ALMOND ICE CREAM (KULFI)

Ingredients

• 225 gms blanched almonds
• 1.75 litres milk
• 225 g caster sugar
• 300 ml double cream
• 2 tablespoon rose water

Preparation: 

• Place the almonds in a basin, cover with cold water and set aside.
• Reserve 300 ml of the milk and bring the rest to the boil in a large heavy based or non-based or non-stick saucepan.
• Simmer until the milk is reduced by half, stirring from time to time to ensure that any skin or solids that cling to the side of the pan we well mixed with the milk.
• Drain the almonds and place three-quarters of them in a liquidiser with the reserved milk. Blend the mixture until the almonds are roughly ground. The mixture should be crunchy.
• Add the almond mixture and sugar to the hot milk and continue simmering, for a further 10 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly. This allows the flavour of the almonds to penetrate the milk.
• Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator until chilled.
• Roughly chop the remaining almonds and stir them into chilled milk with the double cream and rose water. Stir thoroughly so that the ingredients are well and truly mixed.
• Pour into a metal cone-shaped container, or any other suitable freezer container, and freeze until solid. Transfer to the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving, then turn out if necessary.

Serves: 8
Preparation time: 1 hour

PISTACHIO ICE CREAM
Ingredients

• 225 g unsalted shelled Pistachio nuts
• 1.75 litres milk
• 350 g caster sugar

Preparation:

• Blanch the pistachios in boiling water for a few minutes, then rub off their skins.
• Soak the nuts in cold water for 1 hour, then drain them. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the pistachios cut these into fine slivers and dry them on absorbent paper.
• Pour the milk into a heavy based or non-stick sauce pan and bring to the boil. Continue simmering until it is reduced to a third-about 600ml.
• Blend the pistachios with a little water to make a gritty paste, then mix this paste with sugar in a small heavy-based or non-stick saucepan. Cook until the mixture bubbles about 15 minutes. It should form a thick paste.
• Add half the paste to the milk and mix thoroughly. Pour half the pistachio flavoured milk into a oblong plastic container and freeze. Set the remaining milk and paste aside.
• As soon as the mixture is firm, remove the container from the freezer and spread the reserved pistachio paste on top. Pour in the rest of the milk mixture and freeze until hard.
• Remove from the freezer about 15 minutes before serving and leave in the refrigerator. To serve, turn out and slice the ice cream to show the layers.

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 1 hour.

RABADI

Ingredients

• Milk- 3litres
• Sugar- 350gm.
• Vetivier- 5 drops
• Pistacho- 3tbs
• Chandi - ka - Varq(Silver leaves)

• THE PISTACHO: Blanch, cool, remove the skin and cut into silvers.

Cooking
Put milk in a kadhai, bring to a boil, reduce to low heat and stir constantly for 20 minutes. Thence stir after every 5 minutes until milk is reduced to 900ml and acquires a granular consistency. Remove, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Then add vetivier and stir. Cool, remove to a silver bowl, garnish with pistachio and refrigerate.

To Serve
Remove from the refrigerator, cover with varq and serve chilled. (Rabadi is best served in individual shikoras --- earthenware bowls --- and should be portioned out, garnished with pistachio and then refrigerated. It should be covered with varq only at the time of serving.

Preparation time:5 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours

SHAHI TURKHA

Ingredients

• Rabarhi(Unsweetened)- 350gm.
• Sugar- 600gm./3 cups
• Vetivier- 1 drops
• Green Cardamom powder- ½ tsp
• Milk Bread- 12 slices
• Groundnut Oil to deep fry
• Milk- 2 litres
• Almonds- 4tsp
• Pistachio- 2tsp
• Saffron- 2tsp
• Chandi - ka - Varq(Silver leaves)

• THE RABADI: Add 100gm. of sugar while it is still warm and stir until dissolved. Add vetivier and stir.
• THE SYRUP : Boil the remaining sugar with water (approx 300ml) to make a syrup of one-string consistency. Add cardamom powder and stir.
• THE BREAD:Slice off the crust and trim the edges to make discs. Heat oil in a kadhai and deep fry over low heat until golden brown and crisp.
• THE MILK: Bring to a boil in a large , flat, thick-bottomed handi, remove and reserve 15ml/ 1 Tbs to dissolve saffron.
• THE TUKRHA:Immerse the fried bread in the remaining milk, the slices at least an inch apart. Return the handi to heat and simmer until the milk is absorbed, turning once in between with a spatula without breaking the bread. Remove from heat and pour on the warm syrup.
• THE NUTS: Blanch almonds and pistachio, cool, remove the skin and cut into slivers
• THE SAFFRON: Dissolve in the reserved milk while it is still warm.

Assembling
Arrange the soaked Tukrha on silver platter, spread Rabadi on top. garnish with nuts and sprinkle saffron

To Serve
Cover with Shahi Tukrha with Varq and serve warm.

Yield: 12
Preparation time: 1.15 hours(Plus time taken for Rabadi)