Om Ali: An 'unforgettable' sweet with a sinister history
AlamyAs millions of people break their Ramadan fast, many believers around the world reach for a wildly popular dish tied to an unbelievable legend.
On a hot and sultry August evening in 2011, I sat at a table in my favourite restaurant in Kuwait City, facing the calm waters of the Persian Gulf, waiting for my iftar platter to arrive. The elaborate meal – consisting of fresh juices, stuffed dates, vegetable samosas, lamb pilaf, shish tawook (a marinated chicken kebab), local bread, coffee and desserts – was delicious.
Yet, what still lingers on my tongue and in my mind more than a decade later isn't the delightful crunch of the samosa or the sapid juiciness of the shish tawook but the sweet taste of Om Ali, a simple-but-flavourful Egyptian dessert with a surprisingly dark history.
Flash forward to 2025 and I'm standing in a small confectionery store in downtown Cairo, sharing another bowl of Om Ali, this time with my 12-year-old son, and I still can't stop drooling over the dish, despite having tried it in every Middle Eastern city I've visited during the last 14 years.
Soumya Gayatri"A good bowl of Om Ali is unforgettable," says Nermine Mansour, a former Egyptian diplomat-turned-food writer and founder of the food blog, Chez Nermine. "It is the perfect balance of flavours, textures and nutrition – the star of Egyptian cuisine," she adds.
Om Ali (also known as Umm Ali or Oum Ali) is a decadent bread pudding made from spice-infused milk, puff pastry, roasted nuts and sugar. Traditionally baked in a deep clay dish for about 20-25 minutes, it has a crunchy, caramelised coating at the top and a silky, creamy layer at the bottom, giving the dessert a unique texture. According to Mansour, the creaminess of the milk, the juiciness of the soaked puff pastry, the crunch from the nuts and the sweet earthiness lent by the clay pot come together to give Om Ali a rare appeal, making it one of the most popular desserts in Egypt.
Where to find Om Ali
Although Om Ali is available at all major cafes and bakeries in Egypt throughout the year, the variety and volume are staggering during Ramadan. Some of the best places to sample authentic Om Ali in Cairo are El Malky, Simonds Bakery & Café and Nola Bakery.
Om Ali is also a favourite across the Middle East, particularly during Ramadan and Eid celebrations when dessert consumption skyrockets. Earlier this year, B Laban, one of the fastest-growing Middle Eastern dessert companies, posted a video of Om Ali on Instagram and thousands of people quickly swooned over it.
"I get why Om Ali is so popular. It is affordable, easy to digest and can be prepared quickly using ingredients available at home, making it equally accessible to the rich and the poor," says Moustafa Omran, an Egyptologist and my local tour guide in Cairo. "Despite the fame of this dish, a question always lingers in the minds of [Om Ali] lovers: who is Ali and who is his mother, after whom this dish is named">window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article', placement: 'Below Article', target_type: 'mix' });