Kulfiقلفی
⏱ Prep 15m🍳 Cook 35m🍽 Serves 6🌿 Vegetarian
Video: Anyone Can Cook with Dr.Alisha (YouTube)
Kulfi is the Mughal court's gift to the Indian summer — a dense, intensely creamy frozen dessert that is nothing like Western ice cream. It is made by reducing full-fat milk slowly until it thickens to condensed richness, then freezing it in conical moulds. No churning, no air — just pure concentrated dairy, fragrant with cardamom and saffron. Every bite is more intense than the last.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
Finding Desi spots near Plano…
Ingredients
- ▪full-fat whole milk1 litre
- ▪condensed milk (mithai milk)200g can
- ▪heavy cream (malai)1/4 cup
- ▪sugar (chini)2 tbsp
- ▪green cardamom (elaichi), crushed8 pods
- ▪saffron strands (kesar)a generous pinch
- ▪blanched pistachios (pista), finely chopped3 tbsp
- ▪blanched almonds (badam), finely chopped2 tbsp
- ▪rose water (gulab jal)1 tsp
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- Kulfi moulds are widely available online and in South Asian kitchenware shops abroad; small steel tumblers, ramekins or even paper cups work perfectly as substitutes.
- Condensed milk is available in most supermarkets worldwide under brands like Nestle or Carnation — it dramatically reduces the cooking time while keeping the richness.
- Rose water and saffron can both be found at South Asian grocery stores; the rose water adds a floral note typical of Mughlai kulfi that vanilla extract cannot replicate.
Method
- 1Bloom saffron in 2 tbsp warm milk. Set aside.
- 2Pour the litre of whole milk into a wide heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently and scraping the sides, for 25–30 minutes until the milk reduces by about one-third.
- 3Stir in condensed milk, sugar, heavy cream, bloomed saffron-milk, and crushed cardamom. Simmer another 5 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- 4Remove from heat. Stir in rose water, half the pistachios and half the almonds.
- 5Allow to cool completely at room temperature, then chill in the fridge for 1 hour — cold milk freezes more evenly.
- 6Pour into kulfi moulds, small cups, or an ice tray. Seal tightly with foil or lids. Freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- 7To serve, dip the mould briefly in warm water and unmould. Garnish with the remaining pistachios and almonds, and serve with falooda noodles if available.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.