The Inside-Mango kulfi-
Cardamom- Mango kulfi served inside a mango-The special Indian Ice-Cream
Kulfis are so much fun- a breath of relief n joy
in the hot summer evenings, full of flavors from fruits, nuts, flowers,
saffron- they are a delight who gathers small crowd in the family tables with
high anticipation. Kids love it and perhaps adults like it even more. In
different parts of India different flavors of kulfi would be preferred and also
would be spelled slightly differently such as “Khulfi” or “Qulfi” or “Koolfee”.
Unlike ice-cream which is whipped Kulfis are not whipped and therefore they
have a denser n solid texture being frozen, it takes a longer time to melt
because of the same reason.
Kulfis being more solid n dense in texture you have to bite
into a kulfi rather than licking as it starts melting in your mouth. Full-cream
milk is simmered for a long time as the milk thickens, developing a distinct
flavor and becomes more creamy. They are known as The Indian Ice-cream in other
parts of the world. The traditional flavors of kulfi used to be Pistachio,
Malai(cream), Rose, Cardamom, Saffron, in these time a huge variety of flavors
have appeared, some of them being Mango, Paan(betel leaf), Thandai( a drink
made with almonds, milk), orange, apple, strawberry, peanut.
When
I was a kid, the Kulfiwallas used to visit our streets with their collection,
the kulfis frozen in the kulfi molds inside an earthenware vessel called
“Matka” which is filled with a mixture of ice n salt inside which the kulfis
get frozen. It was a moment of temptation n anticipation when a kid would
convince his parent after much effort those days to buy him a kulfi. In the
modern changing times the Kulfiwallas have reduced in number, now-days some of
them carry a box of thermocole full of ice and kulfis. But that doesn't mean that their kulfis are inferior neither the popularity of traditional kulfi has
reduced nor is the technique of traditional kulfi making lost. In fact it is
very much alive. What is most notable however is the difference in texture
between the kulfis made in the traditional way and those made at home feels
like.
At home we tend to freeze them in refrigerator and in the
traditional method the kulfis are frozen inside a earthen terracotta mold and
then they are placed inside a Matka/Kulhar which is full of ice n salt, the
kulfis rendered by this slow freezing develops a smooth saturated creamy mouth feel
and not a slightly crunchy texture in the refrigerator kulfis because of the presence of water crystal in them. Also notable is the flavor in the
traditional kulfis which carry the essence n subtle flavor of the terracotta
pots in which they are frozen and it is such a desirable flavor that is lost in
metal kulfi molds.
The birth of kulfi began perhaps during the time-period when
the Mughals ruled a big part of modern day India-16th to 18th
century. The love affair of the Mughals with food is renowned and truly they
were food-fanatics. Numerous recipes were invented in the Mughal kitchen which
was never sort of money or supplies of food items from across the vast land on
Hindustan-now India- and from around the world. During their time ice from the
hills of Himachal Pradesh was shipped down the Yamuna to Delhi and it is during
that time perhaps that kulfi was invented in the Mughal kitchen. However there
is a Persian precedent for this desert and the name also has its source from
the Persian word for ‘Lock’. Given that fact that the Mughals were very fond of
the Persians, there is huge influence of the Persians on them, it is no wonder
if the origins of the kulfi had its hand stretched to the Persian culinary traditions.
Now
traditionally as aforementioned, milk was thickened by slowly simmering it for
a long period of time, stirring from time to time to keep the milk from
sticking to the bottom of the vessel where it might burn and done so until it’s
volume has reduced to half or one-third. The resulting milk is high in lactose,
fat, protein density and it has developed a distinct taste due to the process
of caramelization of lactose and sugar during the time of cooking. This
thickened milk is flavored and poured into special earthenware moulds, namely
kulhars with their mouth sealed or into conical molds, they are then submerged
into a mixture of ice and salt , these whole ice n salt mixture resides inside
another earthen vessel named as ‘Matka’ which is shaken gently till the kulfi
freezes. The Matka provides insulation from the external heat and slows down
the process of ice melting. The traditional earthenware pots impart a distinct
n lovely flavor to the kulfis and they will be known as ‘Matka Kulfi’. Those
days a pot full of kulfi-Baraf ki Handi
was a very special gift to send someone.
At the restaurants and the road-side
Kulfiwallas often serve kulfi with
‘Faluda’ and a rose/strawberry sugar syrup, faluda are rice noodles which add a
different texture to the kulfi being served, the additional sugar syrup
provided another layer of flavor, many people however prefer their kulfis
without the faluda.
Modern day kulfis are often made quickly making use of
condensed milk/milk powder/mawa-dried solid milk/white bread/corn
flour/evaporated milk which thickens the milk quickly thus arriving at the same
texture at which the kulfis are frozen. The process of freezing using the
mixture of salt n ice was introduced in India perhaps by Akbar as told by Abul
fazl who was his vizier/political adviser.
Now it is time to give the recipe for my inside-the-mango
kulfis.
For The Recipe: you will need
600 ml full-cream milk
3 small/2 medium ripe
mangoes
2 heaped tsp of powdered
milk
4-5 tsp of granular sugar
(according to taste)
2 green cardamom pods
slightly roasted and crushed into a powder
Pinch of salt
1.
Begin by preparing the mangoes, wash the
mangoes, wipe dry, then with your fingers start mashing the pulp of the mango
softly from over the mango skin, work softly around the mango until after some
time you feel the whole flesh of the mango inside have been quite soft like
semi-liquid. Don’t work so forceful that you damage the skin of the mango
because it is inside the mango where we will freeze the kulfi mixture, now with
a sharp knife make a 2 inch cross-slit on the top of the mango, it will look X.
now turn the mango upside down on a plate and slowly push the mango pulp
through the cut you have made, work softly, you will feel the mango seed is
trying to get out of the slit along with the mango pulp, be careful as you push
the mango seed softly out of the mango, turn it softly with your fingers inside
the mango so it can get out of the mango easily. Once the seed is out push out
the remaining liquid pulp from inside the mango, then make the mango regain its
previous shape with your fingers carefully. Do the same with all the mangoes,
then place them on a egg-holder or somewhere they can stand vertically, place
them in the freezer.
2.
Take a big wide pan for the milk, rinse it with
water then pour the milk in it. If you rinse the pan of your milk with water
before you put the milk in it, the milk won’t easily scorch in the pan.
Put the flame to medium; let the milk come to a boil, with a big metal spoon
scratch the bottom of the pan and the sides so that nothing sticks to them. You
have to do that every 2-3 minutes throughout the time-period while the milk is
reducing in the pan. Let the flame be on low to medium, time by time as you
scratch the sides of the pan you will see milk solids gathering; include them
into the milk as you scratch the sides. It will take about 15-20 minutes for the
milk to reduce to half its original volume, scratch the bottom often making
sure nothing is sticking at the bottom. When the milk has reduced to half by
the end of around 20 minutes you will see it has thickened and it has got all
the milk solid parts in it that you scratched from the sides n incorporated
into the milk. If you taste it you will find it has a unique taste, now take
the 2 tsp powdered milk in a container and pour a little of the thickened milk
in it to dissolve it, when dissolved add it to the rest of the milk, let the
flame be on low this time, add the sugar, let it melt, taste n adjust if you
need more sweetness, remember the mangoes will add a bit of their sweetness
when mixed, so keep it slightly less, lastly add a pinch of salt and take it
off the flame.
3.
In a frying pan on low flame roast the cardamom
pods for 1 minute then crush them in a mortar n pestle, discarding their
shells. Add the cardamom powder to the thick milk, mix well, now let it cool and
come to room temperature. As it cools take the mango pulp that you had and
either just crush them in your hands so they become like a loose paste or do
the same in a food blender.
4.
When the milk has cooled down completely add the
mango pulp, you don’t need to add the whole amount of mango pulp, probably half
amount will do, taste it, if you think you need more add more.
5.
Take out the frozen mango shells out of the
freezer and pour the mango kulfi mixture with a spoon inside them, when done
make sure they are stable in their holder and won’t tilt sideways, then
carefully place them in the freezer and give them 7-8 hours or overnight until
they are frozen.
6.
When completely frozen take them out and take
one mango out of the stand and with a very sharp knife cut the frozen mango
kulfi into long sections, dip the knife in hot water if you need to help
cutting through the frozen mango kulfi, being careful all the time. Now you
must attack them and enjoy them as they melt slowly, sloooowwwllllyyyyyyy……
