Creamy, luscious kulfi is a childhood favorite for South Asian chefs in the Philly area

While most kids grew up licking ice pops and soft serve in the summer, I was biting into cold, thick milk-based frozen pops studded with pistachios and cardamom.

Kulfi was my mom’s go-to dessert for treating my sister and me on hot weeknights and for entertaining aunties from the masjid.

“It’s desi ice cream, [and it was] easy to make,” she told me recently.

Unlike ice cream, there’s no churning involved. Traditional South Asian kulfi starts with boiling milk, which reduces the water content in the milk and prevents crystallization.

It’s ready when it coats the back of the spoon, explained Vipul Bhasin, chef at Veda, an Indian fine dining restaurant in Center City.

After being frozen, the final product is a cold, incredibly creamy dessert similar to frozen custard with a distinct taste of the fruits and nuts it’s flavored with.

“Ice cream has more airiness — kulfi is more dense and more fruity,” said Rakesh Ramola, owner-chef of Indeblue, which serves modern Indian cuisine in Cherry Hill. “The flavoring agents we’re putting in are natural flavors.”

My mom’s recipe veers from the traditional, dumping heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and fresh cardamom into a blender. She experiments with flavors and molds, freezing mango and rooh afza (rose syrup) kulfi as frozen pops and in Bundt cake pans. (My mom’s tip is to keep it in an airtight container to prevent crystallization and ensure its density.)

While inauthentic, her kulfi still offers that rich creaminess I’ve found many chefs in the Philly area accomplish with methods from their home countries, along with other restaurants who opt for premade versions — the brand Crown Kulfi & Ice Cream is a favorite in the city.

At his Cherry Hill restaurant, Ramola serves an anjeer kulfi made with fig, inspired by the kulfiwallahs (street vendors) he grew up with in Mumbai, India.

In Philly, we have Mister Softee, “and in India, we have the kulfiwallah with a clay pot on his head,” he said.

For Bhasin, kulfi was a nightly treat in Dehli, India. Growing up, he would often visit his neighborhood sweets store after dinner. When he opened his Center City restaurant, he wanted to share that experience with his customers, who can find a cardamom kulfi on the dessert menu.

Other local ice cream shops have also been inspired to try their hand at kulfi.

At scoop shop and ice creamery Weckerly’s, co-owner and chef Jennifer Satinsky made a saffron-cardamom kulfi as a special request for an Indian wedding in the shop’s early days. She toyed with ingredients to follow the traditional recipe but couldn’t make it work for a reasonable cost.

While it’s not on the menu, the ice cream has been offered in small batches for holidays and special occasions as the “Wedding Present” flavor.

“We decided we were just going to make the style of ice cream that we make and use the flavors of kulfi — we did a French-style custard steeped in saffron and cardamom — we put almond and pistachio in it,” she said. “It was delicious.”

Here’s where to indulge in the South Asian treat in the Philly area.

Inside this modern bistro in Rittenhouse Square, chef Bhasin shakes things up with poached blueberries atop his kulfi.

“We serve with poached blueberries, so it gives you that sweet and a slight hint of sour,” he said. “It’s an ultimate combination for me.”

Bhasin’s kulfi is sweetened with sugar that’s added as the milk is reduced in a flat pan. It’s frozen with crushed cardamom seeds mixed in that bring an inviting texture to the kulfi. “You bite into it, and it’ll explode in your mouth.”

The kulfi is $7 at Veda, and it’s also offered at Bhasin’s four other restaurants: Indiya in Collingswood, Coriander in Voorhees, Naan in Moorestown, and Andaaz in Asheville, N.C.

📍 1920 Chestnut St., 📞 267-519-2001, 🌐 vedaphilly.com, 🕒 Daily, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (lunch) and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. (dinner), till 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Pop into the bright orange shop at the corner of Baltimore Avenue and 42nd Street for $3.50 (plus tax) kulfi popsicles. You’ll find the Crown Kulfi brand among traditional desserts on the menu. The brand, based in Sterling, Va., is a popular purveyor of seven kulfi flavors, serving restaurants and shops throughout the country. At this West Philly chaat house, choose from five flavors, including pistachio, almond, saffron, mango, and malai (clotted cream).

📍 501 S. 42nd St., 📞 215-386-1999, 🌐 desichaathousephilly.com, 🕒 Daily, noon to 9 p.m.

Owner Asad Ghumman uses a recipe from Lahore, Pakistan, for his housemade pistachio and almond kulfi, made with milk, cream, and sugar. Ghumman freezes the kulfi in molds about 50%, then adds ice pop sticks for a perfectly frozen treat. Order the housemade ones for $1.99, or the premade Crown Kulfi ($2.49) that’s also available at the University City restaurant.

📍 4201 Chestnut St., 📞 215-222-8081, 🌐 kabobeesh.com, 🕒 Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Monday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Wah-Gi-Wah in University City is a big fan of Crown Kulfi. Restaurant manager Muhammad Khan said they previously served housemade kulfi but switched to the premade brand. “[The brand] is very famous over here in Philadelphia,” he said.

Enjoy chocolate, coconut, almond, pistachio, mango, and malai as frozen pops ($3) or in cups ($4.50).

📍 4447 Chestnut St., 📞 215-921-5597, 🌐 wahgiwah.com, 🕒 Daily, noon to 9:30 p.m.

The fig kulfi has been on the menu at Indeblue since Day One. Chopped soft figs are tossed into the milk, cream, and sugar mixture that’s boiled and then folded by hand over an ice bath. Owner-chef Rakesh Ramola serves kulfi in a tin cup with pistachio nuts atop for $9 — previously, he served the dessert on sticks as frozen pops, but customers preferred scoops.

📍 65 Barclay Farms Shopping Center, Cherry Hill, 📞 856-230-4633, 🌐 indebluerestaurant.com, 🕒 Daily, 4:30 to 9:30, till 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

At Anny Khan’s Pakistani hot spot in Voorhees, kulfi comes in a big milkshake cup with vermicelli noodles, jello, basil seeds, and rooh afza (rose sryup). The malai kulfi is a crucial part of the falooda dessert, a Pakistani delicacy that’s all about textures. Khan tops the $12.99 falooda with pistachios and almonds to add a bit of crunch to the smooth, sweet dessert that’s fun to eat with a spoon or just slurp.

📍 2999 E. Evesham Road, Voorhees, 📞 833-544-5233, 🌐 karachikafe.com, 🕒 Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

You’ll want to drive to King of Prussia for the malai kulfi at Choolaah. The counter-serve eatery known for build-your-own bowls and wraps has one dessert to finish your meal on a high note. Their smooth kulfi, made in the commissary of the privately owned chain, is infused with green cardamom. The 3.6-ounce container of gluten-free kulfi is $3.28.

📍 King of Prussia Town Center, 155 Main St., Suite 120, King of Prussia, 📞 484-674-6316, 🌐 choolaah.com, 🕒 Daily, 10:45 a.m. to 9 p.m.