Karawya, the Syrian Meghli

In Syria it is called karawya. A dark pudding of rice flour, water and sugar, scented with caraway seed, anise and cinnamon. It is made for a newborn and handed to visitors in a bowl. In Lebanon and Palestine the same dish is meghli and comes cold; in Syria and Jordan it is served warm.

How it is cooked

Finely ground rice goes into water and sugar, then caraway, anise and cinnamon. It simmers with constant stirring for up to an hour, and the name means boiled. Once it thickens it is poured into bowls. Shredded coconut, peeled Aleppo pistachio, ground walnut and halved almonds go on top. There is no milk in it. Still, the way it sits in the bowl puts it close to the milk puddings, and the colour comes from the spice.

When it is made

When a baby is born. It used to be made for a boy; today it is made for any birth, and caraway is held to increase the mother’s milk. Every visitor gets a bowl, and the dish itself is how the news is passed around. Levantine Christians also make it at Christmas, for another birth.

Why Syria calls it karawya

The name and the serving temperature change at the border. In Lebanon and Palestine the dish is meghli, and cold. In Syria and Jordan it is karawya, and usually warm. Warmth opens up the cinnamon and the anise; as it cools the texture tightens and the spice pulls back. One recipe, two habits.

Where to eat it

In houses. It is not a regular item in a sweet shop window, and it follows a birth or a winter visit. It is not a heavy dessert: a bowl of around 110 grams comes to about 250 calories. A bowl loaded with nuts, of course, goes well past that.