Kulfi
Kulfi is a traditional Indian dessert. It’s essentially an ice-cream so easy to prepare in advance and perfect after hot & spicy dishes as it’s pleasantly cooling. Traditionally, kulfis are formed in aluminium cone moulds but you could even use individual 'ice-cream on a stick' moulds for picnics or the traditional copper Cannelé moulds from Bordeaux. Here it’s served in a ring mould and filled with seasonal berries as a great seasonal centre piece.
Many thanks to Charulata Kholi for sharing her recipe.
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Prep: 30 mins
Cooling/Setting: 4hrs
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
4 litres full fat cow’s or 2 litres of tinned condensed milk or 2 litres Barista strength oat milk
150g of caster sugar or to taste if using condensed milk or 50g if sweetened oat milk
1 tsp green cardamom powder (De-pod, grind / blitz whole pods)
A pinch of saffron (Gently heat - burns very easily - put onto a sheet of A4 paper - once cooled, fold over and it will crush down into a fine powder that is more powerful than just using strands)
2 tbsp chopped blanched almonds
2 tbsp chopped pistachios
300 ml double cream (or 100ml oat cream)
Method
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Use a deep non-stick pan and place a glass weight if you have one in the base. Pour over the milk and bring to a gentle simmer and keep stirring and scraping the sides to allow the skin to thicken and condense to become reincorporated into the gently cooking milk. If using oat milk, add the oat cream at this stage. If using cow's milk or condensed milk, you will add the cream later.
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The milk should gently reduce in volume to around 2 litres, so half in around 15-30 mins or so, but please keep an eye on the pan and stir regularly. Condensed milk does not need to reduce, just simmer for 10 mins.
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Slowly add in the sugar and allow it to dissolve - check for taste in case you might like to add more. (If using condensed milk, you can heat the milk and add in the condensed milk and allow to simmer for 10 mins)
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Add in the cow's milk double cream and allow it to heat up for a minute or so.
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Optional - If you have a good blender, blitz for a minute to smoothen out the mixture.
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Add in the chopped nuts, cardamom and saffron and cook for a couple of minutes.
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Increase the temperature to reach a gentle boil, and then switch off and allow to cool before pouring into the separate ice cream moulds, kulfi moulds or pouring into the cake tin.
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Freeze with a cover of cling film and not close to anything that might have a strong flavour as the mixture is quite delicate.
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Variations
Strawberries or raspberries can be blitzed into a puree to make around 50g and stirred into the cooled mixture to taste prior to freezing.
Fresh mangoes or mango puree can be added to the basic kulfi mix too.
The recipe can be made without nuts.
Pairing
A light red wine, with fruit fruit aromas would be perfect with the red berries or a bright and light sweet white. For a special occasion, or to make it a special occasion, a sparkling Crémant or even a Bordeaux Rosé.