AI-generated image
پشاوری آئس کریم (Peshawari ice cream)
Cardamom pistachio ice cream
Cardamom and pistachio milk ice cream, thickened with cornflour and served soft
In the Qissa Khwani bazaar of Peshawar, ice-cream sellers spin a tall metal drum inside a tub of crushed ice and salt, scraping the freezing milk off the walls with a long paddle until it turns thick, stretchy and pale. It is a summer evening treat, eaten from small bowls after dinner or late at night when the streets cool down, and often topped with a spoonful of falooda vermicelli or more chopped pistachio. The flavour is simple: slowly reduced milk, green cardamom and a little rose. This version has no eggs and no custard: a cornflour slurry cooked into the milk thickens it the way yolks would, and the starch holds on to water so ice crystals stay small and the texture stays smooth, while milk powder adds body without extra fat. You can churn it in a machine or still-freeze it in a tray and stir it every 45 minutes. Chef's tip: the common mistake is churning a warm base; chill it until it is fridge-cold right through, or it will turn icy instead of silky.
- Total time
- 300 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the ice-cream base
- 4 ¼ cups full-fat milk
- 1 ⅜ oz full-fat milk powder
- 5 ½ oz caster sugar
- 1 oz cornflour
- ¾ cup double cream
- 1 tsp ground green cardamomfrom about 10 pods
- 1 tsp rose water
To finish
- 1 ⅜ oz unsalted pistachioschopped
- ⅔ oz flaked almonds (optional)toasted
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Pour all but 150 ml of the 4 ¼ cups full-fat milk into a wide heavy pan, whisk in 1 ⅜ oz full-fat milk powder and 5 ½ oz caster sugar, and bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring the base often so it doesn't catch.
8 minStep 2: Keep simmering gently for 10 minutes, scraping the sides back in, until reduced by about a fifth and lightly creamy.
10 minStep 3: Whisk 1 oz cornflour into the 150 ml of cold milk you kept back until there are no lumps.
1 minStep 4: Whisk the slurry into the hot milk and stir constantly over a medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes, until the base thickens and coats the back of a spoon; a finger drawn through it should leave a clean line. Let it bubble for 1 minute more to cook out the raw starch taste.
5 minStep 5: Take off the heat and stir in 1 tsp ground green cardamom, 1 tsp rose water and ¾ cup double cream. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl.
2 minStep 6: Press cling film onto the surface so no skin forms, cool, then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight, until fridge-cold (about 4°C).
240 minStep 7: To churn: pour the cold base into an ice-cream machine and churn for 20–30 minutes, until it looks like thick soft-serve and holds a trail. Add half the ⅔ oz unsalted pistachios in the last minute.
25 minStep 8: No machine: pour the base into a shallow metal tin and freeze. After 45 minutes the edges will be frozen; whisk them hard into the soft centre to break up the crystals. Repeat every 45 minutes, 3–4 times, adding half the ⅔ oz unsalted pistachios at the last stir.
Step 9: Scrape into a lidded tub and freeze for 1–2 hours more, until firm but still scoopable.
90 minStep 10: Let it soften at room temperature for 5 minutes, then scoop into bowls and scatter with the rest of the ⅔ oz unsalted pistachios and the ⅔ oz flaked almonds.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does پشاوری آئس کریم (Peshawari ice cream) take?
- About 300 minutes in total: 270 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of full-fat milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Apple & pear puree
A smooth, naturally sweet puree of gently stewed apple and pear, one of the first foods for babies of 4–8 months. The fruit cooks in a little unsweetened apple juice, so nothing else is needed. Serve it lukewarm; any leftover keeps covered in the fridge for a day, or freezes well in small pots.
Perfect for:Summer coolers