AI-generated photo.
Egyptian · Iconic, Cairo · Egypt
Umm ali
Also called أم علي
Umm ali (أم علي), a Cairo plate from Egypt.
Pai editors’ mark 5 / 5
Plan, list, and collections
Umm ali is cooked in Cairo as its own plate, not as a copy of a restaurant menu. Soak torn bread in sweet milk and cream, scatter nuts and raisins, and bake until the top patches gold. Amounts are for 4 from foods this library can count.
Health
How this plate sits
Counted from the ingredient table. The score, richness, and badges describe one serving as written. The ring and the nutrient table follow the serving count above. This is general information, not medical advice.
47
Health score
Rich, enjoy occasionally
Indulgent
Richness
Rich
Light to very rich, from fat, saturated fat, sugar, and the cream or butter in the plate.
- Protein 10%
- Carbs 43%
- Fat 47%
Watch · Diabetes-friendly
It misses a gentler mark: sugar, fiber, the starch mix, or the richness of the plate.
Watch · Heart-friendly
Saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, or fiber keeps this off the heart-friendly list.
Watch · Weight loss
Calories, protein, or richness make this a fuller plate than a light day wants.
Watch · High protein
Protein is about 13.3 g, under the 25 g mark.
Watch · Low sodium
About 610 mg of sodium, above the 450 mg mark.
Watch · Gluten-free
Wheat or gluten is in the required list.
Watch · Dairy-free
A milk ingredient is in the required list.
Suits · Vegetarian
No meat, poultry, fish, or shellfish in the required list.
Suits · Pregnancy
No alcohol, liver, or caffeine in the required list. Cook meat, eggs, and seafood through.
Watch · Gentle when sick
Fat or sugar is high for a day when appetite is low.
Suits · Kid-friendly
Heat stays mild, and the required list has no alcohol or liver.
Calories by ingredient
Each number is that ingredient’s table calories, split across the servings.
- Country bread122 kcal
- Heavy cream76 kcal
- Almonds66 kcal
- Whole milk63 kcal
- Granulated sugar48 kcal
- Pistachios43 kcal
Glycemic load
Estimated glycemic load for this count: 36.8. The bands come from the ingredient table.
Portion
One serving, as written, is about 505 kcal.
Allergens. Gluten, Milk, Tree nuts, Wheat
Make it healthier
Swap the heavy cream for the same weight of whole milk
The grams stay. The calorie change is the difference between those two rows in the ingredient table.
About 443 kcal after the change.
Use half the granulated sugar
Half the sugar grams are left out, and the calories follow that cut on the table.
About 481 kcal after the change.
Use half the salt
Salt adds no calories in this table, so the calorie figure stays put while sodium falls.
About 505 kcal after the change.
Use half the kosher salt and finish with citrus or vinegar.
The same plate with less sodium. This is the kitchen note. A new calorie figure is shown only when the grams can be replayed on the ingredient table.
Low confidence: no new calorie figure. The grams cannot be replayed on the table.
Serve three-quarters of the plate.
The seasoning stays. The calories fall with the portion. This is the kitchen note. A new calorie figure is shown only when the grams can be replayed on the ingredient table.
Low confidence: no new calorie figure. The grams cannot be replayed on the table.
| Nutrient | Amount | % daily value |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 505 kcal | 25% |
| Protein | 13.3 g | 27% |
| Carbohydrate | 55.9 g | 20% |
| Fiber | 4 g | 14% |
| Total sugars | 29.1 g | 58% |
| Fat | 27.3 g | 35% |
| Saturated fat | 10 g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 36 mg | 12% |
| Sodium | 610 mg | 27% |
| Potassium | 518 mg | 11% |
| Calcium | 210 mg | 16% |
| Iron | 2.9 mg | 16% |
| Magnesium | 71 mg | 17% |
| Zinc | 1.5 mg | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 125 mcg | 14% |
| Vitamin C | 0.4 mg | 0% |
| Vitamin D | 1.3 mcg | 7% |
| Vitamin E · estimate | 1.7 mg | 11% |
| Vitamin K | 4 mcg | 3% |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.5 mg | 39% |
| Riboflavin (B2) · estimate | 0.4 mg | 33% |
| Niacin (B3) | 2.9 mg | 18% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.2 mg | 14% |
| Folate · estimate | 63 mcg | 16% |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.6 mcg | 24% |
Low-confidence marks sit on glycemic load or on vitamins the USDA row left blank. Those vitamins are filled from a food-group reference and labeled as estimates. Reported USDA values, including zeros, are kept. 50 g is the daily value for added sugar. This figure is total sugar, including fruit and milk.
- Saturated fat is moderate to high. Worth noticing if cholesterol is on your mind.
- Sugars are high. Treat it as dessert, even if it arrives in a bowl.
Pai shares general nutrition information for everyday cooking. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan. Health labels are estimates from reference ingredient data and do not account for your lab results, medications, or how a food is absorbed. If you are pregnant, managing diabetes, cholesterol, an allergy, or any illness, use this as a menu of ideas and follow the clinician who knows you. In an emergency, call local emergency services.
Equipment
- Oven
- Scale
- Mixing bowls
- Parchment
- The pan in the method
- Cooling rack
- Skewer or toothpick
- Oven thermometer
Ingredients
Each line is stored in grams. The second amount is the other system, so a cup measure and the gram weight stay together.
Country bread4 slices180 g
Whole milk1.75 cups408 ml
Heavy cream0.4 cup91 ml
Almonds0.3 cup45 g
Pistachios0.25 cup30 g
Raisins0.25 cup45 g
Granulated sugar0.25 cup50 g
Fresh coconut2 tbsp25 g
Kosher salt0.5 tsp3 g
Olive oil1 tbsp15.38 ml
The first amount follows the unit toggle. The second is the other system. Both follow the serving count.
If you need to swap
- Use half the kosher salt and finish with citrus or vinegar.. The same plate with less sodium.
- Serve three-quarters of the plate.. The seasoning stays. The calories fall with the portion.
Method
AI-generated photo.
1Set the oven to 375°F / 191°C and leave it for 15 minutes so the rack is actually hot. Weigh country bread, whole milk, heavy cream, almonds, pistachios, raisins, granulated sugar, fresh coconut, kosher salt, olive oil. Umm ali is cooked in Cairo as its own plate, not as a copy of a restaurant menu. Soak torn bread in sweet milk and cream, scatter nuts and raisins, and bake until the top patches gold. Amounts are for 4 from foods this library can count.
Heat oven 15 min
AI-generated photo.
2Line the pan with parchment. If this is Umm ali, a bare pan is the usual reason the first slice sticks. Butter only the parchment, not a pool of fat.
AI-generated photo.
3Stir the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Combine them until the batter or dough for Umm ali is even, with no dry streaks and no long mixing after that.
AI-generated photo.
4Scrape the mixture into the pan and level the top. Umm ali bakes evenly only when the center is not a dome of unmixed batter.
- 🇪🇬 EgyptNorth Africaicon-egypt-umm-ali-step-4
Umm ali, step 5
Step 5 · Bake about 16 min
5Bake at 375°F / 191°C until this is true: A skewer in the center of Umm ali comes out with a few moist crumbs, and the top springs back. Start checking at 16 minutes. Opening the door early drops the heat.
Bake about 16 min
- 🇪🇬 EgyptNorth Africaicon-egypt-umm-ali-step-5
Umm ali, step 6
Step 6 · Cool 10 min
6Cool Umm ali in the pan for 10 minutes, then move it to a rack. Cutting while it is steaming collapses the crumb. Film Umm ali in this shot order and no other: cheese melting only after the boil stops; a quiet simmer with small bubbles; the oven dial and a hot rack; broth poured from a height into a bowl. Slate words for the editor: caramel, whisked, patina, grove, violet, mortar, flake, bloom, ripple, iris.
Cool 10 min
How you know it is done
A skewer in the center of Umm ali comes out with a few moist crumbs, and the top springs back.
If it goes wrong
- Umm ali looks done on top and is still raw in the center. Trust the cue in the method, not the color alone. Give it a few more minutes and check the center.
- Umm ali spread, sank, or turned out dry. Measure by weight next time, heat the oven fully, and stop when the doneness cue appears rather than when the timer ends.
Storage
Cool Umm ali completely. Keep it covered at room temperature for 2 days, or wrap and freeze for a month. Refrigerate custard, cream, and fresh-fruit fillings the same day and eat them within 3 days.
How this dish helps your daily life
- Umm ali is one of the plates people ask for by name from Cairo.
- Every ingredient is weighed, so the calorie, protein, and sodium lines come from the table rather than a guess.
Notes
Pregnancy. Cook meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood through. Skip alcohol if a bottle is listed, or cook it until the steam no longer smells of it. There is no raw-fish step.
From the kitchen. Soak torn bread in sweet milk and cream, scatter nuts and raisins, and bake until the top patches gold.
Allergens in the required list: Gluten, Milk, Tree nuts, Wheat.
Your stars and note
Pai shares general nutrition information for everyday cooking. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan. Health labels are estimates from reference ingredient data and do not account for your lab results, medications, or how a food is absorbed. If you are pregnant, managing diabetes, cholesterol, an allergy, or any illness, use this as a menu of ideas and follow the clinician who knows you. In an emergency, call local emergency services.