Kesar Pista Kulfi
Creamy, luscious frozen kulfi ice cream with saffron and pistachios. I have included two other variations: Almond Lychee Kulfi and Coconut Rose Kulfi. This decadent dessert is so easy to make in large quantities.
Equipment
- Stove top, hand blender, freezer
Ingredients
For the kesar pista kulfi:
- 1 gallon whole milk evaporated to less than a third, use 2 cups of the reduced milk for this recipe
- 1 pinch saffron (aka kesar)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp green cardamom seeds powdered without the skin
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp pistachios unsalted, powdered
- 1 tbsp almonds blanched, powdered fine
Instructions
How to reduce and evaporate the milk:
- In a tall heavy bottom pot, boil the milk. Lower the heat to medium when the milk boils.
- Stir occasionally when the milk rises to the top. Fold the top cream into the milk while stirring. Avoid letting the milk from boiling over, by reducing the heat and stirring occasionally.
- Reduce the milk to one-third in quantity. Turn off the heat and cool until lukewarm.
How to make Kesar Pista Kulfi:
- Take 2 cups of the reduced milk and add the sugar, all-purpose flour, and the blanched powdered almonds. Use a hand blender or a whisk to blend all the ingredients. Take care to ensure that there are no lumps in the mixture.
- Add the saffron and powdered pistachios. Reserve some coarsely ground pistachios for garnish.
- Whisk again until there are no lumps.
- Pour the mixture into wet molds specially made for kulfi.
- Alternatively, you could pour into wet popsicle molds and cover with foil and insert popsicle sticks. Freeze the kulfi overnight.
- Remove the molds from the freezer. Run the molds under the kitchen faucet for a few seconds and gently squeeze the mold. Turn the mold upside down on a plate or sundae bowl. The kulfi will slide out. Garnish with pistachios and/or saffron.
How to make Almond Lychee Kulfi:
- I used the same proportions as the Kesar Pista Kulfi for the Kesar Almond Kulfi and added only the blanched powdered almonds (no pistachios) and 3 tablespoons of lychee puree. To further thicken it, I added 3 tablespoons of condensed milk.
How to make Coconut Rose Kulfi:
- I used the same proportions as the Kesar Pista Kulfi for the Coconut Rose Kulfi and added 3 tablespoons of freshly grated coconut and the petals of one fragrant pink rose instead of the pistachios and almonds. Finally, I added 2 tablespoons of fresh cream and 1 tablespoon of milk powder instead of plain flour along with a dash of rose syrup.
Notes
- Whole milk is required to make creamy kulfi.
- Use a heavy bottomed-pan to reduce the milk. (See tips and techniques on blog post).
Nutrition
Calories: 795kcalCarbohydrates: 100gProtein: 32gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 408mgPotassium: 1313mgFiber: 1gSugar: 98gVitamin A: 1549IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 1082mgIron: 1mg
