A - Z Indian Street Foods ~ Z for Zafrani - Pista - Badam Kulfi / Saffron -Pistachio - Almond Kulfi

I am on my last post of this 'street food' journey and thought of ending it on a sweet note. Hence here is zafrani kulfi aka saffron kulfi for the alphabet 'Z'. Kulfi, a frozen dessert based on dairy is believed to have been originated in India during the Mughal empire during 16th century. Kulfi sometimes loosely dubbed as the Indian ice cream, is more creamier and denser compared to ice cream and melts slower. Kulfi is prepared by evaporating sweetened and flavored milk on slow flame, until the volume is reduced by half. The condensed milk is then frozen in moulds. I had bookmarked Vaishali's recipe a while ago that happens to be of a quicker version which came handy when I set to prepare it yesterday night. It uses condensed milk and corn starch and there is no need to keep boiling and stirring longer. It is super flavorful and a treat for one and all.

Ingredients: (Yield 4 kulfis)
1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp. corn starch
A big pinch of saffron strands
1 - 2 tbsp. chopped pistachios & almonds
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
Few drops of kevda essence

Method:
* Combine corn starch and a tbsp. or two of water and make a smooth paste and keep it aside.
* Heat whole milk and condensed milk in a thick sauce pan, preferably a non stick pan. Bring the milk to a boil on low flame stirring often. Taste and add sugar if needed.
* Add saffron strands to a small cup and pour a tbsp. of boiling milk mixture. Stir and keep aside.
* Add the corn starch paste to the boiling milk and keep stirring. The mixture may stick to the bottom. Keep stirring and continue to boil the mixture for about 5 minutes.
* Turn off the stove and add the saffron strands' mixture to it. Let the milk mixture cool down completely.
* Add the chopped nuts, cardamom and kevda essence and mix well.
* Pour the mixture equally in 4 kulfi moulds / Popsicle moulds / kulhars / small steel or paper cups. Popsicle sticks can be inserted if preferred. Freeze overnight or longer until it sets firm.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 87

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Amaranth Flour - Pistachio Balls / Rajgira Ke Atta - Pista laddu

Here are some nutritious and healthy laddu for adults and kids alike. These are gluten free and are easy to make. I thought of using a millet flour for this week's theme and zeroed on amaranth flour. I added pistachios but any or a mixture of nuts can be substituted here. We felt that they tasted similar to the classic sunnundalu of Andhra which are made using husked black gram / sabut urad dal and jaggery and had a hint of milk powder texture.

Ingredients: (Yield 8 laddus)
3 tbsp. Ghee
1/2 cup Rajgira ke atta / Amaranth flour
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
6 to 8 tbsp. powdered jaggery
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

Method:
* Heat a pan and add ghee. When ghee melts, add amaranth flour and toast it on low flame until you start to smell the aroma, about five minutes.
* Lightly toast the pistachios and keep them aside to cool.
* Add the pistachios to a food processor or a blender and grind them coarsely. Next add the remaining ingredients and pulse a few times to combine.
* Transfer the ingredients onto a plate or bowl. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, shape them into balls. Shape the laddus when the mixture is still warm.
* Let them cool and store them in an airtight container.

This goes to Blogging marathon #86, under the theme 'All that come round are laddus?'. Check out the page to read what other marathoners are cooking.

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