Kar' Asali (Egyptian Pumpkin - Béchamel Dessert): قرع عسلي
Kar' Asali is a beloved Egyptian dessert made of spiced, slow-cooked pumpkin, topped with toasted nuts and a sweet, silky béchamel sauce.
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Equipment
Ingredients
Pumpkin Layer
- 1 kg pumpkin
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
- 3 tablespoons raisins or sultanas
- 1/4 cup toasted, crushed pistachios
- 1/4 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
Sweet Bechamel (White Sauce) Layer
- 2 cups whole milk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/4 cup cream cheese or Ashta (clotted cream)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter or ghee
- 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
Instructions
- 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: Kar' Asali 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.