Kesar Badam Malai Kulfi

Who does not like Kulfi? After multiple weeks of ice cream experiments, this week it is Kulfi! This reminds me of my childhood when our grandfather used to buy us Kulfi in the night after dinner, when the vendor goes to every street selling the yummy kulfis. We long for those times and enjoy each bit of it!

These are typically frozen in Kulfi molds which are kind of cylindrical. Don't worry if you do not have them at hand, you can freeze them in small stainless steel cups, or even plastic ones. I used small stainless steel cups for making these.

Makes 6

Ingredients Required:

Whole Milk - 3 cups

Cream - 1/2 cup (or you can use 1 cup whole milk in place of cream)

Sugar - 1/4 - 1/2 cup (depending on your taste)

Almond powder/flour - 1/2 cup (See Notes)

Saffron - big pinch

Cardamon - 1 tsp

Pista/Cashews - 2 tblsp (roughly chopped)

How to make?

• In a heavy bottom pan, add the milk and bring to a boil on low-medium flame
• Add cream (if using) and stir continuously for 20 minutes till it reduces into half the quantity
• Keep pushing the malai into the milk as it forms on boiling
• Add the cardamon, almond flour, and chopped nuts
• Continue cooking for 10 more minutes till you get a thick and creamy mixture
• Add sugar as per your taste
• Pour into Kulfi molds or cups and cover with either cling fling or aluminium foil. You can insert a Popsicle stick through the foil also
• Freeze for 8 hours
• For serving, remove from the freezer, run through warm water and tap up side down. If you have inserted a stick you can gently pull using that. 
• Slice into pieces and top it with additional nuts and serve!

Notes:

• You can use 1 cup of whole milk instead of cream, cooking time will increase
• Thickness of mix depends on your liking, thicker it it, more creamy the Kulfi will be
• I have used almond flour (from costco), but you can powder the raw almonds in a blender to a coarse powder as well
• If you do not have molds, you can use cups and cover with a plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
• You can also insert popsicle sticks into the foil if you wish
• You can run them in warm water or gently roll between your palms to remove from the mold, before serving