‘Nobody doesn’t like ice-cream’. At least that’s whats evident each time I see hordes of people envelope the ice-cream carts in and around the city.
What intrigues me is how easy it is to make and market, yet how luxuriously creamy it can be, imbibing its cool, sweet taste into the heart of the eater. Nobody doesn’t like ice-cream. People of all ages in all parts of the world love ice-cream in some form or another. Some of the common offspring of ice-cream are Gelato, Frozen yogurt, Frozen Custard, Sorbet, Fried Ice-cream, Softies, Ice-pop, Stone Ice-cream.
And that’s what I’m going to talk about. Different versions of ice-cream, with emphasis on what is my personal favourite – the ever forgotten, Kulfi.
Kulfi is similar to ice-cream in a lot of ways. It is an Indian dessert made of the richest of milk. The difference between Kulfi and regular ice-cream is – Kulfi contains no air. Kulfi is served as a dense block of frozen goodness, chopped up in a plate or on a stick. It comes in a variety of indigenous flavours – Pistachio, Cardamom, Mango, Coconut, Saffron and Malai (cream). It is often served with falooda, a form of yellow, sweet rice noodles with black basil seeds, topped with colourful syrups, rabri (thickened, sweetened milk), rose water and chopped pistachios in a tall glass. And, it tastes magnificent!
Let’s step back to ice-cream for now. We all know the various styles of presenting ice-cream – sundaes, banana split, smoothies, or in a regular cup or cone. But what is Gelato? According to Wikipedia, “Gelato, or the plural Gelati, is Italian ice-cream made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavourings. The gelato ingredients are frozen while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Like high end ice-creams, gelato generally has less than 35% air, resulting in a dense and extremely flavourful product.”
But what about the kulfi, which has no air at all. How ‘dense and extremely flavourful’ would that be! Gelato and Kulfi are different things, but they’re still equally good. But then why does nobody know about Kulfi, while gelato parlours are springing up at every corner of the globe. It is as easy to find gelato here in Mumbai as it is Kulfi.
Now that’s a shame. After discovering such a fantastic recipe for a rich, colourful, cool dessert, India has failed to market it properly. Kulfi is an easy-to-make dish, made with all-natural ingredients (maybe coco can come up with a recipe for kulfi sometime, as she’s the master in the kitchen!). It’s completely vegetarian, a bonus to many Indians worldwide. It’s a perfect way to beat the summer heat, and sweet enough to mesmerise your taste buds with its amalgamation of a mixture of flavours and textures. Drop a hot gulab jamun in the kulfi and pour a dollop of rabdi and falooda over it, drown it in syrups and garnish it with dry fruits – that’s the magic of kulfi!
It’s not that difficult to market, actually. Hardened ice-cream, with a really milky base. Eat it off a plate, scoop it from within a glass, or bite into it on a stick. Someone should really introduce it to the world like it should be, not like the rare Westernised one you’d probably find at an Indian restaurant, containing eggs and air. No, the true kulfi will be appreciated.
Just give it an avenue. It’s high-time the kulfi got its due. It will be a success. And then hordes will clamour after it. After all, nobody doesn’t like ice-cream!