Tiliwali Kulfi (Street-Style, Vrat-Friendly, No Churn)
Street-style Indian kulfi with milk, milk powder, heavy cream, sugar, and cardamom. Vrat-friendly, no cornstarch, no churn, eggless. Dense kulfi for molds or sticks.
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed saucepan or kadai
- Silicone spatula or wooden spoon
- Small bowl and whisk
- Kulfi molds, small steel glasses, or freezer-safe loaf pan
- Foil or lids for molds
- Heatproof bowl for cooling
Ingredients
Kulfi base
- 1 L full-fat milk whole milk
- ½ cup unsweetened milk powder about 50–60 g
- ½ cup heavy cream whipping cream, about 36% fat
- ½ –⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3–4 green cardamom pods or ½ tsp cardamom powder; crushed and seeds ground fine
Instructions
Reduce milk
- Pour milk into a heavy pot over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer, stirring the bottom often, until reduced by about one-third to one-half and thicker (often 35–55 minutes for 1 L).
Build the base
- Whisk milk powder into about ½ cup hot milk from the pot until smooth; pour back into the pot.
- Stir in heavy cream, sugar, and ground cardamom. Simmer gently 8–15 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Chill and freeze
- Cool completely, then refrigerate until cold (at least 2 hours, ideally overnight).
- Pour into molds, cover, and freeze until firm (at least 8–12 hours). Do not stir during freezing.
Serve
- Briefly dip metal molds in warm water, run a thin knife around the edge, and unmold.
Notes
Whole milk and lump-free milk powder matter most for texture.
If kulfi is too hard to slice, let it temper 2–3 minutes at room temperature.
Store airtight in the freezer up to about 2 weeks for best texture.
Confirm milk powder and dairy against your own vrat guidelines.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!