Living in the states, I have yet to find a place that makes authentic kulfi–a creamy, grainy textured icecream with just a hint of cardamom. I picked one from a grocery store I get my meat from AFTER I made this kulfi. I inspected the ingredients, reassured that condensed milk was not listed and took a bite. Oh let me tell you that that sorry piece of kulfi did not even come close. I’m not saying it was not good. It was good but it just wasn’t kulfi.
The key ingredient in kulfi is khoya. Khoya is essentially those milk solids you see clinging to the sides of the pot when you let milk simmer for a long long time. Unless you want to stand over the stove and seduce the milk, I suggest you get a nice big 350g block of Khoya or Mava from a South Asian store. It’s about 7 bucks. For this recipe you will only need about 1/3 of that block so you can triple the recipe if you like.
Homemade Kulfi with Khoya
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 6 tbsp Sugar
- 3/4 cups Khoya crumbled milk solids (store-bought)
- 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds crushed
- 1/4 cup chopped almonds and pistachios optional
Instructions
- In a stainless steel saucepan over medium heat, bring milk and sugar to a simmer until sugar has dissolved; a couple minutes.
- Lower the flame and add in the crumbled milk solids.
- Continue cooking the milk on a low heat for 30-40 minutes so the milk solids can dissolve. The texture will remain a bit grainy. Make sure to stir every once in a while to ensure that the milk doesn't catch at the bottom of the pan.
- Add in the crushed cardamom seeds and nuts.
- Pour the kheer in any freezer-safe molds (kheer molds are available online) and place in freezer for a few hours until the kheer is frozen.
- To unmold, place a toothpick or popsicle stick into the center of the frozen kheerand place the mold in hot water for 10 seconds. Run a knife along the edge of the mold to loosen the kheer using the popsicle stick.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can get lollipop moulds and make you life easier! I chose the tough life :p
Does this kulfi have a rock hard consistency like the traditional ones or is it more soft and creamier ?
It’s on the creamier side. You can’t let it sit for long once you take it out of the freezer.
I’ve made this twice now. The first time, I followed it to a T and it came out DELICIOUS! I had stop myself from drinking the mixture before it even set lol.
The second time, I added ~10-15 saffron threads. I ground the saffron in a mortar and pestle and added it to the mix after I turned the heat off but while t was still hot. Didn’t have pistachios this time but it turned out soooo goood. The saffron complements the cardamom (and hint of almond) so well. It gives a delightful aroma and color to the kulfi.
I recommend people make a double batch because it will get DEVOURED.
I also think it would help if you gave the weight of the Mawa required. 3/4 cup crumbled Mawa varies a lot based on the kind Mawa you’re using and how much you’re “crumbling” it. I probably added a lot more than the recipe called for but I wanted it to creamy.
Overall, I’d say this is an excellent recipe that I know I’ll keeo coming back to. So thank you for sharing!
So glad to hear that you loved it.
[…] to add just the right amount of sweetness to the Eid table. Similar to desserts like Kheer and Kulfi, Sheer Khurma is also made with milk that is thickened slowly with the help of roasted vermicelli. […]
That looks like a yummy recipe. Where do I get khoya from? There are no desi stores here that carry it.
Can it be made at home?
Ralph.
Hi Ralph, You should be able to find khoya/mawa from most South Asian (Indian, Pakistan, Bengali) grocery stores. I wouldn’t recommend making it from scratch; it’s a really long process:/
Yeah Khoya process took 2 hours … although its only boiling milk for 2 hours but u need to simmer it time to time n i recommend cooking it on nonstick
I actually prefer a stainless steel because the burnt bit that catch at the bottom don’t scrape away easily but its just a preference:)