Culinary Chronicles
By Yasmin Rahul Bakshi
A Kulfi, a Kitchen Blunder and a Generous Helping of Humble Dessert!
I do love making something special for the family, and I must confess, I enjoy dressing it up just as much as cooking it.
That afternoon, my saffron infused kulfi looked quite the little showstopper. A generous sprinkle of pistachios, a few strands of saffron, delicate rose petals and a pretty brass bowl to complete the picture. I admired my handiwork, rather pleased with myself. After all, the eyes must feast before the palate!
With considerable pride, I presented my little masterpiece to the family.
Little did I know that I was about to be served a rather large helping of humility for dessert!
During our Army days, I often had a good laugh over the culinary mishaps of some young wives who were rather unfamiliar with the kitchen. There was one who mistook CTC tea leaves for black mustard seeds and promptly used them to temper her potatoes. Another attempted to crack eggs for scrambling by smashing them straight onto the kitchen slab. I would wonder how anyone could possibly make such mistakes.
Well, life apparently has a rather wicked sense of humour.
Cub took the first morsel. A brief pause followed. Not a word of appreciation, not even a polite little murmur. Just a silence that, in hindsight, spoke volumes. Knowing her mother’s enthusiasm for sneaking healthy ingredients into perfectly innocent desserts, she probably concluded that this was yet another of my well intentioned nutritional experiments. Best not to ask questions. Best not to encourage a lecture on the virtues of whatever had gone into it.
Tiger was rather more diplomatic, though infinitely more dangerous. He took his first bite, paused and instead of offering the expected compliment, gently pushed the kulfi towards me.
“Why don’t you taste it?”
Now, when a husband who has survived years of his wife’s culinary experiments suggests that she taste her own creation, one ought to recognise the warning bells.
I took a bite.
Good heavens!
My taste buds recoiled in protest. Sour! Absolutely no sweetness! Just a frozen lump of yoghurt masquerading as kulfi, with the saffron valiantly trying to rescue its reputation.
Yuck!
Cub had chosen silence. Tiger had chosen diplomacy. And I had chosen the garnish over quality control.
Completely baffled, I began mentally retracing the proceedings in the kitchen.
Two bowls had been sitting on the counter. One held thick, whisked curd. The other, beautifully reduced, sweetened milk, destined to become my glorious kulfi.
I had instructed the kitchen help to add the saffron infused milk to the sweetened milk and pour it into the moulds.
Simple enough, surely?
Except that he had poured it into the curd instead.
The sweetened milk stayed in its bowl. The curd went into the freezer. And I, blissfully unaware, went about garnishing it like a Michelin starred dessert!
So there it was. Not saffron kulfi, but frozen sour curd in festive attire!
The garnish was impeccable, the presentation rather elegant and the taste an absolute disaster.
I could almost hear those Army wives laughing somewhere in the distance.
Moral of the story? Never laugh at another person’s kitchen blunders. One day, your own dessert might serve you a generous helping of humility!
Ingredients:
- Full-fat milk – 2 litres
- Sugar – 100 g
- Saffron (kesar) – ½ tsp
- Warm milk (for soaking saffron) – 2 tbsp
- Green cardamom powder – ½ tsp
- Pistachios, finely chopped – 30 g
Method:
- Infuse the saffron by soaking saffron strands in 2 tablespoons of warm milk for 15–20 minutes to release their colour and aroma.
- Pour full-fat milk into a heavy-bottomed, wide pan. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat.
- Cook uncovered for approximately 60–75 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the milk solids from the sides and bottom of the pan.
- Continue reducing until the milk reaches approximately 800–900 ml. It should be thick, creamy and naturally rich.
- Add sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cardamom powder and pistachios.
- Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. Add the saffron infused milk. Stir occasionally to prevent a thick skin forming.
- Pour into traditional kulfi moulds.
- Cover tightly and freeze for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
- Dip the moulds briefly in lukewarm water to release the kulfi. Garnish with slivered pistachios and a few saffron strands.
(Yasmin Rahul Bakshi is an accomplished senior consultant Chef and a food historian. A widely travelled Army wife from the Mussoorie hills with exposure to international cuisines & preserving recipes with the medium of food photography and digital content creation in the form of stories and more.)
