Kulfi – a very popular frozen dairy dessert of India, often described as the traditional Indian ice cream- is sinfully rich and creamy in texture. Being denser and creamier in texture, it melts in mouth slower than regular ice cream; thereby giving you a lasting flavor of its richness. It is made in different flavors like malai, mango, rose, cardamom, saffron and pistachio kulfi.
Today I prepared mango kulfi with flavors of cardamom and pistachios added to it. The rich, creamy and sweetened kulfi with an additional flavor of mangoes, cardamom and pistachios leaves a heavenly aftertaste. Honestly, it reminds me of my beautiful country India, and I recalled quite a lot of memories I had with this dessert. Traditionally prepared in India, kulfi is sold by vendors called kulfiwalas, who keep the kulfis frozen by placing the molds inside a large earthenware pot called a matka, filled with ice and salt. It is served on a leaf or frozen onto a stick. We have cherished the taste of this frozen dessert many times; on summer evenings post dinner, we would just go for a drive to the places where there were kulfiwalas, and eat it while enjoying the wind fanning our faces from the open windows of the car. Ah, what a lovely feeling it is!
My husband and elder daughter are huge fans of kulfi and every time we visit the Indian grocery store here in the US, my husband makes sure to buy some kulfis and keeps stocking them in our refrigerator. Today, after tasting the kulfi that I prepared, he said he wouldn’t buy anymore from the store. Wow, now isn’t that a compliment? I was delighted!
Kulfi is traditionally prepared by evaporating sweetened milk through slow cooking, with almost continuous stirring to keep the milk from sticking to the bottom of the vessel where it might burn, until it’s volume is reduced by half; thus thickening it, increasing it’s density. The semi-condensed mix is then frozen in tight sealed molds for a few hours in the refrigerator. Kulfis that are made in the earthen pots are called Matka kulfis and they render a unique, smooth feel; devoid of ice crystals. Though it sounds like a lengthy process, believe me it’s very simple and easy to make; all you need is a bit of patience to stir the milk throughout the process. Of course, it might give an extra work to your hands but it’s worth it, especially when you taste something delicious.
Mango kulfi recipe:
Heat milk (preferably whole milk) over medium to slow heat, in a thick vessel and let it come to a boil. Add a few strings of saffron and boil the milk till it comes to almost 1/3 rd of the previous consistency. Add sugar and simmer till it forms into a thick rabdi. Add in some cardamom powder to enhance the aroma of the kulfi. Keep it aside to cool down completely. There’s a shortcut of this whole process which takes about 35-40 minutes. But I wanted to prepare it from scratch, so I boiled the milk and prepared the rabdi.
For the shortcut, you can simply add condensed milk and milk cream together, add flavors of your choice and pour them in the kulfi molds and freeze them to form the kulfi. Some people also use corn flour or rice flour for the thickening of the kulfi mix. But I didn’t add any flour as I wanted to enjoy the taste of the milk rabdi without any touch of flour in it. I added some milk-mava powder that is handy to thicken the milk.
Peel the mangoes, slice them, and discard the seed. Blend it into a purée. Add the mango pulp to the cooled rabdi and mix it well. Fill it into the kulfi molds. I didn’t have kulfi molds handy, so I used shot glasses to make the kulfi.
I added some powdered pistachios on the bottom of the glasses and added half a tea spoon of mango pulp on top of it. I then filled the glasses with the mango kulfi mix. Insert a popsicle stick into the kulfi mold and store them in the freezer for a few hours or till they have hardened. Freeze them for at least 6-8 hours or even overnight for better consistency.
Before use, keep them in a water bath for 2-3 minutes to help take them out of their molds and serve them chilled. Enjoy this delicious dessert, that is rich and full of flavor. Don’t miss out on this!
Click below to see other Mango recipes:
Mango Kalakand Mango milkshake Mango nutella pancake Sweet & Sour Tacos
