Mastic Pudding

(Sakizli Muhallebi)

4 + 1 cup 3.25% milk
1/2 cup cream, 35% (heavy cream)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp mastic, roll glass on the mastic to make it powdery (or use mortar)
3 tbsp rice flour
4 tbsp corn starch

Place 4 cups of milk, cream and sugar in a medium sized cooking pot. Melt the sugar over medium heat. Dissolve the corn starch and rice flour in 1 cup of milk and add into the pot. Then add the powdered mastic in it. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes to get it thick. Immediately pour into individual bowls. Let it cool down and sprinkle some pistachio on top. Keep it in the fridge before serving.

Ottoman Kitchen.

Makes 6 servings.

What is Mastic?
Wikipedia entry

Mastic gum or resin with the exquisite aroma is exuded from the bark of the mastic tree. Mastic is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 3–4 m tall, it is native throughout the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea region.

A hard, brittle, transparent resin, also known as mastic, is obtained from the tree. The resin is collected by bleeding from small cuts made in the bark. When chewed, the resin becomes bright white and opaque.

*Ottoman Kitchen

Mastic resin is a relatively expensive kind of spice, used in liquors (mastica alcoholic drink) and chewing gum pastilles. It is also a key ingredient in Turkish ice cream, and Turkish puddings granting that confection its unusual texture and bright whiteness. It was the Sultan's privilege to chew mastic, and it was considered to have healing properties. Mastic is also used for pastry making, drinks, baked goods, chewing gum, cosmetics such as toothpaste, and lotions for the hair and skin and perfumes. It is also used in preparation of Turkish Delight.

Mastic has also been found to have anti-microbial properties and virtues. It was used in the past to treat illnesses such as cancerous formations in the stomach, ulcer, abdominal pain and heartburn.