I'm looking for a recipe for a middle eastern/indian type food similar to ice cream?

Question

I know that it consists of heavy cream, and a popular flavor is pistacio, but I can't remember what it is called. The first time I had it, I got it in popsicle form at an indian grocery. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Take a look at this free ebook with 490 award winning recipes, maybe you can find what you're looking for in it.

Answer 2

Check out http://www.highclassrecipes.com for some good ice cream recipes.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Kulfi is the food you are looking for- its made with milk that is condensed by slow simmering over a long period of time.

Pistachio Kulfi (Indian ice cream)

4 litres/7 pints milk

1 tablespoon rice flour

175g/6 oz sugar

50g/2 oz ground pistachio nuts

150ml/5 fl oz double cream, lightly whipped

a few drops of rose water

25g/1 oz unsalted pistachio nuts, crushed

1 Pour the milk into a large, heavy-based saucepan, bring it to the boil, then lower the heat slightly and simmer briskly, uncovered, for about 45 minutes until it has thickened and reduced to half its original quantity.

2 Remove the milk from the heat and allow it to cool slightly. Dissolve the rice flour in a little of the thickened milk and pour it back into the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, over a low heat for 15 minutes until the mixture is the consistency of a pouring batter.

3 Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave to cool completely.

4 When cool, stir the ground pistachios into the mixture, then fold in the cream, rose water and crushed pistachios. Pour the mixture into a large plastic container and place in the freezer for 1 hour.

5 Remove the kulfi from the freezer and whisk it thoroughly. Return to the freezer for another hour. Repeat this process another two times, then leave the kulfi in the freezer for several hours or overnight.

6 Allow the kulfi to soften for about 5 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Answer 4

It is KULFI. The above mentioned recipes are great but some largish grocery store chains carry the "kit" to make it. It's not quite as good as made from scratch (nothing ever is), but it's not bad.

Answer 5

The speciality of authentic traditional KULFI is that it contains NO cream!  It's pure milk.  There is definitely no rice flour in kulfi!

Kulfi is a popular South Asian dessert made with boiled milk. It comes in many flavours, including pistachio, malai, mango, cardamom (elaichi), saffron (kesar), the more traditional flavors, as well as newer variations like apple, orange, peanut, and avocado. Where western ice creams are whipped with air or overrun, kulfi contains no air; it is solid dense frozen milk. Therefore kulfi is not ice cream. It is a related, but distinct, category of frozen dairy based dessert.

Kulfi traditionally is an all natural dessert made with pure milk and contains no eggs. Kulfi is prepared by boiling milk until it is reduced to half. Then sugar is added and the mixture is boiled for another ten minutes and a teaspoon of cornflour is added to it after making it into a paste using water. On adding the paste the mixture thickens and is boiled for some more time. Then flavourings, dried fruits, cardamom, etc. are added. The mixture is then cooled, put in moulds and frozen. One can eat kulfi plain as is or it can be garnished with ground cardamom, saffron, or pistachio nuts. Kulfi is also served with faloodeh (vermicelli noodles).

Traditionally in India and throughout the Indian Subcontinent kulfi is sold by street vendors. These vendors or "kulfiwallay" keep the kulfi frozen by placing the molds inside a large earthen pot or "matka" filled with ice and salt. When the last kulfi is sold they return home to prepare the next day's batch. When one orders a kulfi, the kulfiwalla removes a mold from the matka, takes the kulfi out of the mold, serves the kulfi onto a plate and garnishes it with some pistachios, cardamom or rice noodles. The dessert is suitable for vegetarians.

**************************************...

PISTA KULFI

4 cups milk

8 tsp. sugar or to taste

1/2 tsp. ground green cardamom seeds (chotti elaichi)

2 tbsp. skinned pista (pistachios), thinly sliced

Directions:

Put the milk into a wide, heavy pan and bring to boil over high heat, stiring constantly.

Now lower the heat and cook the milk, stirring constantly, until it has thickened and reduced to about 13/4th cups. (This will take about 40-45 minutes). Stir the sides of the pan constantly to avoid scalding.

Now add the sugar, nuts and cardamom seeds, stir well, allow to cool.

Pour the mixture into Kulfi molds or small ramekins, distributing evenly. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and freeze until set, about 6 hours.

To serve, remove the ice-cream from the molds by running a sharp knife around the edges of the pista kulfi. Slip each kulfi on to a dessert plate, cut across into 3-4 slices, and serve.