Indians go wild for strawberry season. Strawberry sellers in Mumbai stand on street corners behind gigantic pyramids that look too beautiful to disturb. This kulfi, much like an ice-cream, is my favourite way to eat them. Infusing fennel seed into the cream lends it sweet but gentle aniseed flavour. This recipe was originally written for Borough Market’s magazine, Market Life.
Serves 6
- 400g ripe strawberries, hulled and washed
- 2 tsp fennel seeds (plus more to decorate)
- 400ml condensed milk
- 400ml double cream
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar (optional)
- dried rose petals to decorate (optional)
Place the strawberries into a blender, blend to a puree and leave to one side. Taste the mixture.
Grind the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar and place in a pan alongside the cream and condensed milk, stir to mix and heat over a medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Turn the heat off and leave to cool.
When cool whisk all but a couple of tablespoons of strawberry puree into the mixture until fully mixed. It should become thick, like custard. Taste and add the sugar if need be, mix and pour into freezable pots or moulds. To decorate, dot over with the remaining strawberry puree and sprinkle over with fennel seeds and rose petals then freeze for at least three hours.