Kulfi or Qulfi is an indian word derived from the persin word “Qufli” which means covered cup. The dessert was likely originated during the Mughlia Reign in the 16th century. The Mughal Khansamas or cooks were already popular with their mastered skills of creating sweet dishes with dense evaporated milk.
Kulfi is traditionally prepared by evaporating sweetened milk. The key is constant stirring and slow cooking. The milk has to be reduced, thickened and later add your favorite flavors. The best thing about kulfi is that once the milk is thickened, it accepts all flavors , be it fruits, dry fruits or even just plain essence. Reduced milk is very accepting when it comes to other flavors and the blend is delicious. The thing that most people don’t understand is a basic rule of constant stirring to keep milk from sticking to the bottom of the vessel where it might burn, until its volume is reduced by a half, thus thickening it, increasing its fat, protein, and lactose density. The semi-condensed mix is then frozen in tight sealed moulds and put in the freezer.
Desserts are every family’s favorite and Kulfi for us seems to top the chart during summer. My homemade kulfi is always loved by my family and friends. After trying different types of Kulfi using a variety of dry fruits, I decided to venture out using fruits. One of the first fruits I experimented with was Lychee and though the end product wasn’t a disaster, the Kulfi never came through.
I believe after that failed experiment that fruits for Kulfi should always be fresh. The Lychee I used was canned, but this time when I tried the delicious Mango Kulfi, I wanted to make sure nothing goes wrong and we get to enjoy the most loved fruit combined with the most loved dessert.
And that’s when I thought of making Mango Kulfi. Although I would have loved to make this delicious treat with Hapus Mango, but unfortunately Hapus isn’t available here like India, so I had to bear with the best ones we get here and so I did. Remembering Hapus, I was actually challenged by someone recently claiming that with the confusion I have with Mangoes, I surely have never tried Hapus. Honestly, I am one of the weird ones who isn’t a big fan of Mangoes and as much as people find it insanely funny, its a fact that I can look at a wonderful and beautiful mango and walk away. So, I will definitely share my hapus story another day but for for now, Please enjoy this wonderful and beautiful recipe.
This is a Chicken curry influenced from the era of Hyderabadi Nizams. I came across this while reading a book on Hyderabadi Nizams which mentioned how their culture, tradition and also the food was so much similar to the Mughals.
The reason why this dish is called a “Chooza” curry and not a “chicken” curry is because in those days curries were made out of baby Rooster’s meat, which was called Murgha or Chooza, it had more meat. Chicken on the other hand was “Desi Murghi”, it was more of bones and less meat and it was mostly used for making Biryani. So, this curry was made with the meaty chicken, hence “Chooza curry”.
The Hyderabadi Nizams were known for their rich choice of jewels, clothes, decorations and food. Even now, if you ever happen to eat Hyderabadi food, you can taste the richness of Ghee, Butter, Cream, Dry fruits and Khoya. Most dishes always have coconut as one of the ingredients as well, which also adds a lot of richness and creaminess. I have always enjoyed cooking Hyderabadi cuisine. I love the use of whole spices in dishes and Hyderabadi cuisine uses so much variety of them that as a cook it makes you feel really good, working with so many different spices and experiencing the fragrance while you cook.
This dish can surely please your guests and its a perfect dish for grand dinners and special occasions. Goes well with parantha or Sheermal.
If you like Gulab Jamuns, you will definitely like these. These are almost the same recipe as Khoya Gulab Jamun with a filling of dry fruits inside. Change the shape to make it look different from regular Gulab Jamuns. I made them oblong, you can always make them bigger and round if that appeals you more.
Jodhpur, my beautiful hometown and land of sweetness and colorful people. One of the most popular sweet is Maave ki Kachori. The crunchy outer crust and slightly sweet inside dipped in the sugar syrup.
For Mr. Parveez it was love at first sight or love at first bite. He enjoyed it so much that every Jodhpur visit, Maave Ki Kachori was a must and if we had any one coming over, we would ask them to get it for us, which I would fry again and pour some warm sugar syrup on it ans serve. As much as we would appreciate the pain people would go through to bring/send these awesome sweets to us, but the only problem was that staying without refrigeration for so long would spoil the taste a little and we wouldn’t be able to enjoy more that 25%. So, with time, we had to give up on that.
The best Maava Kachori according the polls is made by Raawat sweet store and I once happened to have a few guests over , out of which one has been to Jodhpur and has tried maava Kachori from that sweet store. I was truly honored when the guest told me that mine would win if there was a competition. Its always great to receive compliments from my boys and as much as I know that they are honest when it comes to food, I still believe they appreciate my efforts at times and never complain if the dish hasn’t come out great.
And then finally one day I decided to try my own. Before I write the whole recipe, let me tell you this…I have never eaten or tried Maave Ki Kachori. I am just few of those “weirdos” who do not enjoy sweets made with sugar syrup and therefore when the thought came to my mind, it was actually an arrow in the dark. What I knew was that the filling has Khoya and nuts and slight taste of some spices. The biggest blessing is to have a husband who has amazing taste buds and therefore, it was easy to have him try the filling before I finalize it.
The first attempt had too much spice and it was hard to taste the khoya and sweetness. The second try had too little spice. The third one was perfect since I understood how and what to do. The khoya needs to have a little bit of clove but suggest that they shouldn’t be powdered and they should be mixed as is in the pan while cooking khoya and should be taken out leaving the flavor. Besides, cloves, its cardamom powder, cinnamon powder and Nutmeg powder.
When you start cooking the Khoya would melt in the pan and that’s good since it makes it easier to blend it with flavor of spices, and when it cools down, it automatically solidifies again. Sugar should be mixed only once its taken off the pan.
I love Ice creams and Kulfis are my complete favorite. Kesar Pista Kulfi are one of the first Kulfis that I tried and have been a big fan of the Kesar Pista Kulfi ever since. In fact, for a very long time, I refrained from trying any other flavor of Kulfi. Those days I couldn’t imagine in the wildest of my dreams that I would be trying so many different flavors of Kulfi and create my own too.
Saffron is not just an expensive spice but a very flavorful one too. We took a trip to Dubai and visited the famous spice souk. Oh my God! what an amazing place. The fragrance throughput that market amazes and kind of is soul satisfying. Its so pure that if you rub a little on your hand, that fragrance won’t leave your hand for hours. So, during our first trip to Dubai, I bought 500 gms of saffron. Yupp! You read it right, half a Kg of Saffron. The thing is that when I travel to different places, I don’t mind spending money on stuff that’s authentic and pure. The quality of spices that you will find in Dubai/Middle East is something you might never find in other places. I have met a lot of people praising Saffron from Spain, and finding it better. But, I believe they haven’t had the privilege to try the Saffron from Middle East.
I would have actually bought a few more spices too, but considering the amount of shopping I had done, my luggage couldn’t have taken more. Coming back to the Kulfi. So, when I started making my own ice creams is when I thought of trying the Kulfi and the first one that came to my mind was Kesar Pista Kulfi.
As much as the flavors convince you that its difficult to make something so amazingly flavorful by yourself. Believe me and follow the recipe step by step and amaze yourself and your loved ones with the super delicious treat.
I have always loved Kaju Katli/ Kaju Burfi. I belong to the city, which is considered the heaven of sweets. There is no Indian popular sweet that you won’t find in my city.
Kaju Katli was always my favorite. The sweetness of cashews makes the kaju katli nutty, creamy and delicious. Earlier Mr. Parveez wasn’t a big fan of kaju Katli, but he would make sure that every time he would find them at a sweet store, he would buy some for me. Time went on, the boys tasted Kaju Katli and it was my older one who became a fan, so every time we were in India, I would buy enough to have him enjoy. On our way back home, I would always bring our favorite sweets including these yummilicious diamonds.
So, the last time I was in India, we had so much baggage while returning that I only got 1 Kg of Kaju Katli. We return and after unpacking while my older one was watching TV, I gave some to my older one to eat. A few minutes later comes in my second one and is all curious as to what my older one is enjoying so much. He gives it a try and we have another fan. He started munching on the Kaju Katli like chips and believe or not we finished the whole box in 4 days…LOLzzz.
Now, with kids who love Kaju Katli so much and living in a place where the sweet stores aren’t as good as India, I had to get down to experimenting and making my own. As much as I was excited about achieving success in making my favorite sweet, the best part was when Mr. Parveez tried them, he loved them too and he said that they actually taste better than any store bought burfi that he has ever tried.
Since then, there have been no more store bought Kaju katlis in our house ever. This recipe is easy to make and you will love them. Just follow the recipe properly and enjoy the wonderful homemade Kaju Katli.
My hubby hails from a family where, good food was always appreciated. God bless my father-in-law’s soul. I hear so many food stories from Mr. Parveez, that it truly amazes me on how well he has been introduced to so many delicious dishes. He has so many different and unheard delicacies that his father brought home every now and then.
The funniest part is that my father in law never let out his secret, not even after the children grew up, not even after they got married, not even after they had children. No matter how much you ask, he would never give out the address to the places, instead he would drive by himself and get you what your heart desires to eat….So, this aflatoon happens to be one of my hubby’s favorites.
This recipe will taste quiet close to pumpkin pie, but it way less in calories and carbs. This goes great for special day breakfast or tea time. It tastes awesome with Masala chai or coffee.
Ohh!! Did you think the story ends here….NO, there is more, I have tried to make this dish almost 5 times to make it taste the way my hubby’s taste buds remember from his childhood…OK! now you think I sound crazy…Well, if you had a man who loved you so much, making him feel happy is all you would want to do…and trust me, the way to a man’s heart and to make sure his heart is your home, the path needs to be carved out through is taste buds to his belly…LOLzzz… Life is beautiful and it stays beautiful and blessed when you color it with love around you….Enjoy!!!
Figs / Anjeer are a big part of dry fruit family. Sweetness of their own they are a splendid source of fiber while they taste great. After making lovely Kulfis with Almonds, Pistachios and saffron, I felt that figs would be a great choice for the next flavor.
Figs are sweet, healthy and rich in vitamins and minerals. Doctors suggest that consuming figs with milk is an excellent source of nutrition. I am not a big fan of figs by themselves, but trying them for Kulfi was one of the best decisions I ever made. It really enhances the flavor and as much as I was apprehensive at first, I was proud with the finished product.
One thing that you need to pay attention to is adding sugar. Figs are sweet and the longer they cook in milk, they keep oozing their sugar out, bit by bit and I always advise to add sugar towards the end, since you will get a perfect sweetness.
Another fact is about making a puree of the figs. Making a puree of half of the figs and chopping the other half to small pieces is better than making all puree. First reason being that all puree makes the milk extra sweet and second is that little chunks of Figs in your mouth while eating the delicious kulfi.
Kulfi is an Indian Ice cream and is favorite to ice cream lovers. My family has always loved eating or ordering kulfis from our favorite kulfi shop. There used to be one particular Kulfi shop that sold the best “marwari kulfi”. That shop is still by the clock tower in Jodhpur and it still sells the most authentic marwari kulfi.
Though in last few years, a lot of new ice cream shops and kulfi places have opened and become popular too. But, for people like me, we still go back to that old shop to get the traditional and delicious kulfi.
Being far away from home, we yearn to have those flavors and no matter which restaurant we go to, the kulfi doesn’t taste the same as what we get back home. I always craved for the creamy texture and nutty flavor which I never found anywhere around.
And then one fine day, I decided to start making my own. Trust me, its one of the best decision I ever took. After this, it was no looking back. I experimented with loads of different flavors and made a huge variety.
I feel there is nothing better than having your kulfi homemade. See, there is nothing that can beat the freshness, the quality of the products that you use plus the shelf time. When you buy them from the market, you have no idea how many times, they have been defrosted and refreeze again and don’t forget all the preservatives added to them.
As much as its hyped with all the recipes given of how to get a perfect kulfi, trust me there is no big deal to it. Its simple and comes out delicious. Just follow the simple steps. It doesn’t require too many ingredients and it would turn out more delicious than your favorite store brand.
If you have questions, feel free to ask.
My older son, Aryaan and I have always loved Kaju katli / Kaju Burfi . We, in Rajasthan call Kaju Burfi, Kaju Katli and I always find myself explaining everyone that when I say katli, I am referring to Burfi.
So, with every trip made to my hometown, Jodhpur, Kaju katli was one thing we had to eat very often… and then one trip coming back home, we carried few kgs of kaju katli with us to enjoy our favorite sweet for a few more days while getting over our home sickness [yupp, believe it or not, we all get home sick after returning from India]. One day my younger son, Kiyaan saw his elder brother munching on Kaju katli and thought of giving it a try…and that’s when I saw almost half a kg of kaju katli vanish like a bag of chips….LOLzzz
And that is when I decided that I need start making Kaju Katlis at home and I started. You can always search for the recipe on this website and trust me, its one of the easiest recipes and it might come out much better than a lot of stores you have tried them from. This recipe was so good that my boys prefer it to any kaju katli they have ever tasted …Lucky me!!!
So after, my experiment of making kaju katli perfectly and not to forget, Mr. Parveez preferring my kaju katli over the ones in India, I thought of taking the next step and make badaam katli.
The main difference I believe between katli and burfi is that katli being a little thinner adds a lot of mild flavor and crispness to the taste of sweet. The thin texture, believe it not makes enhances the flavor of the almonds and is easier for your taste buds to differentiate between the flavor of almond, milk powder and sugar. Easy to make, very flavorful and wins hearts!!!
