Hazelnut rosewater kulfi pops - Diwali 2010

My Deepavali preparations this year were sketchy and very last minute. About the only thing that didn’t fall into that "last-minute" category was one of the sweets that I made in celebration - and that mainly because I'd been thinking about making it at home at some point. The other sweet I made merely to keep up the momentum, even though I’d long held the opinion that it was best left to professionals to make. (Which was more or less proved correct, but that's for the next post.)

This kulfi was the first of the two sweets. I knew it was dead easy to make (having researched various blogs on the 'net), but just couldn’t be fagged to do it. The reason – lethargy. Pure, unrefined lethargy, completely innocent of adulteration by any justifiable excuse. (Aren’t you all glad to see ONE thing in this world that retains its original, if unworthy, quality? I knew you would be.)

Anyway, because Pete doesn’t like cardamom-flavoured milky sweets, I went with rosewater as the only flavouring for my hazelnut-rich kulfis. A good choice, although I ended up adding about ¼ cup rosewater to be able to taste it over the hazelnuts in the kulfi mixture.

By the way, I started out with raw skin-on hazelnuts. I roasted them, then rubbed off most of the skin before chopping them. If you’d like to avoid the deskinning process, use skinned hazelnuts to start with. If you don’t want the hassle of roasting the nuts, get skinned and roasted hazelnuts. And if you don’t want the annoyance of chopping the roasted skinned hazelnuts... can anybody guess where I’m going with this? Yep – get pre-skinned, pre-roasted, pre-chopped hazelnuts.

Just avoid the pre-eaten, pre-digested ones.

Recipe for: Hazelnut rosewater kulfi pops


Ingredients:

1 can low-fat evaporated milk (to make 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (or to taste)
1/4 cup rosewater
1/3 cup hazelnuts
8 popsicle moulds

Method:

1. Roast the hazelnuts over medium-low heat, stirring often, till they turn a pale gold. Be careful not to burn them.


2. When they are cool, chop them finely. A few larger pieces are ok for crunch. You can powder them if you want the flavour in the kulfi without the texture.


3. Bring the evaporated milk to a gentle boil, then turn off the heat and let cool.


4. When the evaporated milk is at room temperature, add the rosewater and the condensed milk.


5. Then stir in all but 2 tbsp of the hazelnuts.


6. Sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts at the bottom of the kulfi mould.


Then fill with the kulfi mixture.


7. Place the filled kulfi moulds in the freezer for at least 8 hours or until frozen. To remove the frozen kulfi from the moulds, run them under hot water for a moment or two, then loosen carefully. Serve immediately.

RECIPE: HAZELNUT ROSEWATER KULFI POPS

Ingredients:

1 can low-fat evaporated milk (to make 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup rosewater
8 kulfi moulds
1/3 cup hazelnuts
8 popsicle moulds

Method:

1. Roast the hazelnuts over medium-low heat, stirring often, till they turn a pale gold. Be careful not to burn them.
2. When they are cool, chop them finely. A few larger pieces are ok for crunch. You can powder them if you want the flavour in the kulfi without the texture.
3. Bring the evaporated milk to a gentle boil, then turn off the heat and let cool.
4. When the evaporated milk is at room temperature, add the rosewater and the condensed milk.
5. Then stir in all but 2 tbsp of the hazelnuts.
6. Sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts at the bottom of the kulfi mould. Then fill with the kulfi mixture.
7. Place the filled kulfi moulds in the freezer for at least 8 hours or until frozen. To remove the frozen kulfi from the moulds, run them under hot water for a moment or two, then loosen carefully. Serve immediately.