Malai Kulfi Matka Kulfi

Malai kulfi is one of the family favorites. Though I have posted some quick versions of kulfi, have not yet shared the traditional method of preparing kulfi. In my teens, I used to prepare quick version of Kulfi recipe made with khoya or condensed milk. Later I came to know about the traditional method of preparing kulfi and occasionally I do use this method to make kulfi. In this method, rabri is made with milk. Rabri is a creamy thick preparation after milk has been reduced to its one-third. The process is a slow cooking simmering of milk with continuous stirring. Kulfi made this way with rabri tastes too good and you cannot compare it with the kulfi you get outside. The best part of this method is that you don’t need to add any thickening agents like cornstarch etc to the kulfi. But yes preparing kulfi this way does take some time and you have to be attentive while the milk is simmering. But the effort spent is worth the results. This matka kulfi recipe is inspired from Jigg Kalra’s book – classic cooking of Punjab, where cream along with eggs have been added to rabri. Being a vegetarian I have not used eggs. But the addition of cream was a clever one and I thought why not add cream in rabri and prepare malai kulfi. As the name suggests, Malai kulfi should have cream in it. At least thats what I think. In the rabri mixture there is not enough malai, so it does make a difference when some more fresh cream is added. There is a difference in the taste and texture from kulfi made only with rabri and the kulfi made with a combination of rabri+cream. The latter being more rich in taste as well as having a creamier texture. That said, in this recipe you can add less cream or even skip it altogether. Then you will have a simple plain kesar pista kulfi which also tastes good. To make this matka kulfi more rich, you can also add some khoya or mawa, which I have not added. Khoya also known as mawa is basically reduced evaporated milk solids. I have used amul whipping cream having 30% fat. You can also use amul fresh cream or any low fat cream (25% to 35% fat). I have also added dry fruits, but you can skip them. Serve this Matka Kulfi as a dessert after meals. You can also use this kulfi to make a gorgeous and delish falooda.

How to make Malai Kulfi

1. Firstly take 1 litre full fat milk in a sauce pan or pan or kadai. Use a heavy and large pan or kadai, so that milk does not spill over and does not burn from the bottom.
2. On a low flame or low heat, bring the milk to a boil. Do stir when the milk gets heated up, so that it does not burn from the bottom.
3. Bring the milk to a boil.
4. Stir once the milk comes to a boil and add the malai (clotted cream) back to the milk.
5. Continue to cook milk on low flame till it reduces to ⅓ of its original volume. Keep on stirring and remove the clotted cream (malai) which forms on top of the milk and add it back to the milk.
6. Also keep on scraping the dried milk solids from the sides and add them back to the milk.
7. This way stirring often, reduce the milk to ⅓. Do stir and scrape often so that the milk does not get browned or burnt from the bottom as well as the sides. For making dishes like rabri, its always better to use a thick bottomed pan or heavy kadai.
8. The milk will thicken and there will be some malai in it. Since I was using an induction stove top, it took me 25 minutes after the first boil for the milk to reduce to ⅓ of its volume. It can take less or more time, depending on the type of stove you are using. The time may also vary depending on the quality of the pan, intensity of flame and quality of milk.

Making malai kulfi

9. Keep the flame to a low and add ⅓ cup sugar.
10. Stir so that the sugar dissolves.
11. Then add ¼ teaspoon of cardamom powder.
12. Next add a pinch of saffron strands.
13. Then add 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds or sliced almonds (badam).
14. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped pistachios or sliced pistachios (pista).
15. Then add 2 tablespoons of chopped cashews. If using khoya or mawa, you can add them at this step after adding cashews. You can also add milk powder. Just grate the mawa or khoya before adding.
16. Add ½ cup cream. You can use low fat (25% to 35% fat) cream. You can also use malai which we get from milk instead of cream.
17. Mix the cream very well with the rabri mixture.
18. On low heat or low flame, just gently bring to one boil. When the kulfi mixture comes to a boil, then switch off the stove.
19. Add 2 teaspoons of rose water or kewra water. Mix very well.
20. Cover and let the mixture cool at room temperature.
21. Once done, pour the malai kulfi mixture in kulfi moulds or popsicle moulds or kulhads or matka.
22. Cover tightly with lids or aluminium foil. Freeze malai kulfi for 7 to 8 hours or overnight.

Serving malai kulfi

23. Before serving, take the kulfi mould and just warm it by moving it between your palms.
24. With the back of a spoon, slid through the sides. If using a kulhad or matka, then directly have the malai kulfi from it.
25. Place the malai kulfi on a serving plate or tray. Sprinkle some finely chopped pistachios or almonds on top. The addition of finely chopped pistachios or almonds is optional and you can skip this step.
26. Serve malai kulfi immediately. You can also use this kulfi to make kulfi falooda or mango falooda. Some more ice cream recipes

Mango kulfiVanilla ice creamChocolate ice creamTutti frutti ice creamButterscotch ice cream

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. This Malai Kulfi post from archives first published in April 2017 has been updated and republished on January 2023.

title: “Malai Kulfi Matka Kulfi " ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-04” author: “Paul Edwards”

Malai kulfi is one of the family favorites. Though I have posted some quick versions of kulfi, have not yet shared the traditional method of preparing kulfi. In my teens, I used to prepare quick version of Kulfi recipe made with khoya or condensed milk. Later I came to know about the traditional method of preparing kulfi and occasionally I do use this method to make kulfi. In this method, rabri is made with milk. Rabri is a creamy thick preparation after milk has been reduced to its one-third. The process is a slow cooking simmering of milk with continuous stirring. Kulfi made this way with rabri tastes too good and you cannot compare it with the kulfi you get outside. The best part of this method is that you don’t need to add any thickening agents like cornstarch etc to the kulfi. But yes preparing kulfi this way does take some time and you have to be attentive while the milk is simmering. But the effort spent is worth the results. This matka kulfi recipe is inspired from Jigg Kalra’s book – classic cooking of Punjab, where cream along with eggs have been added to rabri. Being a vegetarian I have not used eggs. But the addition of cream was a clever one and I thought why not add cream in rabri and prepare malai kulfi. As the name suggests, Malai kulfi should have cream in it. At least thats what I think. In the rabri mixture there is not enough malai, so it does make a difference when some more fresh cream is added. There is a difference in the taste and texture from kulfi made only with rabri and the kulfi made with a combination of rabri+cream. The latter being more rich in taste as well as having a creamier texture. That said, in this recipe you can add less cream or even skip it altogether. Then you will have a simple plain kesar pista kulfi which also tastes good. To make this matka kulfi more rich, you can also add some khoya or mawa, which I have not added. Khoya also known as mawa is basically reduced evaporated milk solids. I have used amul whipping cream having 30% fat. You can also use amul fresh cream or any low fat cream (25% to 35% fat). I have also added dry fruits, but you can skip them. Serve this Matka Kulfi as a dessert after meals. You can also use this kulfi to make a gorgeous and delish falooda.

How to make Malai Kulfi

1. Firstly take 1 litre full fat milk in a sauce pan or pan or kadai. Use a heavy and large pan or kadai, so that milk does not spill over and does not burn from the bottom.
2. On a low flame or low heat, bring the milk to a boil. Do stir when the milk gets heated up, so that it does not burn from the bottom.
3. Bring the milk to a boil.
4. Stir once the milk comes to a boil and add the malai (clotted cream) back to the milk.
5. Continue to cook milk on low flame till it reduces to ⅓ of its original volume. Keep on stirring and remove the clotted cream (malai) which forms on top of the milk and add it back to the milk.
6. Also keep on scraping the dried milk solids from the sides and add them back to the milk.
7. This way stirring often, reduce the milk to ⅓. Do stir and scrape often so that the milk does not get browned or burnt from the bottom as well as the sides. For making dishes like rabri, its always better to use a thick bottomed pan or heavy kadai.
8. The milk will thicken and there will be some malai in it. Since I was using an induction stove top, it took me 25 minutes after the first boil for the milk to reduce to ⅓ of its volume. It can take less or more time, depending on the type of stove you are using. The time may also vary depending on the quality of the pan, intensity of flame and quality of milk.

Making malai kulfi

9. Keep the flame to a low and add ⅓ cup sugar.
10. Stir so that the sugar dissolves.
11. Then add ¼ teaspoon of cardamom powder.
12. Next add a pinch of saffron strands.
13. Then add 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds or sliced almonds (badam).
14. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped pistachios or sliced pistachios (pista).
15. Then add 2 tablespoons of chopped cashews. If using khoya or mawa, you can add them at this step after adding cashews. You can also add milk powder. Just grate the mawa or khoya before adding.
16. Add ½ cup cream. You can use low fat (25% to 35% fat) cream. You can also use malai which we get from milk instead of cream.
17. Mix the cream very well with the rabri mixture.
18. On low heat or low flame, just gently bring to one boil. When the kulfi mixture comes to a boil, then switch off the stove.
19. Add 2 teaspoons of rose water or kewra water. Mix very well.
20. Cover and let the mixture cool at room temperature.
21. Once done, pour the malai kulfi mixture in kulfi moulds or popsicle moulds or kulhads or matka.
22. Cover tightly with lids or aluminium foil. Freeze malai kulfi for 7 to 8 hours or overnight.

Serving malai kulfi

23. Before serving, take the kulfi mould and just warm it by moving it between your palms.
24. With the back of a spoon, slid through the sides. If using a kulhad or matka, then directly have the malai kulfi from it.
25. Place the malai kulfi on a serving plate or tray. Sprinkle some finely chopped pistachios or almonds on top. The addition of finely chopped pistachios or almonds is optional and you can skip this step.
26. Serve malai kulfi immediately. You can also use this kulfi to make kulfi falooda or mango falooda. Some more ice cream recipes

Mango kulfiVanilla ice creamChocolate ice creamTutti frutti ice creamButterscotch ice cream

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. This Malai Kulfi post from archives first published in April 2017 has been updated and republished on January 2023.