmer the ginger and cardamom in a splash of water first, then add the milk; you get more flavour and less risk of splitting.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 oz fresh gingerpeeled and grated
- 4 green cardamom podscrushed
- ½ cup water
- 3 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 2 tbsp sugar or honeyor to taste
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional)
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 1 oz fresh ginger, 4 green cardamom pods and ½ cup water in a pan and simmer for 3 minutes until fragrant and the water is pale yellow.
3 minStep 2: Add 3 ¼ cups whole milk and 1 pinch saffron threads and heat gently until steaming with small bubbles at the edge, 5 minutes. Don't let it boil hard.
5 minStep 3: Take off the heat, stir in 2 tbsp sugar or honey, cover and steep for 2 minutes.
2 minStep 4: Strain into cups and dust with 1 pinch ground cinnamon. Serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 160 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does haleeb zanjabeel take?
- About 15 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of green cardamom pods?
- A pinch of ground cardamom per 2 pods.
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