Mango Kulfi Recipe

Make this easy no-cook Mango Kulfi just under 5 minutes with condensed milk, cream (or malai) and ripe mango pulp. Flavor it optionally with cardamoms or saffron. Kulfi is the traditional Indian answer to scorching hot summers. From humble beginnings as a simple malai kulfi, this Indian style ice cream now has a flavor tree with new and exciting combinations. You will find many flavors of this Indian Ice Cream and Mango Kulfi is everyone’s favorite during the mango season!

About Mango Kulfi

Mango Kulfi is a frozen summer dessert made with milk, sugar & sweet ripe mangoes or mango pulp. It is popular in the Indian Sub-continent & is also served in Indian restaurants all-round the year. There are many different ways to make it. The basic mango kulfi is made much the same way like the traditional kulfi to which the mango puree is added at the last stage and simmered.

The mixture is poured to the aluminum kulfi molds & frozen until set. You have the most delicious, creamy and addictive summer treat bursting with mango flavors. But traditional kulfi making is a laborious process in which milk needs to be simmered and condensed to get the perfect consistency for freezing.

What if you want the mango kulfi now and you simply don’t have the time for making it the old-fashioned way? Then this quick, no-cook method recipe is the only one you’ll ever need. This easy and fast method uses condensed milk and cream giving you a texture similar to traditional mango kulfi made with milk, malai and khoya (milk solids).

Pulp from ripe and sweet mangoes or slices are blended with saffron for an eye-popping color. Cream is used to impart a creamy texture. To cut-short the simmering of milk and sugar, we use sweetened condensed milk. You can flavor the mango kulfi with cardamom powder if you like.

All the ingredients are blended until smooth and poured to the kulfi molds or a freezer safe tray. It cannot get easier than this! No cooking and no extra steps, and yet the taste of this mango kulfi makes it hard to stop with one!

I have not used milk here as I ended up with icy kulfi a lot of times due to the milk. If using alphonso mangoes you may substitute some of the cream with milk. Since alphonso mangoes are full of pulp and less juices, using milk works.

Ingredients

Mangoes: Use ripe mangoes that are completely sweet. Do not use sour mangoes as dairy and sour ingredients, especially fruits can cause acidity and stomach problems. In the absence of fresh mangoes, you can use canned sweet mango pulp.

Cream: You can use any cream with a fat content of minimum 25%. You can also use homemade malai, cream from boiled milk. Blend it separately first with condensed milk until smooth (do not overdo) and then add the mangoes.

Flavor: You can omit the flavoring ingredients like saffron or cardamoms if your mangoes are flavorsome.

Molds: I do not own kulfi molds, so I use steel cups. You may also use Popsicle molds or even disposable cups or steel bowls. A small freezer metal tray/pan also works. You just need to slice the kulfi after it is set.

For more summer desserts, you can chek
Kesar Pista Kulfi
Falooda
Mango Ice Cream
Mango Lassi
Easy Mango Smoothie
Mango Milkshake

Photo Guide

How to make Mango Kulfi (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Optionally soak a pinch of saffron in 2 tbsps of hot water. You may also replace it with any natural organic food color if you want. Add 1½ cups peeled & chopped mango cubes or 1 cup mango pulp to a blender. (make sure you don’t use sour mangoes or pulp)

2. Pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream. If you don’t have whipping cream you can use regular fresh cream which has at least 25% fats.

3. Add ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder and the soaked saffron.

4. Pour half tin (7 oz) sweetened condensed milk. You can adjust the quantity more or less to suit your taste.

5. Blend to a smooth puree.

6. Add 2 tbsps chopped pistachios, reserving a little for garnish. Give a good mix.

Freezing

7. Pour the mixture to the kulfi molds or Popsicle moulds. I have used steel cups. You can also pour to a small freezer safe tray lined with a parchment paper.

8. Cover them with a foil and pierce a Ice cream stick gently. Refrigerate until set.

9. Remove the foil and rub the glass in between your palms or dip the base of the cups/tray in a bowl of water. Gently pull out. If using a tray, revert on a tray, slice to portions and serve immediately.

Garnish mango kulfi with finely chopped pistachios.

Pro Tips

If your mangoes are too fibrous, puree the mangoes first and strain out the fiber. Add it back to the blender and blend with the rest. No one will like the fiber while enjoying the creamy mango kulfi.

You may substitute half of the cream with full fat milk if your mangoes are pulpy and not juicy. Use pasteurized milk or pre-boiled and cooled milk. Avoid using raw milk as the mango kulfi mixture can easily split.

If you want to make this without condensed milk, you have to make the basic plain kulfi mixture using my basic kulfi recipe. Cool it completely and then stir in the mango puree. Note that my recipe uses cornstarch which prevents the milk also from splitting after adding the mango puree. If you do not want to use corn starch, substitute it with custard powder.

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This recipe was first published in May 2017.