Creamy and delicious Malai Kulfi is the perfect homemade treat! This eggless Indian ice cream is flavored with cardamom, dried milk solids and nuts!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes
  • Total time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 6 kulfis
  • Category: Indian Sweet
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 liter whole milk
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons crumbled khoya (also known as dried milk solids)
  • 1 tablespoon dried milk powder (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts (I used mix of cashews, almonds and pistachios)
  • 5 tablespoons sugar (or adjust to taste)
  • 6-7 green cardamom pods (skin removed & crushed)

Method

  1. To a heavy bottom pan, add whole milk on medium-high heat.
  2. After around 5 minutes when it warms a little, add heavy cream to it.
  3. Let the mixture come to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium.
  4. Let the milk simmer on medium heat for around 30 minutes, keep stirring it in between, you don't want the milk to get stuck to the bottom of the pan.
  5. After about 30 minutes, the milk will look quite thick, at this point add crumbled khoya and mix. Keep mixing this the khoya dissolves, this will take 5-7 minutes.
  6. Once the khoya dissolves, add the sugar and mix till the sugar dissolves.
  7. Then add the crushed nuts. I crushed these using my mortar and pestle and I suggest you do the same. The coarsely chopped nuts give the kulfi a lot of texture.
  8. Add milk powder (if using) and mix. Simmer for 5 more minutes. In all I cooked the milk for around 50 minutes, it should get really thick by the end of it and it will continue to thicken as it cools down.
  9. Remove pan from hear and cardamom powder and mix.
  10. Let the mixture cool down completely.
  11. Once the milk has cooled down completely, pour into kulfi molds or any other container of your choice. Cover and freeze till completely set, around 6-8 hours.
  12. Once frozen, place the kulfi mold under warm running water for 30-45 seconds and then tap the mold on the plate. The kulfi would come out easily. Enjoy the delicious malai kulfi!

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.