By Shekher Phadnis
Kulfi is India’s own ice cream, in vogue centuries before foreign ice cream products entered India. The sixteen century Mughal treatise by Emperor Akbar’s courtier Abul Fazl mentions kulfi in his treatise Akbarnamah.
This Indian version of ice cream is not whipped during freezing, resulting in somewhat of solid dessert similar to frozen custards. Of course it is difficult to compare the calorific value of the kulfi and the ordinary ice cream, as it varies as per the ingredients. But for comparison purposes, one hundred grams portion of the basic malai kulfi has only 141 calories as compared to 201 of plain vanilla ice cream.
Kulfi is prepared by simply boiling milk until it is reduced to half; then sugar and a teaspoon of corn syrup is added and the mixture is boiled for 10 more minutes. Water is then mixed in until it thickens into a paste, and the mixture is boiled a while longer. Then flavourings, dried fruits or cardamom are added. The mixture is cooled, put into moulds and frozen. Like ice cream, kulfi is made in many flavours, with cardamom, malai, mango, pistachio and saffron being the most common (flavours influenced by the Persian civilization). But now a days housewives prepare a sneaky version of the kulfi with condensed milk, so all the hard work has been done for you.
Kulfis come in all kinds of fruity flavours. Most of us tend to associate the kulfi with saffron or pista, but Delhi has a tradition of making kulfis with seasonal fruits. The old kulfi makers of Delhi used to infuse the juice of a berry called faalsa into the milk and come up with a light purple kulfi with a wonderful flavour One of the famous kulfi specialists are the Kuremal family firm in Delhi and they have been making kulfi in the old city since 1908 in its present shop, tucked in amongst the old havelis of Kucha Pati Ram, off Sitaram Bazaar. Today the family makes over fifty varieties of kulfi, including pomegranate, tamarind, rose, and custard apple.
I’ve recently discovered the stuffed kulfi – of which the orange and mango are particularly delicious. The stuffed mango kulfi is made by taking out the mango stone and most of the flesh and filling it with plain kulfi mix. When frozen, the skin is peeled away and the ice sliced to give a fabulous combination of kulfi and frozen mango flesh. The orange one has a tantalising, almost-there flavour, achieved when the ingredients becomes infused with the orange zest during freezing. Faluda, or rose, is one of the more traditional flavours of kulfi.
You can also try various innovative combinations like gulab jamun kulfi, kesar malai kulfi etc. Apart from the traditional milk kulfi, new flavours like chocolate, strawberry, orange, raspberry etc are a hit among the kulfi lovers. These syrups are easily available in the market and can be added in moderation to get the flavour. Food expert Tarla says, “Keep the flavour subtle by adding saffron (kesar) or spice it up by adding cardamom and cinnamon for that enticing aroma and flavour.” While freezing the kulfi, make a sure the mould is well covered with their cover or with foil before they are kept in the freezer. This is to ensure that no icicle formations take place on the surface.
There was a time , way back in the 1950s and 60s, when kulfis were frozen not for individual servings, but as a large mass in a cylindrical vessel, wrapped with felt to keep it cool, and then sold in wedges on sal leaves. The kulfiwallahs used to peddle their ware on cycles, and the chunks came for an anna each. They used to freeze their sweet in cigarette tins, and then scoop it out and sell it to salivating customers . When the cigarette tins disappeared from the market they started using small earthenware cones, which later gave way to aluminium and plastic. These days, they even sell a kulfi bar – stuck on a stick like an orange bar or a choco bar.
How does a street vendor without a refrigerator keep the kulfi frozen in hot, hot India? Kulfiwallas placing cone-shaped moulds into large earthen pots, or “matka,” filled with ice and salt. When a kulfi is ordered, they simply pull the frozen treat from its mould and serve it on a plate, garnished with pistachios, cardamom or rice noodles. (MF)
