Kesar Badam Matka Kulfi Recipe (2024)

Matka Kulfi is an Indian summer dessert where milk is thickened with chopped nuts and saffron before freezing them in, either terracotta moulds (known as matka or matki) or conical kulfi moulds. It is kind of a no-churn Indian ice cream that is rich, creamy and has chopped nuts in it. With a little bit of planning and overnight chilling, I will tell you how to make some delicious homemade kesar-badam matka kulfi using Milkmaid or condensed milk.

If you love matka kulfi then this is the time to make some kulfi at home. Summer is here and some nice little chilled treat is always welcome as a dessert. On top of it making kulfi at home is quite easy. No special skill set or fancy gadgets required. In fact, no special moulds needed as well. You can easily allow them to set in ramekins or individual baking cupcake moulds and then serve in it as well. Sounds fun, right?

What is a kulfi?

In a nutshell, it is frozen thickened milk that has been simmered with some sugar. For some extra flavour, saffron or spices are also added. The more popular kesar badam kulfi has chopped almonds and a big fat pinch of kashmiri saffron for the flavour.

In summers, mango malai kulfi is also very popular which has thickened milk mixed with flavourful mango pulp. It might or might not have chopped nuts and other spices in it.

In this post, I have shared the easy kulfi recipe with condensed milk, with chopped almonds, pistachios and the very best kashmiri saffron in it. We have used simple ingredients here to make this classic Indian summer dessert of malai matka kulfi at home. I have also listed out several ingredient alternatives below to help you get the perfectly textured and delicious homemade kulfi with whatever you have in your pantry.

How to make Kesar Pista Badam Kulfi – Ingredients list

• Cow’s Milk
• Condensed Milk
• Fresh Cream
• Almonds – finely chopped
• Pistachios – finely chopped
• Saffron strands
• Nutmeg Powder

Equipments Needed – Stove Top, Saucepan, Terracotta or glazed Clay Pot moulds or bowls (Ramekins or Glass Bowls would also work), Cling Film Wrap

Step-by-step instruction of how to make homemade Malai Kulfi at home

• Take a heavy bottom saucepan and combine together the milk, condensed milk and fresh cream. Give it a stir and place it on low heat. We are going to reduce it so keep the heat on low and use a rubber or silicone spatula to stir. This way you would be able to stir at the bottom as well
• Remove a teaspoon of this simmering milk in a small bowl to soak the saffron strands
• Meanwhile, chop the almonds and pistachios. You can peel the almonds beforehand if you find them bothersome. I skipped the step
• Once the milk has been reduced to half of its original volume, add the chopped nuts, soaked saffron threads along with the soaking liquid and nutmeg powder. Give everything a good mix. At this stage, you will notice that the milk mixture has thickened quite a bit
• Switch off the heat
• Prepare the moulds you wish to use to freeze the matka kulfi by placing them on a baking tray. Pour the mix in the moulds. Do not fill up to the brim, leave some space on the top
• Seal the top using a cling film sheet by pressing it to the surface of the milk mixture so that there is no space left in between for condensation
• Freeze them overnight or for 8 hours at least. Serve with some chopped pistachios on top. Dig in!

This homemade kulfi recipe will give you enough to serve two. You can multiply the recipe twice or by three times if you want to serve 4 or 6 people at a time. Also, this recipe is very flexible in terms of its ingredients. All you have to do is thicken some milk till it’s creamy, and a bit clumpy with milk fat solids. Next add your choice of chopped nuts, spices for flavours or seasonal fruits to bring in variation to the kulfi recipe.

Also, this is a no-churn frozen milk dessert recipe that doesn’t need any ice cream maker. Its grainy texture and the crunch with chopped nuts makes it so perfect and delicious.

Ingredient Alternates

• Milk – Since I used cow’s milk here, which is essentially low fat, I used fresh cream and condensed milk to add some richness to this kulfi recipe. You can use full-fat milk, to begin with, and skip or reduce the use of fresh cream. You can also use malai or the milk fat skimmed from the top.
  Also, by using condensed milk I shortened the process of reducing the milk. In case you do not have condensed milk in your pantry, skip it. Just cook the milk longer to reduce it and add some sugar for sweetness
• Nuts – Traditionally almonds, cashew and pistachios are most commonly used in Indian kulfi recipes. But you can use any combination of nuts here to add some crunch to the malai kulfi recipe
• Saffron – Kesar or saffron lends a delicious fragrance, taste and colour to the kulfis. So, this alone serves a three-fold purpose in this recipe. But it is also one of the costliest spices in the world which requires mindful usage. So, you can use green cardamom, black cardamom or cinnamon powder instead. Use a pinch first and give it a taste check, then add as you prefer
• Nutmeg – I would say, this is one ingredient that makes it so unique and gives a warm & woody aroma to it. If you have some nutmeg in your pantry, grate just enough to get a pinchful and add it to the simmering milk
• Seasonal Fruits & other Ingredients – You can add any of your favourite fruit pulp to flavour the kulfis. Some of the popular ones that you can give a try are Mango Kulfi, Chocolate Kulfi, Rose Kulfi or Gulkand Kulfi, Strawberry Kulfi, Paan Kulfi, Chikoo Kulfi, etc.

Here’s a quick list of some of the most popular Indian sweets recipes from my blog

• Instant Gulab Jamun recipe using Milk Powder
• Instant Kalakand recipe using Condensed Milk
• Instant Malpoa recipe
• Gajar ka Halwa recipe without using Khoya
• Instant Gajar ka Halwa recipe
• Atta ka Halwa recipe
• Kesar Peda
• Sweet Boondi
• Rasbhari
• Khaja or Chiroti
• Chanar Jilipi or Paneer Jalebi
• Pranhara Sandesh
• Kesar Peda
• Kesar Motichoor Ladoo
• Balushahi
• Besan Ladoo
• Narkel Naru or Coconut Jaggery Ladoo

Have you tried this Kesar Badam Matka Kulfi recipe using Milkmaid condensed milk?I would love to hear about it.
Tag me on Instagram@priyankabhattacharya.saor Facebook@hashdiariesand I will share it further.