This kulfi tastes of paan (betel leaves), rose and nuts and spices in every bite. It can be made during summertime or any special occasion. I am sharing a small batch recipe (makes 8 kulfis) which gets ready in about 30-40 minutes. Later in this post, I am also sharing how to make the kulfi with meetha paan, so read on! Do check out my other kulfi recipes like chocolate kulfi and kesar kulfi. On Diwali last year I made this creamy chocolate paan tart and my husband and kids fell heads over heel over it! Seeing my kids enjoying it reminded me of the times when as a little girl myself, I used to look forward to eating meetha paan on shaadi menu (weddings). This year for Holi, I wanted to include a paan based dessert again in my menu and decided to go with this treat. With flavor of rose, thandai masala and paan, this kulfi is a riot of refreshing flavors perfect for the festival.
About Kulfi
For those of you who are not familiar with kulfi, here is a short description. Kulfi is a popular frozen dessert in the indian subcontinent. Unlike ice cream, kulfi has a dense chewy texture. It is made with an eggless, no churn custard made by reducing whole milk till it becomes thickish. The process of making thickened milk is comparable to how we make rabdi. The thickened milk is flavored & depending on what kind of kulfi we are making, it is mixed with spices, fruit purees or nut pastes etc. Then poured into kulfi moulds and frozen. Traditional kulfi moulds are made with aluminium and are cone shaped, however I used my usual popsicle moulds today.
About Paan Kulfi
What is Paan
Paan is popular mouth freshner in India.You will find the roads of India dotted with small paan shops.
Paan is made by stuffing paan(betel leaves) with fillings like tobacco, mixture of candy bits & spices like fennel & cloves, gulkand (indian rose petal jam) and slaked lime paste etc. The betel leaf is thereafter folded into a triangular shape.
Paan is considered a symbol of hospitality in indian culture and is served at weddings and special celebrations.
Here are a few things to note about my paan kulfi recipe :-
For this recipe, I used fresh paan leaf for the real flavor. Paan leaves have a very unique flavor and the heart shaped leaves grow on the evergreen betel plant . I purchase fresh paan leaves from south asian grocery stores. My recipe calls for gulkand or indian style rose petal preserves which is made by boiling together organic edible rose leaves with cane sugar. You could buy it online or in indian grocery stores. Its a small batch recipe and I make it in a traditional way by reducing milk. It takes about 45 minutes start to finish and I got 8 kulfis. You could double the recipe if you wish. You can make this ahead and keep frozen for a month- perfect for anytime! It is scrumptious and decadent with refreshing flavor of paan.
Ingredients For Paan Kulfi
These are the ingredients you will need for making paan kulfi at home.
Whole Milk - Dont use skimmed milk, it dosen’t have the needed fat. You could use half and half if you wish. Fresh Paan Leaves - Available at indian grocers. There is no substitute. Gulkand - Available at indian grocers. Gives a deep rose flavor to the kulfi. You could use rose jam or jelly if you have. Many times, I have used rose syrup like rooh afza as well. Last option is to use a tablespoon of rose water or few drops of rose essence, they work well. Milk Powder or Khoya - Both work and I add them for adding milky richness to kulfi. Khoya makes the texture of kulfi granular. Sweetend Condensed Milk Thandai Masala - Since I was making paan kulfi for Holi, it made all the sense to use my instant thandai masala as a flavor. You can simply add a few strands of milk soaked saffron or ground cardamom powder instead. Another good idea is to add a little bit of mukhwas for that authentic paan essence. Green Food Coloring- Skip if you wish
How To Make Paan Kulfi (Step Photos)
Start by rinsing a heavy wide bottom pot or kadai with water and without rinsing, add whole milk and milk powder to it. Place on a stove and bring to a boil stirring regularly else the milk will stick to the bottom of the pot. Once boiling, reduce the flames and add the milk powder now and mix. Adding milk powder to hot milk will make it lumpy and thats okay because we want those granules that add to the texture of kulfi. Keep on cooking the milk, stirring and scraping the sides of the pot and mixing back in for 20 minutes or so till the milk has reduced by ⅓rd of its volume. Add 3 -4 large (torn) paan leaves to a small grinder jar and add ¼ cup of the reduced milk and grind to a smooth paste. Add the condensed milk, paan paste, gulkand, thandai masala, green food coloring to the reduced milk and mix well. Your kulfi base is ready. Once cooled, pour into kulfi moulds or popsicle moulds. You can use paper cups or freezer safe dessert bowl to set the paan kulfi as well.
Note:- If you want to make kulfi on sticks, insert a wooden or candy stick in the semi frozen base (after its been in the freezer for 3 or 4 hours)before it hardens.
Freeze for 8-10 hours. Unmould by dipping into a glass of water and running a butter knife around the edges. Decorate with edible silver foil, dried rose petals and few strands of saffron before serving.
How To Use Meetha Paan for Making Paan Kulfi
Instead of using paan leaves, just blend 2 meethe paan (make sure that they are tobacco, supaari & choona (slake lime) free) with milk and add them to the kulfi base. Skip the gulkand and thandai masala (or another flavoring spices). Rest of the recipe remains the same.
Tips & Variations
Use a heavy bottom wide kadai or pan for reducing the milk. This quickens the process (more area for moisture to evaporate) and the heavy bottom prevents milk from burning. Keep oil stirring the milk from time to time whole its reducing to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. You can skip the mawa or khoya in this recipe. Just make sure that the milk is reduced properly. Adjust the food color quantity to the shade of green that you prefer. The kulfi from this recipe has a lot of chewiness from gulkand and thai powder. If you want a smoother texture, grind the kulfi base after adding everything in a high speed blender and then freeze. Kulfi Falooda - Serve the kulfi with falooda noodles and a drizzle of rose syrup.
