The Kulfi is a dessert similar to ice cream but with a denser and creamier texture, popular throughout the Indian subcontinent.
▶Unlike ice cream, kulfi is not churned and takes longer to melt.
▶There are various traditional flavors of this Asian dessert, including mango, cream (malai), rose, cardamom, saffron, and pistachio, as well as more recent flavors like apple, orange, strawberry, peanuts, and avocado.
▶The terms Hindustani kulfi and qulfi come from the Persian qufli (قفلی), meaning “covered cup.”
▶The dessert probably originated in the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, where a thick, sweet mixture made from evaporated milk was flavored with pistachios and saffron, enclosed in special metal cones, and immersed in ice.
▶▶It is prepared by slowly cooking the milk for about 20 minutes, then adding mawa (dried evaporated milk solids) and rice flour to thicken.
▶The most typical shape is conical.
Other Indian mango desserts:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 6 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2 pieces
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Indian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 29 oz mango pulp
- 5.8 oz whipping cream
- 1 packet saffron
- 7 oz sweetened condensed milk
- to taste cardamom (in powder form)
- to taste chopped pistachios
Tools
- 2 Molds cone-shaped
Steps
Blend the mango pulp, add the cream, saffron, condensed milk, ground cardamom, and chopped pistachios (optional).
Transfer into molds and place in the freezer for at least 6 hours.
Garnish with pistachios and serve.
Mango
For the recipe, I used Kesar mango, also called Gir Kesar, a mango cultivar grown at the foothills of Girnar in Gujarat, Western India.
It is said that the mango was known as “Kesar” from 1934, when the Nawab of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khan III, said “This is Kesar” looking at the orange pulp of the fruit: kesar in Gujrati / Hindi means saffron.
The mango is known for its bright orange pulp and achieved geographical indication status in 2011.
The Kesar variety is among the most expensive varieties of the fruit.
