PAN FLAVOURED KULFI

The tropical weather we need to sustain requires coolers throughout the year but it is not the case with the rest. To share this recipe of PAN FLAVOURED KULFI was long due and before people take refuge under the "leper tola".... well that is taking refuge under their blankets. My childhood memory of winter is associated with "shankrantir pithe payesh" and "laal shalutey mora lep".... winter special sweet meats and those desi style blankets .... beaten cotton  from Bombay Ceiba as per wiki covered with a red, cotton piece of cloth and sewed in the borders. All the sweaters, Kashmiri Shawls came out from the "steel er almari".... steel almirah by October. In most of the Bengali families, sweaters were not bought but made by the women in the family .... my mother, aunts, the maa-in-law were so good at it. There were hardly any woman in the neighbourhood or in the city who did not know how to make a sweater. My mother tried in vein to teach me the art, you know well I am far from any artistry except for cooking... if only you consider cooking as an art. 

Gradually, winter became just an one month affair in Kolkata ... perhaps because of the Global Warming. Since winters in my entire childhood and teen hood was spent at my maternal grandparent's place some 100 km away from Kolkata .... a small township known to many in the world for few of its unique things..... I always experienced proper winter up to a certain stage in life. The temperature there was much less than the over crowded metro city and I had to be there to start the mornings with "dadur jomir tatka khejurer rosh" and "khejur gur diye pithe"..... Mornings started with a glass of fresh date palm juice that came from the grandfather's farm further away from the town and rest of the day was for sweet and salted steamed or fried snacks with date palm jaggery.... what maple syrup means for many of you is date palm jaggery for us.... in context of the attachment and we are unlikely to trade one for the other. This December I am not going to Kolkata, I do not know how to get my winter special "patali gur".... Date Palm jaggery is available here in the few Asian stores but not always the quality does attract me... Your milk gets curdled if it is not good. Oh God! How come a PAN FLAVOURED KULFI got me to "Smriti Romonthon".... I do not know when this Memory thing will stop chasing me, it gets over bearing at times.

Anyways, if I have taken up the name of my pan loving grandmother today, let us share this recipe of PAN FLAVOURED KULFI with my readers. No artificial flavour has been used in it, there is no use of condensed milk or evaporated milk. What we need is a good quality full cream milk and a bit of patience as it needs to be boiled until it becomes less than half at low heat. I do not associate having coolers or frozen desserts to any season. I love them so much so that I find them suitable for all the seasons. 

I remember a year before my marriage, that was in 1996, we made a tour of Rajasthan.... that was my last tour with my parents.... few clippings I still remember.... my favourite custard apple garden within the Chittorgarh Fort .... how I was caught trying to steal one.... each tree there is owned by the Indian Government .... sitting on a khatia and having dal bati churma, visiting all three of Pushkar, Vishnu Temple and Ajmer Shariff together.... The mother bought two Rajai.... Rajasthan special blankets and gifted us on our marriage.... I got totally lost and confused in the Kundan Jewelry and Jaipur Nagrai shoe shops ... 

The pani poori I did not like as one from Kolkatan feels Kolkata's puchka is the best. I loved touring Ray's "Shonar Kella"... the yellow sandstone[?] fort after a plateful of "laal mas".... What did I love most?.... Having ice-cream sitting at Mount Abu in the month of December... Vadilal ones... till then ice cream meant only Kwality Walls / Tulika / Rollick to us! You see, not having frozen dessert during the winter logic does not work for those who love it. Kulfi is an absolute favourite among many in our sub-continent, there is no reason why it should not be liked by the rest when it can be done in few easy steps at home. This PAN FLAVOURED KULFI is done with full cream milk, fresh beetle leaf juice, cardamom powder, sugar, cashew nuts, raisins. We will do it together now.

INGREDIENTS :

Full Cream Milk : 1lt
Fresh Betel Leaf Juice : 1/2medium cup
Cashew Nut : 5-6 [chopped]
Cashew Nut Powdered : 7-8
Raisin : 8-10 [chopped]
Green Cardamom Powder : 1/4tsp
Sugar : 1/2medium cup

METHOD :

Take the full cream milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and put for boil. We will do it with lot of patience and at low heat. We need to stir the milk every 3-4 minutes.

When the milk comes down to the half, add the sugar. Let boil till the milk reduces further to about 300-400 ml.

Switch off and let cool. Add the cashew nut powder, chopped raisins and cashew nut, green cardamom powder and the betel leaf juice. Stir well gently.

Pour into plastic or thermocol glasses.

Take them on a tray and keep in the freezer for an hour. Take out.

Insert medium sized sticks just in the middle.

Freeze again for 4-5 hours. Take out. Cut, tear and discard the plastic or thermocol glasses. Do it carefully. Arrange them atop a ice-cubes filled plate or tray. Enjoy!