Kulfi is classic traditional Indian ice-cream that is textured, creamy, rich and has a good full flavor, made with ingredients such as pistachio nuts, mango, malai, cardamom and saffron.

Kulfi does not require an ice-cream maker to produce and also is not whipped like western ice-cream, instead it is blended together.  Once made it takes a long time to melt and will also keep a lot longer in the fridge freezer.

Authentic way to make Indian kulfi ice-cream.

Ingredients:

• 1 tin (14oz) of evaporated milk
• 1 tin (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup of heavy double cream
• ½ cup pistachio nuts
• 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom spice
• 1 teaspoon of saffron
• 2 teaspoons of sugar

Method:

Chop up the pistachio nuts until they are in little bits, not too finely though or the finished kulfi will lose some of the wanted course texture.

Then place  into a saucepan and add the other ingredients, carefully bring to the boil, as milk and cream boils at a lower temperature and will rise quickly in the saucepan.

Whilst the mixture is simmering, stir slowly for about 1 minute until the ingredients are well blended in .

  Allow to cool then whisk the mixture or use a hand blender to make the mixture even smoother, then pour the mixture into popsicle mould's, special kulfi mould's, brioche (French bread) mould's or even half coconut shells and freeze for 6 hours.

Before you serve the kulfi, dip the mould into warm water for several seconds so that the ice-cream is easier to remove and garnish with  fine ground pistachios.

Of course kulfi can be made with fruits blended in as well and a popular choice is to use mangoes, add small to medium sized chunks of mango to the mixture after its taken off the heat and fold in, then freeze as normal.

Fast and easy Kulfi:

A faster way to make Kulfi is to simply put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl, blend it all in and then freeze for 6 hours.  Without boiling the mixture, Kulfi will not be quite as smooth but will still retain a delicious taste.

The texture of Kulfi should be slightly grainy and chewy and it is only with practise along with your preference that you will get this right for your enjoyment.