Kulfi , Sub-continent’s very own ice cream

Kulfi , Sub-continent’s very own ice cream

I love kulfi !!! Just like I love ice cream !!! What is the difference between ice cream and a kulfi ?? well , kulfi has a grainy texture with some special ingredients of East , like keora , cardamom , rose water . Ice cream or kulfi without ice cream maker always seemed quite impossible for me . I have tested so many home made ice cream and kulfis , made by many good cooks , but all of them complained of the ice crystal formation that made me quite uninterested in attempting to make these divine dessert . Ice crystal is the hard icy texture of the ice cream or kulfi , if made at home .But all on a sudden the worms in my brain led me to make some research on this matter and attempt to make these at home . Well , I researched so hard , I can claim myself a Ph.D on this matter . Lol!!! This is my first attempt in making kulfi , didn’t expect much , but by the mercy of Allah , it came out too good !! almost nil ice crystals , smooth and flavorful !! Alhamdulillah !!! I made my favorite rose-almond kulfi and hubby’s fav pista kulfi .
Usually eggs are not used in making kulfi . But I have seen , the French ice creams are the smoothest of all and it’s just because of the egg yolk . Cornstarch is used to make it smooth too . So I couldn’t resist myself to make a custard using egg yolk and cornstarch and also to use whipped cream and evaporated milk in the base mixture. The fat content make the kulfi or ice cream smoother . One unusual ingredient I used is a slice of bread . 😀 it helped me to achieve the grainy texture of the kulfi and I heard it helps to make the kulfi smoother too . 😀 One thing I did’nt find , i really wanted to use , is liquid glucose , which I heard to be used as a stabilizer for the ice cream s. In sha Allah next time . 🙂

Ingredients :

1 cup of full cream milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1/2 ( half) can of condensed milk
1/2 ( half) cup of powdered sugar
1/4 th cup of powdered milk
1 tbl spoon of cornstarch
1 egg yolk
1 cup of whipped cream ( you can take 1 cup of heavy cream instead )
1 slice of white bread
Keora water
Rose syrup for rose kulfi
green food color for pista kulfi
Almond and pista

Procedure:

1. Blend 1 cup of full cream milk and 1 can of evaporated milk with 1/4 th cup of powder milk , half cup sugar ,1 tbl spoon of corn starch and 1 egg yolk ( don’t take the white) . Blend until incorporated well .

2. Boil the mixture stirring continuously until the milk thickens . Cool down the custard and add the condensed milk . Remember the custard must be completely cooled down . Now blend the mixture again with 1 cup of whipped cream or heavy cream and 1 slice of bread . add the keora water . You can use electric beater too . The more you blend , and the creamier it is , the smoother is your ice cream or kulfi .

3. Now divide the mixture into two bowl or you can use only one flavor . i mixed rose syrup and coarse almond in one bowl and green food color and coarsely ground pista in another bowl . Don’t add the ground almond and pista at the same time , save some for the final touch .

4. Now after pouring them in the molds , close the lids of the molds or box tightly and put each of the mold in a zip lock bag in a way so that no air goes into the bag . it will prevent air to get inside the molds . Air fasten to form ice crystallization . Place them in deep chamber of fridge.

5. Now After 2 hours , take the boxes out and beat the mixture again with electric hand beater or in a blender . Repeat the process two or three more times after every three or two hours . This beating will help to get smooth kulfis . After final beating add the remaining saved coarsely ground pista and almond and place in the deep the way mentioned .

Notes:

1.Don’t use any such box , in which air can enter easily . If your box is not air tight , ice crystals are must resulting in hard , icy texture .

2.You can use cardamom powder too . But in these flavors , in my opinion cardamom powder doesn’t go well .

3. I used some raisins and dried cranberry in my rose kulfi after final beating .