Mango Kulfi

Summer Treats : My earliest memories of kulfi are, when i used to visit my cousins in Badlapur ( a city in Thane district of Maharashtra) during summer vacations, and there used to come a kulfiwala shouting "Kulfiiiii" ( He had a peculiar accent and it took time to understand that he is saying the word kulfi, the pronounciation was always smudged, hehe ). We used to wait for this kulfiwala, who used to come in afternoons. A typical kulfiwala used to wear white loose pajamas and white shirt with a white Gandhi cap. His kit used to consist of a pot surrounded by a cane basket covered with a wet red cloth which he used to carry on his head. The pot had some ice cubes and salt and aluminium kulfi moulds in it. He used to easily take out the kulfi from the mould by rubbing the sides of the mould, and insert a stick and give to all the kids surrounding him and waiting for their share. And the best part!!! We only used to get it for 50 paise!!! Though getting a 50 paise during that time was a task for us. So we always had to catch hold of our elder brother ( who used to get pocket money that time ) to treat us with the kulfi :) Those were fun days!!! And my sister just told me , that though there are very few kulfiwalas left now, we still get it...the price having being increased to INR 10/- considering the inflation in mind. This kulfi was our summer treat along with Pepsi-colas, Golas, and Limlets and poppins :) Ahhhh those old days!!! Nostalgia...

Picture taken from the Google Images :

A Kulfiwala

Well, Kulfiwalas are replaced with ice cream corners now. And we get modern day kulfi's well-packaged, with different flavours, and MRP's written on them. Yes, there are a few places where kulfi is still made the traditional way and they have that authentic taste. One that i remember back home in thane is Sri Ram Ice-cream which sells amazing pot kulfi.There is also the famous  Roller Ice cream , the one i had in Delhi at the National Street food festival and how can we forget the Tillewali kulfi . 

Kulfi is basically a frozen Indian dessert made with full cream milk. The thickening of milk is an important factor while making kulfi. A lot of people make kulfi these days with condensed milk or even milk powder to save on the time and energy of reducing the milk. But i have made this kulfi the traditional way, by reducing full cream milk to 1/3rd. Add any fruits or dry fruits or fruit pulp of your choice to make it more exciting :) The process is very simple, the time consuming factor is only the milk-reducing process. So here's how i made Mango kulfi :

Ingredients:

Full cream milk - 1 litre

Mangoes - 2

Sugar - 1/2 cup ( adjust according to taste )

Cardamom seeds - 5

Pistachios - 8-10

Almonds - 8-10

( You can add any fruits or dry fruits of your choice, and choose the amount according to taste )

Recipe:

Boil milk and reduce the milk till 1/3rd. Stir from the very bottom after every 5 minutes or so, so that the milk doesn't stick to bottom. This process takes about an hour or 1 n half hours. The milk will thicken, and change colour too. 

Now add the sugar and boil till the sugar dissolves.

Now remove from the stove top and let the milk come to room temperature.

Remove the pulp from mangoes and make a smooth paste in the blender. Keep some chopped pieces of the mangoes separately, to add in later ( about 1/4 cup )

Make powder of the cardamom seeds using a mortar and pestle.

Once the milk comes to room temperature, add in the mango pulp and mix well or you can even use a blender.

Add in cardamom powder, chopped pistachios and almonds, mango pieces and mix it all well. 

Pour the mixture into kulfi moulds or whichever mould you want to se the kulfi in. I set it in a large bowl.

Keep it in freezer for 7-8 hours.

Cut the kulfi into pieces an serve along with chopped mango pieces or garnish with some pistachios or almonds.

This summer dessert tastes is unbeatable, and am sure everyone in your home would love it.

Note : If you want to make this recipe quick, then you can boil 1 cup milk with 500 gms khoya, rest of the procedure is same. And if you want to use condensed milk to add thickness to the kulfi, use 3 cups milk and 1 cup condensed milk ( Since you are adding condensed milk, which is already sweet in taste, check before adding sugar and adjust according to taste )

Happy Cooking :)

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