Kesar Pista Kulfi with Falooda (Saffron, Pistachio Ice Cream Served with Rose Infused Vermicilli)
Kulfi, or unchurned Indian ice cream (without eggs), is a summer must have that you can whip up at home without an ice cream maker. It’s rich and creamy made with pure milk (traditionally & the milk is boiled down to reduce to half its amount), and it’s usually full of nuts in some form. The most common flavors are malai (plain), badam (almond), Elaichi(cardamom), jafrani(saffron) and pistachio. The nuts and the flavors are added to the reduced milk, boiled for some more time, cooled and put in moulds & frozen. Kulfi is traditionally sold on the street in India, in terracotta molds (matkas) that impart their own beautiful flavor. The dish is of Pakistani or may be even Iranian origin brought to India during the Mughal rule.
There is one place in Kolkata called “Rally’s” where during the peak summer heat people stream inside to sit under the cool whirring fans and eat the Kulfi with the famous Ralley’s Syrup. A lot of our courtship days many years back had been in one of these benches… A lot of love & looks shared over a plate of shared Kulfi (we were not rich enough during our college days to buy 2). Hundreds of other people around did not bother us, neither did the heat. It was a love affair, us & the kulfi too:-D
So it is only fair that we should still be enjoying it and we really do, both of us. Only here there is no Ralley’s and no 4 hours to wait and churn down the milk. So this is my Quick way (using the items from grocry stores ), I found to make the Kulfis. When it comes to parties, this is the easiest dessert to make. It only involves buying the right ingredients, putting them in blender and freeze. Believe me, it tastes like the original. The best thing about it is, this can be prepared quite a few days before u decide to serve it. What can get easier than that?
I am sending this Kulfi, our very favorite dessert for Aparna (who is an expert baker & her recipes of breads and brownies really is an inspiration to novice bakers like me) for her 1 year of blogging anniversary’s Sweet Celebrations.
This makes about 20 -24 kulfis in the small kiddie popsicle makers.
Ingredients:
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1 pt (16 FL oz) Half and Half or Evaporated Milk
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16 oz Cool Whip (Whipped Creme Topping)
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¼ cup of warm milk
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1/2 Cup Skim Milk
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2 Slices of White Bread with the sides cut off
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6-7 tablespoons of sugar
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1/2 cup of almonds soaked and peeled
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1/2 cup of Shelled Pistachios
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1 Teaspoon of Saffron Threads
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6 Green Elaichi(cardamoms) shelled
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Kiddie Plastic Popsicle makers
For Faluda and Syrup:
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2 packs Falooda Sev ( this is particular kind of vermicilli/noodles available at the Indian/Asian Grocery)
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Rooh Afza Red Rose Syrup or any other Rose Syrup (Available at the Indian/Asian Grocery)
Preparation:
Soak almonds overnight and peel them.
Peel the cardamoms and take out the seeds. Soak the cardamom seeds & the saffron threads in the warm milk for an hour.
Coarsely grind the pistachios. Set aside.
Add all the ingredients (except the Pistachios) in the Blender and blend. You might have to do this in 2 batches to prevent overflow when you blend.
Pour carefully in the Popsicle makers. Take little bit of pistachios in each Popsicle and gently stir it in the crème mix. Freeze.
Before serving run warm water over the Popsicle makers to loosen the kulfi and gently take them out.
For Falooda:
Follow the instructions on the packet. Boil water and add the Falooda Sev to it. Let it stay soaked for a few minutes till they are soft and edible.
Drain it and wash it with ice cold water and pour few spoons of the Rooh Afza Syrup to the Falooda.
Spoon Falooda in to individual dishes. Put Kulfi on the falooda sev and add more syrup on top of the kulfi. Garnish with almond and pistachios.
This tastes best if prepared 3-4 days in advance. The flavors of saffron & cardamom is absorbed bettter when it is allowed to sit for a few days.
OOOPS !! Do you see it melting? With all the arrangements made to take the pictures, its pretty difficult for an ice cream to stay frozen. Its supposed to be served & immediately devoured!
Related Posts:
Stuffed Pear in Spiced Orange Sauce
Tags: almonds, Cardamom, Cool Whip, creme, delicious, dessert, easy, easy dessert, falooda sev, Ice cream, Kesar, kolkata, Noodles, nuts, pista, Pistachio, quick, rallys, Rose, rose syrup, Saffon, vermicilli
November 21st, 2008 at 9:56 am
WOw just beautiful and delicius.
I would love to have both of them.
November 21st, 2008 at 10:42 am
woww…. mouthwatering. and nice pic!
November 21st, 2008 at 11:09 am
Just a marvellous kulfi..love to have them rite now…wat a lovely click..
November 21st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
That is gorgeous! I love falooda, and kulfi! Both in one is just my dream
November 21st, 2008 at 4:01 pm
This is sheer mouth-watering ! its much more than “yummy”…..gosh..its lollicking !
November 21st, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Soma, what an awesome picture you have taken.I love the way you have described and adding bread is new to me.The faloda sev is a good idea and looks tempting.Nice presentation.
By the way Soma, I have tagged you for Bread baking. Take your time.
November 21st, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Ki sundor snaps gulo .. onek jotno kore tulecho. Ekhuni khete icche korche.
Eta konodin barite korini …. maybe ekhon try korbar shahosh hobe.
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:12 am
U beat me at that…..mine kulfi is still setting in Refrigerator,along with Jelly(rasberry jelly crystals )and falooda
Though bread in icecream is sumthng new to me ,i guess its significance might be to give dense texture.. is it so?
looks lovelyyyyyyyy and now i am unable to wait till kulfi sets in
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:35 am
Thanks !!
Happy Cook, Mahimaa, Priya, Mohana: I will save some for u:-).
Anu: Together … its definitley worth a try.
Shibani: Thanks for tagging me… that will make me get up & bake & that to for a nice cause.
Sharmila: jotne r thyala e photo tulte tulte shob melt hoye gelo:-)
Alka: Raspberry jellies….. I can almost visualize them:-) waiting to see urs.
Shibani & Alka: I was suggested by a friend to use the bread, mostly it absorbs the crystals that form while freezing & makes it less crunchy (mostly since I do not boil down the milk).. or more dense as Alka said. But u can definitely make Kulfis without them.
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
This is handsdown, one of the easiest falooda I have ever seen. I am sure I will be making this during the holiday season. Thank you, Soma, for such an easy recipe.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:18 am
Kulfi and what a beautiful presentation. The green of the nuts and the pink of the Rooh Afza really looks lovely.
I can never take a good picture of anyhting frozen, and the heat doesn’t help.
I also add bread to my ice-cream and it really makes a difference.
Thanks for celebrating with me.
November 24th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Thanks for ur kind words Soma, it truly means a lot to me. It was nice to trail back to ur site….first time here. Your blog looks fabulous….I am glad that I found you. Pictures are awesome and so does the recipes….
Well…Falooda…I almost forget this childhood sweet treat. Nice refreshing recipe. Love it.
November 24th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I’m very impressed! Sounds & looks fantastic!
November 24th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Wow, the kulfi looks awesome…would have never thought to add bread to kulfi,sounds like a cool idea…will try this recipe !
November 25th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Thats sounds to delicious! Yummyyy
November 26th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Looks so yummy….Feel like picking it up from the picture itself…Going to try it soon…
November 26th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Suganya, Aparna, Malar, Maninas, Usha, Aysegul, Fatema: Thank you very much.
November 29th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Looks so delicious.
Pics are just so tempting to eat right now!
hugs and smiles
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:43 am
This is strunning!
I must have missed this one somehow. What a lovely recipe! would love to try it, but once my cold is over 
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
oops! It was supposed to be “stunning “
December 4th, 2008 at 6:36 am
Such a neat presentation. Kulfi is my all time favorite.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
definitely will try this, Soma. it sounds lovely.
December 26th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Soma…My brother in law is here for Christmas and I prepared this for him…It really turned out good…Thank you….