Sahlab

The weather is getting decidedly chilly. While by rights we should have summer for at least a few more weeks, the wintery chill in the mornings is ominous. I have to say I am a summer person, I function far better in daylight and the thoughts of dark dreary northern European winter mornings does not fill me with joy. What does fill me with joy is the thought of hot sahlab to drink.

Sahlab (or sahleb, salep etc) is hot thick milky drink (or sometimes dessert) popular throughout the Middle East and Turkey. It’s made from sahlab flour which comes from the ground dried roots of a particular species of orchid. While it doesn’t have much in the way of taste (other than being slightly ‘earthy’) it acts as a thickening agent giving a distinct texture. True sahlab itself is not too easy to come by outside of Turkey (or other sahlab drinking countries), and most of the commercially available sahlab mixes contain artificial flavours and cornflour as a thickening agent due to cost/scarcity. The recipe below gives both options, but using cornflour gives perfectly acceptable results.   

Ingredients
2 cups of milk
1/2 tsp ground mastic (optional)
2 tablespoons cornflour (or 1 tablespoon sahlab powder)
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
2 tablespoons sugar
Raisins, pistachios and coconut for garnish    

 1. Pour the milk in a saucepan, add the sugar and place over a medium heat
Cornflour version: As the milk warms up, pour a little into a container and mix it with the cornflour (and mastic if using) until you've got a smooth paste, keep to one side
2. Sahlab version: Bring the milk to the boil then add the sahlab in small amounts whisking constantly so you don’t get lumps
Cornflour version: Bring the milk to the boil and add the cornflour/mastic paste and whisk constantly so you don't get lumps
3. Continue to whisk for around 5 minutes, lower the heat slightly and then add the orange blossom water and stir well
4. Ladle into mugs, sprinkle with raisins, nuts and coconut and serve hot with a spoon