Om Ali .. history of an Egyptian dessert

The story of Om Ali
Om Ali ( Ali's mother )was the first wife of the Sultan Ezz El Din Aybek. In Egypt, women were not allowed to rule, but were permitted to be guardians to their sons who would become king when they came of age. When the sultan was killed by his second wife ( queen Shagareteldorr ),she had a dispute with Om Ali over whose son would be the successor to the Sultan. Shagareteldorr was heavily guarded making it difficult for Om Ali to get rid of her.

Om Ali hatched a plot bribing Shagareteldorr’s handmaids. While Shagareteldorr went to the hamam for a bath, she was beaten to death, by slippers, by her own handmaids! To celebrate her death, Om Ali made this dessert by mixing bread with milk and sugar and distributed it among the people of the land.

Om Ali recipe

Ingredients
1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped hazelnuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup flaked coconut
1 1/4 cups white sugar, divided
4 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2.Place the pastry sheets in the baking dish and place the dish in the oven. Watch it closely. When the top layer turns crunchy and golden, remove it from the

oven. Continue until all the sheets are cooked

3.Preheat the oven broiler.

4.In a bowl, combine walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, raisins, coconut and 1/4 cup sugar. Break cooked pastry into pieces and stir into nut mixture. Spread mixture evenly in 9x13 inch dish.

5.Bring milk and 1/2 cup sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Pour over nut mixture.

6.Beat the heavy cream with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly over nut mixture in dish.

7.Place dessert under oven broiler until top is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Extracted from more than one source