Kulfi () ( fa, ) is a frozen dairy dessert originating in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

during the

Mughal era The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

in the 16th century. It is often described as "traditional Indian

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

". Kulfi is a traditional sweet of the Indian subcontinent, where it is commonly sold by street vendors called ''kulfiwallahs''. It is popular in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, Sri Lanka, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and part of the national cuisines of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. Kulfi is denser and creamier than regular ice cream. It comes in various flavours. Traditional ones include cream (''

malai Malai (Hindi: मलाई, Urdu: ) is a type of clotted cream, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, especially, in regards to sweets from the Indian subcontinent. It is made by heating no ...

''),

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

, mango,

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...

(''elaichi''),

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in ...

(''kesar'' or ''zafran''), and pistachio. Newer flavours include apple, orange, strawberry, peanut, and

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

. Unlike ice cream, kulfi is not whipped, resulting in a solid, dense dessert similar to

frozen custard Frozen custard is a cold dessert similar to ice cream, but made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. It is usually kept at a warmer temperature compared to ice cream, and typically has a denser consistency. History Egg yolks have been int ...

. Thus, it is sometimes considered a distinct category of frozen dairy-based dessert. The density of kulfi causes it to melt more slowly than ice cream.

History

The word ''kulfi'' comes from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

(قلفی) meaning "covered cup". The dessert likely originated in the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

in the 16th century. The mixture of dense evaporated milk was already popular in the sweet dishes in the Indian subcontinent. During the Mughal period, this mixture was flavoured with pistachios and saffron, packed into metal cones and immersed in

slurry ice Slurry ice is a phase changing refrigerant made up of millions of ice "micro-crystals" (typically 0.1 to 1 mm in diameter) formed and suspended within a solution of water and a freezing point depressant. Some compounds used in the field are sa ...

, resulting in the invention of kulfi. '' Ain-i-Akbari'', a detailed record of the Mughal emperor Akbar's administration, mentions use of

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate Salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ...

for refrigeration as well as transportation of Himalayan ice to warmer areas.

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, as the former capital of the Mughal Empire, claims to be the birthplace of kulfi. However, Australian food historian Charmaine O'Brien writes, "...it is likely that (kulfi) originally evolved in the cooler climates of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

or Samarkand and that the Mughals appropriated the concept and elaborated on it to create the creamy, perfumed dessert that it now is."

Preparation

To prepare kulfi, sweetened, flavoured milk is slow cooked. The milk is stirred almost continuously to prevent it from sticking to the

cooking utensil A kitchen utensil is a small hand held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils a ...

. During this process, the milk condenses and thickens. The slow cooking caramelises the sugar in the mixture and browns its milk proteins, giving kulfi its distinctive taste. The mixture is then poured into moulds (often ''kulhars'') and sealed. The sealed moulds are submerged in an insulated ''matka'' filled with ice and salt. This quickly freezes the mixture, giving it a soft, smooth consistency free of ice crystals. Kulfi prepared in this traditional way is called ''matka kulfi''. The moulds are removed from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving to allow the kulfi to melt slightly. The kulfi is then removed from the moulds and garnished with ground cardamom, saffron, or pistachios. Kulfi is also served with ''

falooda A ''falooda'' is a Mughlai Indian version of a cold dessert made with noodles. It has origins in the Persian dish '' faloodeh'', variants of which are found across West, Central, and South Asia. Traditionally it is made by mixing rose syrup, ...

'' (

vermicelli Vermicelli (; , , also , ) is a traditional type of pasta round in section similar to spaghetti. In English-speaking regions it is usually thinner than spaghetti, while in Italy it is typically thicker. The term ''vermicelli'' is also used to ...

noodles).

Gallery

File:Kesari Aam Kulfi 01.jpg, Saffron- and mango-flavoured kulfi File:Strawbeerry kulfi.JPG, Kulfi with strawberry sauce File:Kulfi.jpg, Pistachio-, vanilla-, and rose-flavoured kulfi File:Kulfi Faluda.jpg, Kulfi with ''

'' (vermicelli noodles) File:Kulfi (1).jpg, A vendor (''kulfiwallah'') selling kulfi in India

References

{{Ice cream Indian desserts Ice cream Frozen desserts Rajasthani cuisine Gujarati cuisine Pakistani cuisine Mughlai cuisine Burmese desserts and snacks Indian dairy products Indo-Caribbean cuisine

History

Preparation

Gallery

See also

References