Mango-Saffron Kulfi for the Men in Blue

s I write this and get ready to publish, I cannot but help mentioning the victory of the Indian cricket team in the Cricket World Cup. Hip Hip Hooray! Three cheers for the Men in Blue. It feels great to be on top of the world and in such style. Go India! So this post is dedicated to the victory.
As the mercury climbs and the sun becomes more relentless, it is beginning to remind me of summers in India. The carefree school days, long summer holidays, visiting grandpa's place- I am sure each one of us must have some fond memories of summer like these. Summer also reminds us of our favorite food ice-cream :).The popular variation of which in India is called Kulfi. I have some fond memories of those summer evenings. I remember whenever we used to go out to eat chaat and panipuri (which was very often) we had to have kulfi otherwise the whole outing used to be incomplete. 

Kulfi is an Indian version of ice-cream... often flavored with cardamom, saffron and nuts and has a very unique flavor. It has similarities with ice-cream in terms of texture, taste and of course the fact that it is frozen milk! But unlike western ice creams, kulfi is not whipped, resulting in a solid, dense frozen dessert. Where I come from, it is often served with falooda noodles (kind of like vermicelli). During the summers in india, there is no dessert more popular than kulfi.

So, there is an easy way to do things and then there is a not-so-easy way! Here I will show you the easy way :) It is often considered very hard to make, stirring the milk for hours in the kitchen and all... but here is a very fuss-free easy-breezy kulfi recipe with loads of mango (which is in abundance during summers in India) and saffron flavors. It is soooo easy even kids can make it. In fact it is a great cooking/fun project to do with kids... and they love to eat it too. My daughter is a fussy eater, doesn't even like ice-cream very much but she gobbled this one up and of course she had fun putting it together with me. It has always been my family favorite and always hit with guests.

Ingredients: makes about 20

Evaporated milk .................................... 1 12 ounce can

Sweetened Condensed milk ....................... 1 14 ounce can (I used fat free)

Half n half or cream .................................1  cup

Mango pulp .......................................... 2 cups(I used canned Alphonso)

Whipped topping ................................... 8 oz at room temp

Green cardamom powder ......................... 1/4 tsp

Corn starch .......................................... 1/2 tsp

Kesar (saffron) ...................................... 1/2 tsp powdered

Pistachios/cashews ................................ 1/4 -1/2 cup (soaked in water for 30 minutes) shelled and peeled

Falooda noodles .................................... as needed, cooked in boiling water for 3-4 min, drained and refrigerated for atleast a half hour)- Optional

Method:

1. Add all the ingredients (except whipped topping and falooda noodles) in a blender and blend for 2-3 minutes until you have a even mixture. Note that the mixture will have a slight grainy texture due to the nuts.

2. Add in whipped topping and blend for 30 sec, mix with a spatula and blend again for 30 sec.

3. Pour in kulfi molds or popsicle moulds or a glass container with a tight lid (I use dixie style plastic cups and cover it with aluminum foil) and freeze for atleast 7-8 hrs, preferably overnight.

4. When ready to serve, place the kulfi mold under running water for a few seconds. Pull out the kulfi carefully. In a platter take some falooda noodles (if using). Put kulfi on the falooda sev and garnish with chopped pista. ENJOY!

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