There are some countries where food is simply part of the holiday, and then there is India, where food seems to be part of the whole experience.
The colours, the aromas, the spices, the street food, the markets and the incredible regional differences all help tell the story of a country that has fascinated me for years.
And while a curry might be the first thing that springs to mind when we think about Indian food, this particular story is about something altogether sweeter. Kulfi
Creamy, dense, wonderfully indulgent and often flavoured with pistachio, saffron, cardamom or mango, Kulfi is one of India’s best-loved frozen desserts.
But there is much more to it than simply being the Indian version of ice cream.
So, with my sweet tooth suitably interested, I thought I would find out a little more.
Food and Travel in India
One of the things I love about travel is the way food connects us with a destination.
A meal can tell you something about a country’s history, geography and culture. Recipes move between generations, ingredients change from one region to another and dishes evolve as different cultures and traditions meet.
Few countries demonstrate this better than India.
Indian cuisine varies enormously across the country. The food of Kerala in the south can be very different from that of Rajasthan in the north, while Bengal, Goa, Punjab, Gujarat and countless other regions have their own ingredients, specialities and traditions.
Food is therefore not something I’d regard as an added extra on a trip to India.
It’s part of the journey.
And Kulfi has quite a journey of its own.
🍨 So What Exactly Is Kulfi?
At first glance, Kulfi looks a little like ice cream.
However, there is an important difference.
Traditional Kulfi isn’t churned in the same way as Western-style ice cream. Instead, milk is slowly heated and reduced, concentrating the natural sugars and creating a much denser and creamier texture.
The mixture can then be flavoured before being poured into moulds and frozen.
The result is rich, smooth and slower to melt than conventional ice cream.
Traditional flavours include pistachio, saffron, cardamom and rose, although mango and other fruit varieties have also become hugely popular.
You’ll find it served on sticks, sliced onto plates or presented in traditional moulded shapes.
And, as is so often the case with food, the story behind it is almost as interesting as the taste.
👑 From Mughal India to the Streets of Delhi
Kulfi is generally associated with the Mughal period in India, with references to methods of cooling and freezing appearing during the reign of Emperor Akbar in the 16th century.
That alone fascinates me.
We open a freezer today without giving it a second thought. Producing a frozen dessert in India hundreds of years ago was an altogether different challenge.
Ice was transported from the Himalayas and cooling techniques using ice and saltpetre helped make frozen foods possible.
Milk could be slowly reduced, sweetened and flavoured before being sealed into moulds and cooled.
The name Kulfi — sometimes written Qulfi — is generally thought to have links with the Persian word for a covered cup.
Over the centuries, what may once have been associated with royal kitchens became part of everyday Indian food culture.
Today, Kulfi can be found everywhere from restaurants and specialist sweet shops to street stalls and neighbourhood vendors.
That’s perhaps my favourite part of its story.
Something with connections to emperors and royal kitchens eventually became a treat enjoyed by just about everyone.
🌿 A Different Kulfi Wherever You Go
India’s enormous regional diversity inevitably means there isn’t just one version.
In northern India you might encounter traditional malai, pistachio, saffron or cardamom Kulfi, while elsewhere ingredients and flavours reflect local tastes.
Mango is now one of the best-known varieties, while you’ll also encounter rose, coconut, pomegranate and an ever-growing collection of modern interpretations.
Then there is Kulfi Falooda, where Kulfi is served with falooda noodles and often rose syrup, creating something that’s halfway between a dessert and a work of art.
Delhi is particularly famous for Kulfi.
In the lanes of Old Delhi, specialist businesses have spent generations developing different flavours and ways of serving it. Some versions are even made inside whole fruits, with the pulp removed, transformed into Kulfi and placed back inside before freezing.
Cut one open and you have slices of fruit containing frozen Kulfi.
Now that is my kind of fruit salad.
🧭 Discovering a Country Through Its Food
This is where Kulfi becomes more interesting to me than simply another dessert.
Food gives us an excuse to wander.
It takes us into markets, family-run restaurants, cafés and neighbourhoods we might otherwise never have visited.
You start asking questions.
Where is this made? Why is this particular ingredient used here? What do local people eat? Where’s the place everybody in town knows about but tourists walk straight past?
Those conversations can lead to some of the best experiences we have when travelling.
I have always preferred travel that allows time for those little discoveries rather than simply racing between famous sights.
India must surely be one of the greatest countries in the world for doing exactly that.
From the street food of Delhi and Mumbai to the seafood of Goa, the vegetarian cuisine of Gujarat, the spices of Kerala and the sweets you’ll find throughout the country, you could probably spend a lifetime exploring India through your stomach.
I’m prepared to give it a try.
🥄 Making Kulfi at Home
You don’t necessarily need to travel to India to get your first taste.
Traditional Kulfi takes a little patience rather than complicated cooking skills.
Ingredients
2 litres full-fat milk
¼ cup cream – optional
¼ cup sugar – adjust according to taste
20 pistachios, finely chopped
A few strands of saffron, soaked in two tablespoons of warm milk
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
Method
Pour the milk into a large, heavy-bottomed pan and bring it to the boil.
Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer gently. Add the cream if you’re using it and continue cooking, stirring regularly so the milk doesn’t catch on the bottom.
After approximately 30 minutes, add the sugar and continue simmering until the milk has reduced considerably and developed a thick, creamy consistency.
Add the pistachios, saffron-infused milk and cardamom and cook for another five minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely.
Pour into Kulfi moulds and freeze overnight.
If you don’t own Kulfi moulds — and I’m guessing most of us probably don’t — ice-lolly moulds or small freezer-safe containers will do the job perfectly well.
🍨 Serving Your Kulfi
Take the Kulfi from the freezer shortly before serving.
Warming the outside of the mould very briefly in your hands or dipping it into warm water should help release it.
Finish with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios.
Then there’s really only one job left.
Eat it before it melts.
✈️ A Little Taste of India
There is something I particularly like about discovering the history behind seemingly simple food.
Kulfi isn’t just frozen milk, sugar and flavouring.
Its story takes us from the Mughal emperors and ice transported from the Himalayas to street vendors, family memories and sweet shops across modern India.
And that’s exactly why food and travel work so beautifully together.
Every dish has somewhere it came from.
Every recipe has changed as people, cultures and ingredients have moved around the world.
And sometimes something as simple as a frozen dessert can leave you wanting to discover an entire country.
As for me? I’ll have pistachio please.
