5 Ingredient Kesar Pista Kulfi With Condensed Milk

Creamy five ingredient kesar pista kulfi

Kulfi is a popular and delicious Indian dessert and kesar pista is a classic Indian flavor. Kesar means saffron and pista is pistachios.  Kulfi is easy to make, eggless and requires a few ingredients.  It is dense and creamy in texture.

I came upon this recipe last year when I was testing different methods to make Maple Cardamom Ice Cream.

I asked my family of taste testers and they all agreed, it tasted just like kulfi! The traditional way of making kulfi takes hours of boiling and reducing milk down to 1/3 of its amount.  But, my method is not traditional but takes a fraction of the time to whip up and tastes like the kulfi we ate growing up.

What’s the difference between kulfi and ice cream?

Texture and aeration are two of the main differences. While ice cream is fluffier in texture, kulfi is creamier.  To make ice cream you need to aerate and whip the mixture.  Kulfi is tradtionally made by reducing milk to a thicker consistency giving it a yummy caramelized flavor. It does not require aerations.  Since kulfi does not require aeration you don’t need any special equimpment to make it. Kulfi is easily made at home!

How is kulfi served?

Kulfi is made in molds shaped like this:

It is sometimes served unmolded and cut in circles on a plate, to be eaten with a spoon.  To make it easier to eat, kulfi is often made with a stick like a popsicle.

The kulfi molds I used are available here: Kulfi Molds

They come with lids if you want to make them without sticks. Or just leave the lids off if you want to make them popsicle style.

How to make kulfi at home

My way is super simple and uses a handful of ingredients. As a result, this can be made so quick!  For the base I just use condensed milk and heavy whipping cream.  Condensed milk is reduced milk and because of the sugar caramelizing in it, it gives the similar flavor of making kulfi the traditional way. Then you can add in whatever other flavors you like.  For this kesar pista kulfi recipe I added in saffron, cardamom and pistachios.

So, kesar pista kulfi is made by mixing condensed milk, heavy cream, saffon, cardamom and pistachios. The mixture sits for a few minutes to give the saffron time to bloom. Then, the mixture is poured into molds and frozen.

Looking for other Summer treats? Check out:

Rose Lemonade 

Try it? Leave a review, love to hear feedback! Or tag me on Instagram @some_indian_girl