1,000 Indian Recipes (321 page)

2 drops rose essence

A few sprigs fresh mint

1.
Prepare the dessert masala, then place all the ingredients (except the mint) in a large bowl and whip with either a fork, a whisk, or an electric mixer until smooth.

2.
Transfer to traditional kulfi molds or disposable 5
¹
⁄
₂
-ounce plastic soufflé cups. Cover and place in the freezer until completely frozen, at least 4 hours.

3.
To serve, dip each mold in hot water about 10 seconds, run a knife around the inside of the mold and transfer immediately to a dessert plate. Serve whole or cut into smaller pieces, with mint sprigs on the side, and serve.

Flavored Indian Ice Creams

Kisum-Kisum ki Kulfi

Makes 4 to 6 servings

To make flavored
kulfi, s
tart with the recipe for
Traditional Thickened Milk Pudding
which is more time-consuming but more authentic, or use the recipe for
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream
to make an easier and equally tasty version. Then choose any of the following flavors. Freeze as directed in
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream
.

Indian Ice Cream with Pistachios Pista Kulfi

Makes 4 to 6 servings

This green-tinted kulfi is one of the most popular. The ground pistachios add to the overall taste and the chopped ones, a delicate punch.

2 cups (1 recipe)
Traditional Thickened Milk Pudding
or
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream

¹
⁄
₄
cup
blanched
pistachios, coarsely chopped +
¹
⁄
₄
cup ground

1 to 2 drops green food coloring

Prepare the pudding or the ice cream. Prepare the pistachios. Then, mix everything together and freeze and serve as directed in
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream
.

Indian Ice Cream with Saffron Kesari Kulfi

Makes 4 to 6 servings

With the delicate strands of saffron lending their luxurious fragrance and color to this kulfi, it's no wonder that it is reserved for special occasions.

2 cups (1 recipe)
Traditional Thickened Milk Pudding
or
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon saffron threads

2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

1 drop orange food coloring

Prepare the pudding or the ice cream. In a small bowl, soak the saffron threads in the cream (or milk) about 30 minutes. Then, mix everything together and freeze and serve as directed in
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream
.

Indian Ice Cream with Almonds Badaam Kulfi

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Although studded with raw almonds, this kulfi is white in color, because before they are added, the almonds are soaked and peeled.

¹
⁄
₂
cup raw shelled almonds

2 cups (1 recipe)
Traditional Thickened Milk Pudding
or
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream

1.
Soak the almonds overnight in water to cover, then peel and grind half of them, and coarsely chop the other half.

2.
Prepare the pudding or the ice cream. Then, mix in the almonds and the almond essence and freeze as directed in
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream
.

Indian Ice Cream with Mangoes Aam ki Kulfi

Makes 4 to 6 servings

If any fruit is associated with India, it is mangoes—so it's no wonder then that we see mangoes in all types of desserts, including this one. (A similar kulfi can be made using other fruits, especially puréed berries.)

2 cups (1 recipe)
Traditional Thickened Milk Pudding
or
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream

¹
⁄
₄
cup heavy cream or milk

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup canned mango pulp

1.
Prepare the pudding or the ice cream. In a small saucepan, stir together the milk and cornstarch, then add the mango pulp and mix well. Cook, stirring over medium heat until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Let cool.

2.
Then, mix everything together and freeze and serve as directed in
Quick and Easy Indian Ice Cream
.

Cellophane Noodles in Cardamom-Saffron Syrup

Falooda

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Falooda
noodles, made from arrowroot or cornstarch, are unique to India. They are created by passing a paste-like batter through a cylindrical, hand-held vermicelli press, called a
sev
-machine. As the batter passes through the perforated disc of the press, it falls directly into icy cold water and immediately firms up to become thin, transparent noodles. Serve these noodles over any
kulfi
of your choice, or mix some into
rabdi
(creamy sweet thickened milk).

Falooda
noodles can be bought at Indian confectioneries (or sweet shops as they are popularly called) in all major cities in America. Failing that, you can purchase dried cellophane or rice noodles from Asian and most well-stocked American markets and soften them in water following the package directions.

¹
⁄
₂
cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch

2
¹
⁄
₂
cups water

¹
⁄
₂
cup sugar

5 to 6 cups ice cold water

2 to 3 drops screw-pine essence (ruh-kewra), or rose essence

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon ground green cardamom seeds

¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon saffron threads

1.
In a small saucepan, mix together the arrowroot (or cornstarch) and 2 cups water, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 15 minutes. As it cooks, the mixture will bubble lightly and thicken considerably, then thin down and take on a gelatinous, translucent blue appearance. Remove from the heat.

2.
Fill a large bowl with ice cold water. Pour the batter into the vermicelli press, fitted with a perforated disc with holes of about 0.1 inches. Working about 12 inches directly above the bowl of water, turn the handle of the vermicelli press. The batter will pass through the holes and the long noodles will firm up when they come in contact with the water. Keep turning the press until all the batter is used. Drain the noodles and transfer to a serving bowl.

3.
In a small saucepan, mix the remaining
¹
⁄
₂
cup water and the sugar and cook over high heat until thick, about 3 minutes. Cool and add to the noodles. Mix in the screw-pine or rose essence, cardamom seeds, and saffron threads and refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend the flavors.

Indian Ice Cream Desserts

Ice cream is very popular in India, especially in the summer months, when the ice cream vendors dominate the dessert business. Indians like their ice cream spiced with nuts and Indian flavorings, fruit-flavored, with fruit on the side, or simply plain. Here are some Indian classics.

Mango Ice Cream Dessert

Aam ki Baraf Malai

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Summertime in India would be unbearable were it not for the mangoes and the various cooling desserts that are made with them. Here is an easy-to-make yet luxuriously satisfying dessert using store-bought vanilla ice cream. Of course, if you've made your own
kulfi
(Indian ice cream), using it here will create an extra-special dessert.

Select a ripe mango that has a sweet and fragrant aroma, without any hint of sourness, and gives under the light pressure of your fingers when held in your hand. I add canned mango pulp to this dessert because most of the mango varieties found in this country are not as fragrant and flavorful as those in India, and the canned pulp enhances that flavor. If your mangoes are sweetly fragrant, purée the pulp from one in a food processor and use it in place of the canned pulp.

1 large ripe mango

1 cup canned mango pulp

1 to 2 drops mango essence

1 pint vanilla ice cream

1.
With a vegetable peeler, peel the mango, then cut the fruit around the center seed into
¹
⁄
₂
-inch pieces. Then, in a medium bowl, mix together the mango pieces, the canned mango pulp, and the mango essence, and chill at least 1 hour.

2.
To serve, place rounded scoops of ice cream in a serving platter and top with the prepared mango mixture.

Variation:
Mix 1 cup canned mango pulp into 1 pint softened vanilla ice cream and freeze. Peel and cut 2 large mangoes into 1-inch pieces and serve alongside the ice cream.

Lychee Ice Cream Dessert

Leechi ki Baraf Malai

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Shaped like strawberries, but with a bumpy red shell (which can be removed by hand), juicy white pulp, and a large brown center seed, lychees, though Chinese in origin, are also very popular in India. The sweet, delicious fresh lychees are hard to come by in America, so I use canned ones, which are readily available in Asian and Indian markets.

This dish is easy to make, but prepare it in advance to allow the cooked lychees to chill and then the ice cream to freeze.

1 (20-ounce) can lychees, drained

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened