Cooking with Mom: Kulfi – Indian Ice Milk Pops

September 9, 2010

This is the last of my cooking with mom recipes for a while. My Mummy has gone back to her house . I was whining to Ria about missing my mom and she said to me with a big smile on her face, “Mummy, you can still have fun with me”. Wise, endearing, mildly annoying and selfish, all at the same time. “How would you like it if your Mummy left?” I wanted to say but instead I just said in a super whiny voice, “But, but I want my Mummy!” Nice little role reversal. She kept grinning. Sarcasm wasted.

We have made a ton of ice-cream this summer (strawberry/mango buttermilk, condensed milk ice-cream and several others), so I loaned my ice-cream maker to my cousin just to get it out of the house. Fortunately (or unfortunately), kulfi can be made without one. If you don’t have popsicle molds, you can just freeze this in little cups or ramekins. I am also going to try to make these in my fancy Zoku Quick Pop Maker. This recipe has great sentimental value and comes from my grandmother and will be made over over again. It is one of those recipes that Dadi (grandma) will always make better.

For a more adult version (since it has tea in it), I am intrigued by and will be trying out real soon: Aarti Party’s Creamy Pistachio Pops. Sigh…I don’t know why I bothered to get the ice-cream maker out of the house.

Kulfi – Indian Ice Milk Pops

Regarded as an Indian ice-cream but more like frozen milk. Unlike ice-cream, kulfi is not churned (hence no ice-cream maker required). Kulfi is dense and icy rather than aerated and light.

Makes 4+ popsicles

Ingredients

4 cups whole milk

½ cup sugar (try it with less)

¼ cup slivered almonds or chopped pistachios (optional)

10-12 cardamom pods shelled and ground into a powder

Method