Kar’ Asali is an Egyptian popular pumpkin dessert. This crowd pleaser consists of a velvety layer of slowly cooked sweet pumpkin, spiked with warm spices, sprinkled with a mixture of toasted nuts, and topped with a layer of silky smooth and sweet béchamel sauce.
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What is Kar’ Asali?
Kar‘ means “pumpkin” in the Egyptian dialect and Asali means “sweet”. So together these two words mean sweet pumpkin.
Kar’ Asali is a hearty Egyptian dessert that is worthy of your celebration table, wherever you live on the map. Bonus: It is pretty easy to put together in general and specially for Thanksgiving and the holiday season.
You can’t accuse this dish of being light or Keto friendly! However, it is an indulgence that we all deserve to have from time to time, especially on Thanksgiving day.
Kar’ Asali is my Egyptian contribution to my inclusive American Thanksgiving table.
Story of Kar’ Asali
Kar’ Asali is a unique dessert to Egypt unlike the desserts that are common with the rest of the Middle East such as Baklava, and Kunafeh/Kataifi.
I vividly recall the first time I tried this dessert! It was love at first sight 😀.
I had it in Cairo, at Tante Ragaa and her late husband Uncle Hamdys, a seasoned and hospitable home cook couple and dear cousins of my mother. Tante Ragaa and Uncle Hamdy served Kar’ Asali for a large crowd after a great Molokhia meal and it was a food experience that I will always cherish.
This scrumptious dessert was nothing short of a miracle, perfect silky smooth béchamel hiding a treasure of velvety pumpkin underneath! You take a bite and the crunch of toasted nuts pleasantly surprises your taste buds, and complements that creamy texture.
It is a splendid dessert that is made out of simple, basic, and affordable ingredients. If nuts are out of reach, feel free to omit them.
Success secrets of Kar’ Asali
This dish is simple and straightforward, that said, there are some key elements to consider to turn this dish into a culinary experience that will dent the memory of your guests or family members for a long time. So here you go:
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Choose pumpkin right
To make Kar’ Asali, choose your pumpkin right for cooking. Use sugar pumpkins (also called pie or sweet pumpkins), which are small and round or those that are oblong and can look like a wheel of cheese.
The field pumpkin types are larger, have watery, stringy flesh, and are best for decorating rather than cooking.
Kara’ Asali or Sweet Pumpkin dish requires a reasonable amount of sugar so it doesn’t overpower the notes of pumpkin and spices. The amount of sugar in this recipe is optional you can scale it up or scale it down.
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Dash of salt
Given the sweetness of the pumpkin and the addition of sugar, it is advised to add a dash of salt that offsets any excessive sweetness and creates a more balanced after taste.
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Silky smooth béchamel
Béchamel could be a onerous task for some. Therefore, I am detailing in the recipe below a very simple technique to make béchamel a piece of cake. If for any reason the béchamel has some flour lumps, it is probably a good idea to run the béchamel sauce through a fine mesh sieve to end up with a smooth white sauce.
To spike the earthy taste of milk, I add a consortium of flavorings that lends the sweet sauce its Egyptian streak. Mastic, orange blossom, a pinch of cloves and vanilla are all optional, yet I love to use them all.
Health benefits
A piece of advise, ditch the guilt emanating from eating sweets and focus on the multiple health benefits of Kar’ Asali.
According to Healthline, pumpkins are loaded with a variety of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Additionally, the milk used in the béchamel is calcium and vitamins rich.
You see this dessert is good for you after all!😃
How to Make Kar’ Asali (Egyptian Pumpkin – Béchamel Dessert)
Making Kar’ Asali is straightforward and doesn’t call for exceptional culinary skills. Watch the step-by-step in this video.
- Prepare the pumpkin: Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and the strings, and cut in approx. 1 inch cubes. To save time, use pre-cut and cleaned pumpkin chunks from the fridge aisle or frozen pumpkin will also work just fine in this recipe.
- Cook the pumpkin: In a heavy bottom pan, mix the pumpkin cubes with the sugar and spices. Make sure that the pumpkin cubes are well coated with the sugar. Cook it on low heat for 30-40 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork tender and has expelled enough liquid/water to make the béchamel base.
- Drain the pumpkin water: Place the cooked pumpkin over a fine mesh sieve fitted into a medium size sauce pan and press the pumpkin with a fork to extract any more liquid the pumpkin is holding up. Reserve the water released to make the béchamel base.
- Make the béchamel sauce: Place the same medium saucepan where you collected the pumpkin liquid (water) on low heat and incorporate the flour. Stir quickly with a wire whisk until the flour and the pumpkin liquid/water forms a golden smooth paste, quickly before this paste dries out, add the milk and cream (if using any) and keep stirring continuously. Mix in the the sugar, vanilla, ground cloves and keep stirring until the béchamel thickens. Dip a spoon in the béchamel sauce, if the sauce covers the back of the spoon, then it is ready. Turn off the heat and let it cool slightly until you are ready to assemble the dessert.
- Assemble the dessert: Evenly spread the cooked and smashed pumpkin to a baking deep dish and even the pumpkin layer across the dish. Sprinkle the nuts of your choice. With a paddle evenly add the béchamel on top of the pumpkin and the nuts. Sprinkle a spoonful of brown or white sugar on the béchamel to melt in the oven and caramelize the surface.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 365°F and bake the dessert for 20-25 minutes until the béchamel is bubbly. To caramelized the béchamel top, turn on the broiler for five minutes.
- Serve: Serve it piping hot off the oven, warm, or at room temperature, or cold. It is your choice!
Check Out More Pumpkin Recipes On My Blog
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Kar’ Asali (aka Ara’ Asali) (Egyptian Sweet Pumpkin- Bechamel Dessert)
TOOLS
- Large cooking pan
- Wire whisk
- Medium sauce pan
- Pyrex baking dish (10X15) OR Pyrex square baking dish (9.4 x 9.4 x 2.4)
INGREDIENTS
Pumpkin Layer
- 1 kg pumpkin
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nuts (optional)
- 3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
- 3 tablespoons raisins or sultanas
- 1/4 cup toasted, crushed pistachios
- 1/4 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
Béchamel Layer
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom, optional
- 2 mastic resin, crushed, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar, to sprinkle on top of the béchamel, optional
DIRECTIONS
- Prepare the pumpkin: Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and the strings, and cut in approx. 1 inch cubes. To save time, use pre-cut and cleaned pumpkin chunks from the fridge aisle or frozen pumpkin will also work just fine in this recipe.
- Cook the pumpkin: In a heavy bottom pan, mix the pumpkin cubes with the sugar and spices. Make sure that the pumpkin cubes are well coated with the sugar. Cook it on low heat for 30-40 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork tender and has expelled enough liquid/water to make the béchamel base.
- Drain the pumpkin water: Place the cooked pumpkin over a fine mesh sieve fitted into a medium size sauce pan and press the pumpkin with a fork to extract any more liquid the pumpkin is holding up. Reserve the water released to make the béchamel base.
- Make the béchamel sauce: Place the same medium saucepan where you collected the pumpkin liquid (water) on low heat and incorporate the flour. Stir quickly with a wire whisk until the flour and the pumpkin liquid/water forms a golden smooth paste, quickly before this paste dries out, add the milk and cream (if using any) and keep stirring continuously. Mix in the the sugar, vanilla, ground cloves and keep stirring until the béchamel thickens. Dip a spoon in the béchamel sauce, if the sauce covers the back of the spoon, then it is ready. Turn off the heat and let it cool slightly until you are ready to assemble the dessert.
- Assemble the dessert: Evenly spread the cooked and smashed pumpkin to a baking deep dish and even the pumpkin layer across the dish. Sprinkle the nuts of your choice. With a paddle evenly add the béchamel on top of the pumpkin and the nuts. Sprinkle a spoonful of brown or white sugar on the béchamel to melt in the oven and caramelize the surface.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 365°F and bake the dessert for 20-25 minutes until the béchamel is bubbly. To caramelized the béchamel top, turn on the broiler for five minutes.
- Serve: Serve it piping hot off the oven, warm, or at room temperature, or cold. It is your choice!
NERMINE’S NOTES:
- The amount of sugar in this recipe is optional. Feel free to reduce or increase the sugar to your taste.
- Always use room temperature milk to prevent having lumps in the béchamel.