Badam Kesar Elaichi Kulfi (Indian frozen dessert)

Perfect for a hot summer day! Brings all the childhood memories back. The guy with a pull cart would scream out loud and ring that bell, I would run to my parents and look at them with puppy eyes. Depending on how good their mood was and of course how good I had been that day, I would get money for buy either a small kulfi or a big kulfi. As you can guess, there was no concept of pocket money with my parents, it was always given 'as per need basis', pretty much like the salt and other spices in Indian cooking!  

I always volunteered to get kulfi popsicles for everyone else in the family, and on my way back from the vendor, I would secretly lick my sister's (Renu) kulfi a couple of times. And when she questioned me how it melted, I would very innocently tell her to step out and see how hot it was outside! Think she always knew and considered those few licks as delivery charges :))

OK back to kulfi these days, I think it a perfect dessert to serve when you are inviting someone who is not familiar with Indian cuisine. Unlike other Indian sweets/ desserts, its has a very mild flavor, some crunchy bits. Best when slightly melting on outside. 

There are many different ways to make it, for example, the no cook kulfi in which you just mix evaporated milk, condensed milk, whipped cream, full cream, sugar and flavor, which am sure tastes no less than any other  store bought kulfi. But then, it is not only too rich with all the cream and sugar, its just one step away from buying a store bought product and consuming processed food like any other. When you can get the real pleasure of eating good stuff  with very little effort, why not! 

Depending on how strictly are you watching your weight or dietary constraint, you can always make few changes here and there to customize! 

You need:

Light cream – 4 cups

Sugar – ¾ cup (adjust as some like it really sweet and some don't)

White bread – 1 slice

Milk – ½ Cup

Corn starch – 1 tsp

Saffron – 6-7 strands

Almonds – 10-12 nos. (skin removed)

Cardamom powder – from 6-7 pods

1. Bring the cream to a boil in a non-stick (preferably) deep pan. Simmer and let it reduce to almost 50%. Keep stirring intermittently and remove any milk reduction sticking at the bottom or sides.
2. Take saffron and ½ tsp of sugar in a mortar pestle and crush so that all the saffron becomes a powder. Add this to the boiling mixture which is by now reduced to half. Mix well. 
3. Add the sugar and mix well. 
4. Remove the brown sides of the bread and roughly chop the white portion. Add this to a blender, with corn starch, 6-7 almonds and blends as fine as you can. Add to the mixture. Now you need to continuously stir as the corn starch can stick to the bottom and lump up.   
5. Coarsely grind the remaining almonds and add to the mixture. 
6. Stir for another 5-6 min or till its almost the consistency of a 
7. Add cardamon powder in the end and mix. Switch off the flame and let it cool.
8. Once it has cooled down, pour in a freezer safe dish, or a popsicle maker. You can also pour it in a fancy ice tray.
9. Reserve a few tablespoonful of this mixture to coat the kulfi with, when its ready to serve. 
10. Chill the kulfi for 6-7 hours. 
11. When ready to serve, either dip the kulfi in the reserved mix or just pour some on top.

*if you want to make a lower calorie/ fat kulfi, reduce to 70% only, since per portion will have lesser sugar and fat )

**If you leave your spatula with which you are stirring the cream, leave it in the pan. This stop the milk from spilling. But be careful since the spatula maybe hot.

*** If you don't have light cream, use double the amount of whole milk and reduce to get cream.

****You can make your own popsicle- Pour the mixture into small disposable plastic cups. Cover the top with aluminum foil and push in an ice-cream stick in the centre through the foil. The foil will support the stick to stay in it's place). 

*****The corn starch stops from ice crystals forming in the kulfi and makes it smooth, just like the store bought.