Kulfi Recipe (Kulfi Ice Cream)

sliced kulfi with a spoon on a white plate

4.84 from 50 votes

Kulfi is a dense and creamy Indian frozen dessert traditionally made with reduced milk or khoya. This Kulfi recipe uses milk, khoya (mawa), sugar and flavorings like cardamom and nuts. The mixture is frozen in moulds until firm. It makes a rich and refreshing dessert for warm days.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

3 cups whole milk
75 to 80 grams or about 3.5 to 4 tablespoons Mawa (khoya or evaporated milk)
3 tablespoons raw sugar or white sugar, adjust as required.
1.5 tablespoons Rice Flour or 1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons milk – to dissolve the rice flour or cornstarch
20 pistachios – shelled and unsalted
20 almonds
½ teaspoon cardamom powder or 4 green cardamoms powdered in a mortar-pestle and husks removed
1 teaspoon rose water or kewra water (pandanus water) or a drop of kewra essence or rose essence
25 to 30 saffron strands – crushed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Reducing milk & preparation for kulfi

In a wide pan or kadai, heat milk on a sim or low flame for at least about 18 to 20 mins. The milk will reduce and thicken in this period of time. Keep on stirring the milk often as it simmers so that it does not burn from the bottom in the pan.
Grate the khoya or crumble it very well to a fine texture. Set aside. Crush the pistachios and almonds to a semi fine consistency in a dry grinder or in a mortar-pestle. Keep both of them aside.
Crush the green cardamom pods in a mortar-pestle and powder finely. Discard the husks.
Dissolve the rice flour or cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of milk. Mix very well. Set aside.

Making kulfi

After 18 to 20 minutes of the milk simmering, add the sugar and stir.
Let the sugar dissolve and after 3 to 4 mins, add the rice flour paste or cornstarch paste.
Keep on stirring after adding the paste, so that no lumps are formed.
The whole mixture has to be lump free, so keep on stirring.
After 4 to 5 mins, when the mixture has thickened, add the khoya (mawa), powdered almonds and pistachios together with the cardamom powder.
Stir very well and just simmer for a minute or two on a low heat. Keep on stirring so that the khoya (mawa) is distributed evenly.
Switch off the heat.
Add rose water or kewra water and crushed saffron. Do a taste test of the mixture and add more sugar if needed.
Let the mixture cool at room temperature.
Then pour the mixture in kulfi moulds or in serving bowls or small glasses or in popsicle moulds.
Freeze the kulfi overnight or for a day. Once the kulfi is well set and frozen, remove it by sliding a butter knife at the edges.
Remove on a glass plate or wooden tray. Slice the kulfi and serve immediately. If frozen in a popsicle mold or tray serve as kulfi popsicles.

Video

Notes

You can add your choice of nuts and flavorings.
Skip the saffron, if you do not have it.
As a thickening agent, you can either use rice flour, cornstarch (cornflour), potato starch or arrowroot powder.
You can adjust the quantity of sugar as per your taste preferences.
In place of rose water, you can even add kewra water (pandanus water), kewra essence or rose essence as a flavoring.
For a vegan version, use coconut cream instead of khoya (mawa) and full-fat coconut milk or almond milk in place of dairy. The coconut milk and almond milk have to be only heated and not boiled. You also don’t have to reduce or cook these milks for 15 to 20 minutes.
This recipe can easily be scaled to make a big batch for more servings.

Nutrition