Gulkand kulfi: an easy rose kulfi recipe
Gulkand kulfi made the slow way: reduced milk, a little sugar and rose gulkand folded in off the heat. Amounts, timings, and a no-cook ice cream version.
The short answer
To make gulkand kulfi, reduce full-fat milk to about half, sweeten it lightly, let it cool, then stir in rose gulkand and nuts and freeze in moulds for at least 8 hours. Add the gulkand only after the milk has cooled, so the rose scent survives. A litre of milk makes six small kulfis.
Kulfi is denser than ice cream because it is never churned: the milk is cooked down until it is thick and sweet, then frozen still. Gulkand suits it well. The soft petals stay chewy in the frozen milk, and because gulkand is already sweet, the kulfi needs less sugar than usual.
Ingredients
• 1 litre full-fat milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk powder (optional, for a richer kulfi)
• 4 tablespoons rose gulkand
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (leave out if using Kesar Elaichi Gulkand)
• 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
• 2 tablespoons chopped almonds
Method
1. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy, wide pan, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring and scraping the sides every few minutes, until it has reduced to about half — roughly 35–40 minutes.
2. Stir in the sugar and the milk powder, if using, and simmer for 2 more minutes until dissolved.
3. Take the pan off the heat and let the milk cool completely, about 30 minutes.
4. Stir in the gulkand, cardamom and most of the nuts. Adding the gulkand only once the milk is cool keeps its rose scent.
5. Pour into kulfi moulds, small steel cups or paper cups, and scatter the rest of the nuts on top.
6. Cover and freeze for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
7. To unmould, dip each mould in warm water for a few seconds and slide the kulfi out. Serve at once.
Tips
• Use a wide, heavy pan. More surface means faster reduction, and a heavy base stops the milk catching. Scrape the dried cream off the sides back into the milk; it is what gives kulfi its texture.
• Taste before freezing. Cold dulls sweetness, so the mixture should taste slightly too sweet at room temperature. Add another spoonful of gulkand rather than more sugar if it needs it.
• For saffron kulfi, use Kesar Elaichi Gulkand and skip the cardamom powder; the saffron and cardamom are already in it.
• A drop of rose water stirred in with the gulkand makes the rose more pronounced. Half a teaspoon is enough. Rose Water
Quick gulkand ice cream (no cooking)
For a shortcut, whip 200 ml of chilled cream to soft peaks, fold in 200 g of sweetened condensed milk and 4 tablespoons of gulkand, then freeze in a covered tub for 6–8 hours. It is softer and more like ice cream than kulfi, and it scoops straight from the freezer. Skip the sugar entirely; the condensed milk and gulkand are sweet enough.
Serving and keeping
Serve kulfi straight from the mould, or sliced into rounds on a plate with a spoonful of gulkand on top. Covered, it keeps in the freezer for a couple of weeks. This is a sweet dessert, so anyone with diabetes should treat it as an occasional one. For a drink made from the same jar, try the gulkand milkshake.
Made with our Rose Gulkand: rose petals and mishri only, layered and left in the sun rather than cooked. Delivery is a flat ₹39 anywhere in India.
Buy from the Haldighati valley
- Rose Gulkand — Sun-cured Damask rose petal preserve. 470 g, ₹449.
- Kesar Elaichi Gulkand — Rose gulkand with saffron and green cardamom. 470 g, ₹549.