Paan (Betel Leaves) Ice Cream

So I am back with one more ice cream recipe. I thought before the harsh winter knocks at your door why not enjoy the full on summer with cold novelties and treats. And whats better than a scoop of ice cream. Or a tub? That sounds better I must say. By the way you don’t need any excuse of weather to enjoy any food. . . For me, weather has never been a decisive factor to enjoy any type of food. I can very well enjoy a hot bowl of  soup in a hot summer day or ice creams and other cold novelties in winters. Ice cream in winters is actually fun as there is less of dripping and melting. So you can enjoy it long and you will also have less people to share, I guess so. Food is all about comfort and whats better than an ice cream. It works well even when you are having a bad day and I think many of you would agree to that. I am one of those guilty mom who sneakingly enjoys her favorite ice cream or cake when the little one is taking his afternoon nap and blame it all on my mood, bad day ,exertion or whatever works. So point here is food gives me inner pleasure and it would be same for many of my kind.

My motto for this summer was to try various interesting flavors. The Ice cream recipe which I am sharing here today is unique and my second favorite flavor after Mango. Paan or betel leaves are very good for digestion and is very famous in India as a mouth freshener. Mostly its enjoyed after a meal but people who loves it can be seen chewing anytime. The thought of Paan ice cream would not have strike me had I not tried it on my own. And I instantly fall in love with the fresh flavors and pleasant taste. So what are you waiting for. Try this and do let me know your reviews.
Ingredients :-

Betel Leaves, washed and finely chopped	5
Fennel Seeds	1 teaspoon
Pitted Dates, Finely chopped	2 tablespoon
Tutti Frutti/Candied fruits	2 tablespoon
Gulkand/Rose petaled jam	2 tablespoon
Rose essence	1/4 teaspoon
Cardamom Powder	1/4 teaspoon
Cashew and Almond, chopped	2 tablespoon
Whole Milk, chilled	1/4 cup
Condensed Milk, chilled	1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon
Heavy Whipping Cream, chilled	1 cup

Method :-

• Soaked the dates in half of the milk for about 1 hour.
• Put one big bowl along with whisk attachments in refrigerator for 15- 20 minutes
• In a blender jar add the chopped betel leaves, fennel seeds, gulkand, dates along with remaining milk and blend all the ingredients very well to form a homogeneous mixture.
• Beat the chilled whipping cream in the bowl on medium speed until the cream is nice and thickened.
• Add condensed milk to it and beat for 1 more minute.
• Now add the betel leave paste, tutti frutti, rose essence, chopped nuts and cardamom powder to the ice cream base and fold them gently into the mixture until well combined.
• Transfer the ice cream mixture into airtight container.
• Garnish it on top with some tutti frutti and chopped nuts.
• Cover it tightly with plastic foil wrap. Make sure the plastic foil touches the ice cream mixture everywhere and there is no air between the ice cream mixture and plastic foil wrap.This ensures that there is no ice crystal formation in the ice cream. Finally put the air tight lid.
• Let the ice cream set overnight.
• Enjoy it all alone or if you are generous enough to share enjoy it with your loved ones.

 

Notes :-

• Tutti Frutti (Candied fruits), betel leaves, gulkand( rose petaled jam), fennel seeds and rose essence can be easily found in any Indian grocery store.
• Optional – If you want you can add 1-2 drops of green food color to enhance the color of ice cream. Personally I don’t like food colors so I skipped it. 
• As always mentioned in all my ice cream recipes chill the ingredients specially the whipping cream, condensed milk, evaporated milk if using any.

Coffee Hazelnut Eggless Icecream

Every time I decide I will cutoff sugar from my diet, I get tempted and lured by some interesting dessert recipes. When it comes to ice cream, there is hardly anyone who can resist temptations. Ice cream is utterly creamy and melt in mouth delight. This year has been the ‘ice cream’ year for me as I have tried various varieties of it since onset of summer. I am not that fond of eating ice cream except for few selective flavors but my near and dear ones do like it which motivates me to try different varieties and when they give heads up it gives me immense satisfaction. Of course, who doesn’t like all the praises attached with all the hard work you have put in! It really makes my day happy happy.

Today I have brought you the smoothest and creamiest concoctions that can me made right into your kitchen with no effort at all. I could not stress on the fact that it tastes so so much like store bought ice cream. Before I go gaga about this ice cream I just want to let you know I didn’t want to make it in the first place because of its content – Coffee and Chocolate – which are not in my favorite list. Once it was made, I was very pleased and actually liked the taste of it. The secret (or not so secret) about this ice cream is a key ingredient – Mascarpone cheese. I have never tried my hands on with Mascarpone cheese except Tiramisu cake. After the outcome with this ice cream, I think I will try this ingredient more often in my dessert and specially with ice creams. The Mascarpone cheese leads to less or no churn and less work with great results. So let not go much into talking and start with the recipe. Do try it once and let me know your inputs and reviews.

Ingredients :-

Heavy Whipping cream, chilled	1 cup
Mascarpone Cheese	6 oz
Hazelnut, Toasted and roughly chopped	1/2 cup
Coffee powder, any of your favorite	2 tablespoon
Condensed Milk, chilled	1 cup
Chocolate Chips	1/2 cup
Chocolate Shaving, optional for decoration	2 tablespoon

Method :-

• Brew the coffee powder in 2 tablespoon of water and let it cool completely.
• Put one big bowl along with whisk attachments in refrigerator for 15- 20 minutes
• Beat the chilled whipping cream in the bowl for about 10 minutes till it becomes dense and peaks are soft.
  
• Add the condensed milk, mascarpone cheese, brewed coffee and beat on high for 5 more minutes until the mixture is well combined.
• Finally add the toasted hazelnuts and chocolate chips and fold it gently.
• Take a wide glass pan or loaf pan and pour the mixture into it.
• Spread Chocolate shavings on top of it.
• Cover it tightly with aluminum foil or plastic foil wrap so that there is no ice crystal formation. Finally put the air tight lid.
• Let the ice cream set overnight.
• Enjoy it as it is or with some drizzled chocolate syrup.

Note :-

• Amount of sweetness can be increased or decreased depending on individuals taste.
• Chiller the ingredients are better the ice cream will be. This is the mantra for homemade ice creams.

Kesar Pista Ice Cream – Saffron Pistachio Ice Cream

The summer is here finally and its time to stay hydrated and beat the torching heat by generous dollops of ice cream. I hardly know any person who doesn’t like ice cream except me. Yep, that’s right. I do not like store bought ice cream a lot since they are loaded with sugar and has artificial taste. Though I do like some flavors like Mango, Seetaphal (Custard Apple) specifically from Naturals (Ice cream joint in India) and Kulfis (different style of Indian ice cream). I love Bengali sweets a lot (I have grown up eating those since childhood) and simple cakes without frosting. I have only tried making ice cream couple of time with my favorite flavor Mango. Hence, I decided to try different flavors. The combination of Kesar and Pista is very popular and common in Kulfi so I thought of trying it with ice cream. This ice cream turned out very good and was very happy to make it. Homemade ice creams are not only good in taste but also defeat the store bought ones with the fresh flavors. This ice cream is very rich, luscious and creamy in taste with lots of flavors of Pista (Pistachio) and Kesar (Saffron). You don’t need any machine to make this as it can be made by simple hand mixer. This ice cream is full of Indian flavors and appeals to all including elders and especially kids. Enjoy it after a hearty meal and let yourself lose into rich aroma and indulgent texture.

Ingredients :-

Heavy Whipping cream, chilled	1 cup
Evaporated Milk, chilled	1 cup
Pistachios, half chopped and half grounded	1/2 cup
Saffron	few strands soaked in 1/4 cup whole milk
Condensed Milk, chilled	1 cup
Rose water	few drops
Kewra Essence	few drops

Method :-

• Take 2 big bowl and keep it in refrigerator for half an hour.
• Take one of the bowls and beat the chilled evaporated milk until it increases doubled in volume.
• In another bowl beat the chilled heavy cream until it holds soft peak and increases double in size.
  
• Add the rose water, kewra water, doubled evaporated milk and condensed milk to the whipped cream and mix it with the help of beater on low speed until well blended.
• Add the chopped and grounded pistachios and mix gently.
• Pour it in air tight container and cover it with aluminum foil tightly so that there is no ice crystal formation. Finally put the air tight lid.
• Let it set for about 6 hours or overnight.
• Once set enjoy it with some garnished pistachios.

Notes :-

• The key for making ice cream is chilled ingredients. I have kept whipping cream, evaporated milk and condensed milk in refrigerator for at least 2-3 hrs.
• Keep the containers/bowls and beaters in refrigerator in which you will whip cream and evaporated milk.
• You can increase or decrease the quantity of condensed milk depending on your liking for sweetness.
• Make sure the container in which you keep ice cream should be airtight.