Recipe to Riches: Creamy Kulfi!

By now, many of you must know how addicted I am to FoodNetwork Canada and to the new reality TV cooking show, Recipe to Riches. What I enjoy about the show is that they've brought food that many people might not be familiar with and introduced it to the general public in the form of President's Choice products. Even for those recipes that did not win, the whole nation has been introduced to them on the show. Bannock Hazelnut Pie, Pouding au Chomeur, Salt Fish & Ackee Pie, Stuffed Olives, Mini Tourtieres all illustrate what a culturally diverse country we live in.

Canada is a multicultural country and I'm so impressed that food from different cultures are represented on Recipe to Riches.

I  have been looking forward to the Frozen Treats episode. Always curious about what kind of intriguing recipes the judges will choose, I was really looking forward to the three recipes.

I am happy to see that Rosy Soobrattee's Kulfi Karma won in the Frozen Treats episode. I was even  happier because that was the recipe I got to make as a FoodNetwork TV's Recipe to Riches food blogger. I love, love, love, kulfi!

Two things worried me though. Remember last time when I had to go on a hazelnut hunt for Melaney Gleeson-Lyall's Bannock Hazelnut Pie? I went on a mad search for hazelnuts for that recipe, but I found them after driving two and a half hours to Sudbury and two and a  half hours back to the Island. Rosy's kulfi recipe called for rosewater and cardamom. I searched my pantry, and found the cardamom (which I use for making Chai tea). Rosewater? Where would I find that?

The funny thing is that I did have rosewater from another recipe I made a while ago. Funny. No hazelnuts in the pantry, but rosewater?

The second thing that worried me was that the last time I made kulfi, I ended up making kulfi soup! When a recipe calls for a certain amount of freezing time, abide by the recipe's instructions! Not enough freezing time will leave your kulfi (ice cream or whatever frozen treat you're making) a soupy mess! FOLLOW the instructions! Don't be impatient like I am. Last time, I thought I could take out the frozen treat earlier. It tasted really delicious, but it was not aesthetically pleasing.

The first thing I did when reproducing Rosy's winning kulfi recipe was assembled all my ingredients. Here are some of the ingredients:

 Evaporated milk, condensed milk, whipping cream, cardamom, rosewater, pistachios, and instant dissolving sugar. I had to run out and get more whipping cream. I didn't realize that the store only had the small carton.

I then lined a glass baking dish with plastic wrap.

 

I didn't have ground cardamom, so I had to grind the cardamom myself. Fun times. 

Then I pureed the evaporated milk, condensed milk, rosewater, instant dissolving sugar, whipping cream, and ground cardamom in the blender.

 I poured the mixture into the plastic lined baking dish and stuck it in the freezer for 6 hrs. I actually tried to be patient and I left it in the freezer overnight for even better results.

 I shelled and finely chopped the pistachios for garnish.

 Et voila! The finished product!

I was very curious as to what Rosy's Kulfi Karma would taste like. Growing up in multicultural Montreal and then spending my adult life in Toronto, I was surrounded by delicious dishes from all corners of the world. This said, rosewater-infused treats and anything with cardamom or even cloves seemed too strong for my liking. I was eager to see how this recipe fared.

Rosy's kulfi recipe was not as complicated as I thought it would be. The ingredients "rosewater" and "cardamom" kind of scared my husband, but when he sampled the finished product, he was in awe. He said that the contrast in flavours with the sweet, creamy ice cream type dessert and the hint of rosewater and cardamom, combined with the extra boost in flavour from the pistachios made this one of his new favourite frozen treats.

 I  have to agree. I love the delicate flavours and the texture of the dessert. The hint of rosewater and cardamom lend to the exotic feel of the treat. I  have to admit that though I love nuts (I love pistachios!), I am a purist when it comes to nuts in my desserts. Not a fan. However, the pistachios in this recipe are the perfect accoutrement. The crunch and the slightly salty nutty flavour go perfectly with the smooth, creamy frozen treat.

 It's so delicious that I could have kulfi every day of the week if I could. I won't though! If I could I would!

I even brought some over to share with others for after we watched the Frozen Treats episode of Recipe to Riches! That's how I con people into watching the show with me :) I make them watch it with me and then I reproduce the winning recipe!

I'm looking forward to buying Rosy's President's Choice kulfi at the supermarket this weekend! I'm interested in seeing how it compares to her original recipe!

Congratulations to Rosy Soobrattee for her winning recipe! For the complete recipe, please visit Recipe to Riches on Food Network Canada and click on Creamy Kulfi.

Next week on #RtoR is #Entrees! Then Canada it's time for you to vote! You choose who will win $250,000 - the largest prize in Canadian history! How exciting is that?!?

Recipe to Riches airs on Wednesdays at 9 pm on Food Network, and Saturdays at 8pm on Global TV. Find them on Facebook and on Twitter to join in on the fun!