Simply Desserts: Orange And Cinnamon Kulfi With Orange Sauce

While even today,in India,traditional kulfi flavors like kesar(saffron) and pista(pistachio) are the most popular,newer variations like anar(pomegranate),banana and strawberry are increasingly gaining fans.

ORANGE AND CINNAMON KULFI WITH ORANGE SAUCE
"Me and ice cream.Best friends forever."
                                                                                        -Jessi Lane Adams
Meet Orange And Cinnamon Kulfi,your new best friend!What else can be a better way to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month?
Kulfi,the Indian version of ice cream is made by slowly thickening milk,combining it with sugar and flavorings,and freezing it to a sublime dessert.While most ice creams start with whipping egg yolks with sugar,kulfi does not involve any whipping and hence no air is incorporated.This makes kulfi richer,denser and much more heavenly than its western counterpart!
This contemporary recipe,brings together the sweet,citrusy taste of oranges and the warm,woody flavor of cinnamon.

Cooking Time : 40 minutes
Servings : 4

INGREDIENTS
3 cups milk
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cinnamon stick
FOR THE ORANGE SAUCE:
1/4 teaspoon cornflour
TO SERVE:
Rind of 1/2 orange - Grated(Optional)

METHOD
Take the milk in a non-stick pan and bring it to a boil on high heat.
Once the milk reaches a boil,add the amber colored,smooth honey,and reduce the heat to low.Stirring frequently,reduce the milk to half of its original quantity.Then,tip in the cream,and continue cooking.After ten minutes,switch off the flame and strain this thickened,pale yellow milk and cream mixture to ensure a silky texture.Allow it to cool down to room teperature.
In the meanwhile,combine the orange juice along with cinnamon stick and half the sugar in a pan over low heat.Stir until the sugar dissolves.Cook till reduced to half of its original quantity,discard the cinnamon stick and let it cool down to room temperature.Reserve two tablespoons of this cinnamon flavored orange juice for the orange sauce.
Once both the mixtures - milk and cream mixture,and cinnamon flavored orange juice cool down to room temperature,mix them together.Pour into kulfi moulds and screw the lids securely.Freeze for three to four hours.During the first hour of freezing,shake the moulds every fifteen minutes.This will prevent the formation of any ice crystals.
At the time of serving,streak or spoon some orange sauce on each individual plate,dip kulfi moulds in a bowl of warm water for a few seconds,unscrew the lids and invert onto plates.Sprinkle the kulfi with orange rind,if using and meet your new best friend!
FOR THE ORANGE SAUCE:
Dissolve the cornflour in a teaspoon of water.Keep aside.
Heat the reserved reduced orange juice along with remaining sugar over high heat.Keep stirring constantly,as the juice begins to bubble.Reduce the heat to medium,and add dissolved cornflour,which will result in the juice thickening.Cook till it gets a sauce-like consistency.Remember,the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.Serve it warm or at room temperature with kulfi,as desired.

NOTE
1. While traditionally a heavy bottomed vessel is used to thicken the milk for kulfi,using non-stick pan is even better since it  prevents the milk from sticking at the bottom/getting burnt.
2. Traditionally,kulfi is frozen in kulfi moulds which are made of aluminium or plastic.However,if you don't have kulfi moulds,lolly moulds or disposable plastic cups can be used instead.

Thanks to its density,kulfi takes longer to melt than ice cream.

This work by Fahad Khan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

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