Kulfi is the ultimate Indian version of ice cream, brought to India by the Mughals in the 16th century. The word kulfi has its origins in the Persian word “qulfi” meaning “covered cup.” It’s traditionally made with whole milk that’s simmered for hours until it’s thick and takes on an exquisite caramelized, nutty flavor. It’s then sweetened and flavored with ingredients like saffron, cardamom, pistachios, mango and rose water. It’s denser than western ice creams because it’s not churned, a process that adds air; instead, it’s poured into covered cone-shaped containers and frozen. In an earlier time, kulfi was made in terracotta containers placed in a slurry of crushed ice and salt to chill. Eventually terracotta was replaced by aluminum, and more recently by plastic molds. At home you can use any ice-pop mold of your choice. There’s some tough competition out there, but this is one of my favorite kulfi recipes. It’s fragrant with rose water, pistachios and a hint of cardamom and has a lovely rose-pink color. I’ve experimented with a few different bases for the kulfi: just milk, a combination of milk and condensed milk and even with cream cheese. But this version with both whole milk and cream produces the best results: The added cream makes it less icy and gives it a lovely rich texture. In some restaurants you’ll get kulfi made with shortcut ingredients like evaporated milk or condensed milk, but I think these just don’t have the same taste.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 8 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 25 min |
| Yield: | fifteen 2-ounce servings |
Ingredients
- 8 cups (1/2 gallon) whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons rose water, or to taste
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon beet powder or a few drops red food coloring
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios
- 3 tablespoons food-grade rose petals
Instructions
- Combine the milk and cream in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or pot (see Cook’s Note). Cook over high heat, stirring often, until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat enough to keep the mixture boiling but not overflowing and cook, stirring and scraping down the sides every 30 seconds or so, until the mixture is reduced by half, about 1 hour. (You can measure the height of the milk with a ruler before cooking, then begin measuring the depth again towards the end of the cooking time.)
- Add 3 tablespoons of the rose water, the sugar, beet powder, cardamom and salt. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Taste and add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter kulfi and more rose water if you want a more pronounced flavor. Add a little more beet powder if needed for a nice rose-pink color. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. (For quicker cooling, add some ice and a little water to a larger bowl and nestle the bowl with the milk mixture in the ice; stir occasionally until cool.)
- Stir 4 tablespoons of the pistachios and 2 tablespoons of the rose petals into the mixture. Pour the mixture into fifteen 2-ounce kulfi molds or ice-pop molds. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1 tablespoon rose petals followed by the remaining 1 tablespoon pistachios. Secure the lids and freeze upright, at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
- When ready to serve, you can run warm water over the containers to make it easy to take the ice cream out.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 15 servings |
| Calories | 174 |
| Total Fat | 11 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 14 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 14 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 31 mg |
| Sodium | 92 mg |