Mango Kulfi - Falooda

For the Mango Kulfi:- [Serves 4]


1 litre half and half [or use whole milk/evaporated milk]
4-5 mangoes [ yield about 2 cups of mango pulp]
3/4 cup white granulated sugar [ adjust to taste,depends on how sweet your mangoes are]
1 cup heavy cream
1.5 tsp green cardamom powder
1 tbsp saffron dissolved in 2 tbsp warm milk
1/8 tsp salt
Pistachios for garnish [you can use any other nuts you like]

Method :-
In a heavy bottomed,wide-mouthed & large pot, pour the half and half and transfer to stove top on medium and let come to a boil.
While the milk is boiling,peel the mangoes, slice the flesh roughly into a bowl & discard the seed.
Tip the slices into the blender and churn to make a smooth puree.
Sieve the puree once to remove all the lumps and fibre.Keep a watch on the milk.
Once the milk is boiling, reduce the heat to low and let the milk simmer with periodic stirring till it reduces by 1/3 of its original volume.

Note :If using half and half this reduction time would be 25-30 minutes.
If using whole milk about 55-60 minutes and if using evaporated milk just 15-20 minutes.
The only reason I  did not use evaporated milk was because the brownish color of the milk would kill the yellow color from saffron & mango.

Once the milk has reduced,remove from heat add the sugar and let cool to a room temperature.
Once the milk has cooled,mix in the cream,saffron dissolved in milk,mango puree and green cardamom powder.Whisk gently to combine well to make kulfi mix.
Pour the kulfi mix into moulds/popsicle shells/plastic containers , cover and freeze for at least 10-12 hours until set. Frozen kulfi keeps for a month.

Unmould and serve chilled along with falooda [ recipe below]

For the Falooda :-

1 cup falooda sev [available in most indian stores, substitute with vermicelli]
1 cup luke warm milk
3 tbsp sugar [ to taste]
1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
2 tbsp rose-water [ 1-2 drops if using essence]
1/4 cup toasted melon seeds [ substitute with coarsely chopped toasted pumpkin seeds]
Nuts for garnish [optional]

Method:-
Cook the falooda as per package instructions in plain boiling water.
Once cooked,drain and transfer to a bowl.Mix melon seeds and nuts with the cooled falooda.Set aside.
In another bowl,mix sugar & green cardamom powder with the luke warm milk.Let cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, add the rose-water to milk.
Pour 3/4 th of milk mixture over the bowl of falooda to keep them moistened while you refrigerate.Reserve the remaining 1/4 th cup.

For serving:- In a bowl, layer the refrigerated falooda, if it feels dry add few teaspoons from the reserved milk mixture 
unmould/slice the kulfi, garnish with nuts and serve cold.