Kulfi

I have been reading food blogs till my tummy screams no more reading, please feed me something. And thought it was time, I also started rumbling and bumbling my experiences. So, please hop in and enjoy your time here.

If I am feeling down for some reason, Once I think of food, I become a happy person. As I fry and bake, I feel a change, all my worries go down the drain or up the chimney, whatever you prefer. I do not understand when some of my friends say cooking is boring. All I want is somebody to eat the food(Not as a duty, but happily and passionately). I can cook, cook and cook. I thought a lot about what to blog first. There are so many things I am fond of. But I wanted my first post to be something special(in addition to having a picture). I had made some kulfi the other day and thought why not start with a sweet.

It is strange what you remember from your childhood. I would have been 5-6 yrs and around 10o clock in the night, a kulfi wala used to come to our street regularly. I would be in a deep trance by that time(Yes, 10 o clock was late night for me then, ooh, how I have changed now, that requires another post). Coming to the point, I do not remember anything else about the kulfi, but I do remember how all the kids atleast most of us queued up for that elusive little treat(My parents would buy us kulfi only as a treat), with eyes bulging to see the kulfi shine in the yellow street light as it emerged out of the mould like a shiny little rabbit pulled out of the magicians hat. Anyway here is the recipe that brought back a lot of memories(and bored you to sleep).

What I used:

Milk - 1/2 litre

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Corn flour - 1 heaped tsp

Cardamom - a pinch (according to taste)

Pistachios / Almonds / Dry Fruits - 2 Tbsp

Cold water or milk - 1/4 cup

White bread slice - 1(crusts removed)

That was what and here comes the how

- Bring the milk to boil in a thick bottomed saucepan. (Use the one with a thick bottom unless you want the kulfi to smell a little burnt)

- Reduce the heat to medium to low medium and let it simmer for 15 - 20 minutes. Scrape the sides of the saucepan every 5 minutes and add the scrapings back to the simmering milk. These skin scrapings will give a nice texture to the kulfi.

- While the milk is simmering, add the cornflour and the bread slice to the cold water or milk and make into a smooth paste

- Stir the milk once and then add the paste into the milk slowly. Keep stirring while adding the paste so that no lumps are formed.

- Simmer for 5 minutes more stirring frequently. Add the nuts or fruits of your choice and just before turning off the gas, add the cardamom powder. (You will lose the flavor of cardamom powder if added before)

- Now the kulfi is ready to be frozen. Pour it into popsicle moulds or into a bowl and push it into the freezer. Freeze for 5 - 7 hours, depends on your freezer. Mine took 5 hours.

- To serve, take the mould out of the freezer and place it in hot water for 15 seconds. Now tuck in and have fun.

Suggestions:

If you have thin rice noodles, you can use it as falooda. Just plate up the kulfi, throw some falooda on top, sprinkle with any Rose syrup or caramel or any other syrup of your choice and restaurant style Kulfi falooda is ready.