October 20, 2007: White chocolate kulfi and a bit of Bollywood

It's that time of the year again. Nope, it's not Halloween I'm excited about, or even Vegetarian Awareness Month. I'm psyched for Nova Cinema's Indian Film Festival! I'm always keen for an over-long and overly obvious story of love and dancing in the Subcontinent, and to keep Michael interested there's usually plenty of Indian-style eating to go along with it. On Saturday night I booked tickets for Chak De! India and invited Tracy and Lee to join us for dinner beforehand.

During our day-trip to Brunswick we stopped by the Indian grocery for a few supplies. I was very pleased to find there Lay's latest foray into potato chips for the Indian market: a packet of Masala Magic chips resplendent with Indian World Cup Cricket logos. Even better, it was bundled up with a bonus small sample of Mint Mischief chips. With Taj Mahal beers in the fridge, pre-dinner nibbles were all sorted out.

For the main meal, we called on a few previously successful dishes. I shelled some fresh peas and baked a batch of jumbo samosas, while Michael prepared our favourite spiced chickpeas and steamed some rice. Raita and two kinds of pickle guaranteed that everyone could adjust the spiciness to their liking.

I can't leave a theme alone without planning something for dessert, and I was keen for kulfi. I already have a favourite recipe, but instead I tried a non-traditional and eye-catching version by Mridula Baljekar which includes white chocolate. Although kulfi doesn't require an ice-cream maker and is usually rather firm when frozen, I elected to pop it in the machine for a lighter, airier version. I also couldn't resist adding a couple of pinches of ground cardamom to the mix. Unfortunately I didn't leave enough time for the mixture to freeze fully, and we ended up with bowls of sweet cream only slightly firmer than slush! Never mind, it still tasted great, and the leftovers were even better, topped with some canned passionfruit pulp.

While this white chocolate kulfi is far from traditional, I think it's very much in the spirit of an Indian dessert: milky and very sweet, it's the ideal cooling finish to a fiery meal.


White chocolate kulfi

1 x 375mL can evaporated milk
300mL double cream
1/4 cup castor sugar
180g block white chocolate (I won't tell if you eat one or two pieces)
two pinches of ground cardamom
1 small can of passionfruit pulp to serve (optional)

Combine the evaporated milk, cream and sugar over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat - it need only be lukewarm.

Melt the chocolate gently in a double boiler (or your own preferred set-up). Stir it into the milk-cream mixture until well combined. Add the cardamom and stir through.

If you're not using an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture directly into a pretty mould or other container and freeze for at least 5 hours. If you are using an ice-cream maker, refrigerate the mixture until it is very cold, then churn it according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Serve the kulfi in slices or scoops topped with passionfruit pulp.