Chai Ice cream - How to make Masala Chai Ice cream at home

My mornings are never complete without a sip of chai . This has been a routine since I was a kid when mom would make the first batch of tea early in the morning and the aroma of the freshly brewed chai would compel us to wake up from bed. Chai or Tea is always a part of most of the discussion be it in the morning or in the evening. Sharing  the newspaper along with a cup of chai and some biscuits early in the morning is what many of you can relate to. This morning ritual is still a part of my life today when both mom and son would sit down in the morning to have our tea together.

Whenever I have traveled I always make sure to find the best tea stall and have my tea there. Be it a small town in the foot of the Himalayas or a simple Sikkim village selling homemade tea made with yak milk, Tea or Chai evokes a feeling of belonging, a sense of togetherness, a feeling well beyond words. If you happen to travel through north India, you will definitely come across a tea stall at almost each corner offering Chai. Apart from the regular Tea, you will likely to find a delicious Masala Tea.

The spices used in the Masala tea vary according to the region and how strong or light you want to have it. The traditional spices used in chai are cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom and black pepper. Tea drinking in India has been popularized by the English in the early 1900's to market their produce.But the Indian people preferred to have tea not only with sugar and milk but also used to add cardamom, pepper, cinnamon as opposed to the way the Englishmen prefer the Indians to follow. 

You must be wondering why I am speaking about Tea or Chai in this hot and humid summer, that’s the reason why I choose my favourite hot beverage to give it a cold makeover for our 40^th Foodie Monday Bloghop theme of Summer coolers…. settle for this unusually flavoured Masala Chai Ice cream which is thick,Creamy, Sweet and Perfectly chai-spiced.

This Chai Ice cream is infused with the spices (masala), crushed green cardamom seeds and freshly grated ginger root just like my mother used to prepare for us when we wanted that something extra comfort and warmth. Holding this cup of Chai Icecream in my hand makes me a little nostalgic and brought back memories of sweet playful years which is never going to come back again. 

Recipe Type: Dessert

Prep time:30 minutes
Setting time: Overnight
Yields: 400 ml 

Ingredients: 

• 200 ml Amul fresh cream
• 200 ml of Amul Whipping Cream
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ cup water
• 200 ml of condensed milk
• 4 whole cloves
• 2 crushed green cardamom pods
• 2 crushed peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick
• A pinch of nutmeg powder
• 1inch piece peeled, chopped ginger
• 2 tbsp Assam Tea

Let's Learn How to make the Chai Ice cream:

• Boil half cup of water with cardamom, pepper, crushed ginger,cloves,nutmeg powder and cinnamon on medium flames . when it starts to boil, add  the tea leaves and boil for another 2 to 3 minutes on low flame. Remove from stove and strain. Now transfer the strained tea into the saucepan and add milk and sugar to it and starts boiling the liquid on a medium-high flame till it reduces to half say roughly 1 cup tea. Remove the liquid from the stove and keep aside until ready to use.

• Once the chai has cooled completely, add the condensed milk to it and mix till combined.

• Place the container as well as the whipping blade in the freezer for 30 minutes along with the cream. Whip the cream till it becomes stiff and then add the condensed milk and tea mixture to it and blend everything well.

• Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate over night . After it is set, take it out and churn again in a blender and put it back on the container to set it for another 3 to 4 hours. Your Chai Ice cream is ready to be savoured.

Sending this Chai Ice cream seasoned with rich and warm Chai Spices to the 4oth #Foodie Monday #Bloghop theme of #SummerCoolers ...In the meanwhile you might be also interested to check Sugar Palm Ice cream , Pomegranate Ice Cream or Expresso Choco Chips Ice cream.

Sugar Palm Ice cream- How to make Ice cream at Home without Ice cream Maker

Ice Apple,Palm fruit, Sugar Palm, Tala Saja or Nungu is one such fruit you will find on every street corner during summer . Palm fruits or Sugar palm are called Taal Shaja in Odia, Nungu in Tamil, Thaati Nungu in Kannada, Thaati Munjalu in Telugu ,Tad gola in Marathi and Tad phal in Hindi. Palm fruit, is a refreshing treat for those languishing in this hot summers. Due to its cooling effect, this fruit is  known as ice apple. The fruit, which is available in abundance during the hot season, is rich in B vitamins, iron and calcium. The flesh of the this fruit is similar to litchi in texture and the taste is similar to fresh coconut.

Palm fruit/Sugar Palm has a lot of health benefits. It provides a perfect balance of minerals and sugar for the body during the summer season. Ice apple or Sugar Palm is also rich in Vitamin A, B and C, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorous, Potassium and lots more which is good for the human body. Above all, this is a natural coolant food for the body during the summer season. Since it contains a lot of water, the best way to keep yourself hydrated during summer is with the help of this fruit. During summer, people generally tend to feel a lot more tired since they sweat a lot. The best way to fight fatigue is with the help of ice apple or Sugar Palm.

Though there are a ton of summer fruits to eat during summer, ice apple or sugar palm is the best, since it has less amount of calories and high amount of energy.It keeps the glucose levels up and provides the right balance of minerals and nutrients to the body.It has a buff color covering that has to be removed to eat the ice apple inside. Ice apples have soft jelly like flesh beneath that contains minor amount of sweetened water inside it. Ice apples must be consumed at once when cut as it become rubbery when stored and the sugar inside ferments changing its taste.  

Do try making a tender ice cream out of sugar palm at home in this summer and I am sure you will love it.My boy loves it and that's the best reward for me. The basic ice cream recipe has got it's makeover with this tropical fruit and the addition of chocolate sauce has taken it to a different level.  Go ahead and enjoy this yummy sugar palm ice cream.

Recipe Type: Ice cream

Setting time: 24 hours

Cooking time:30 minutes

Serves: Approx 400 ml of Ice cream

Ingredients:-

• 1 cup chopped sugar Palm flesh + extra for garnishing
• 200ml Amul fresh cream
• 100 ml Condensed Milk
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• Hot Chocolate for garnishing

Let’s Learn How to make this interesting Ice cream:

• Clean and wash sugar palm flesh. Chop them into pieces and blend into smooth puree.

• Place the attachment of the hand blender and a deep  bowl  in the deep freezer for 15 minutes.

• Whip the chilled cream till for 5 to 6 minutes. Add condensed milk , vanilla extract and sugar palm flesh puree and combined well so that no lumps remain.

• Set the temperature of the freezer to highest.

• Pour the mixture into an air tight container or aluminum tray, cover with an aluminum foil and put in the freezer for overnight or minimum 6 hours. Once it is set, remove from freezer and beat with the help of a hand blender till slushy.

•  Pour the mixture again into an air tight container or aluminum tray and freeze again for at least 5 to 6 hours or till the ice cream sets. Repeat this process once more to get a smooth creamy ice cream.

•  Scoop and serve with some chopped sugar palm  and drizzle some chocolate sauce over it to enjoy this exotic and tropical Ice cream. 

Pomegranate Ice cream - Guest Post for Sapana Behl

This is my first guest post and what better way to start it than with a dear friend Sapana Behl of Cookingwithsapana . I came across Sapana's Blog while I am doing Cooking for cookbook challenge with her and I was amazed by the collection of recipes at her blog and  I am very happy and super excited when she asked me to do a guest post for her and made some super yummy Pomegranate Ice cream for her.For the recipe checkout her Blog.

Sapana is a very talented blogger who blogs regularly at her beautiful Blog Cookingwithsapana .I like her approach to deal with everyday food and the magic she creates around them. She has a huge collection of around 800 recipes of Indian and International Cuisine. Out of her collection I     found neapoliitan-style-pizza,  spinach-paneer-pinwheels,  phyllo-pizza are some of the collection which one must give it a try. I am looking forward to see her touching the pinnacle of success in blogging community and achieve whatever she aspires in her life.

Pomegranates are among the healthiest fruits on earth which contains a range of beneficial plant compounds, unrivaled by other foods. Pomegranate is a thick skinned super seedy fruit, with a brilliant red hue which is now touted as a wonder fruit by scientific researchers. The name pomegranate derives from the French word “pomegranate” or seeded apple.

 

They are believed to have originated in Iran and brought to Egypt in 1600 BC, where it was not only revered as an important food source but was also widely used for its medicinal value. It was held in high esteem even during those times, as it is evident by their depiction in Egyptian paintings and tombs. Inspired by the abundance of jewel toned seeds within the bright red rind, pomegranate is considered to be a symbol of fertility and prosperity in some cultures. Some people might find it a bit cumbersome to deal with the little seeds, which is why, extracting its juice is the best way to utilize the benefits of pomegranate juice.

 

Drinking it allows for a quick and easy assimilation of all the nutrients found in the bloodstream by the body. In comparison to other fruits, pomegranates contain the maximum amount of anti-oxidants. It contains approximately 3 times more antioxidants than green tea and oranges.

A delicious, fresh pomegranate ice cream which is  super easy to make , with no eggs, no cook, no churn. The combination of fresh pomegranate juice and heavy cream produces a lovely shade of pink which you will simply love and with the contrasting bright red pomegranate seeds, this ice cream is a delight to watch!

 

This recipe is so simple, so gorgeous, and so delicious that I simply couldn't keep it from you all. Though I have made this recipe a number of time, I could not able to put it on the Blog. But as the Valentine’s day is approaching, I thought of making this Ice Cream and sharing it with you all.Checkout this delicious and super easy  recipe at Sapana's Blog.

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Warm regards,
Alka Jena

Expresso choco chips Ice cream

A few months back, if anyone would tell me to make ice cream without a ice cream maker , I would have laughed ,but not now......Ice cream has been a weakness for me...I do not need an occasion  and time to have it....but the thought of making it at home with so many flavours seems always a daunting task to me.....so I would buy my bucketful of flavors from the store and keep it the freeze....for relishing whenever I have a mood.  A few days back , while raiding the refrigerator, I found my stock of ice cream have been exhausted......and the nest day I was expecting guest at home.  So what to do.....Luckily I have a can of condensed milk and whipping cream which I had brought from a baking workshop I had attended a few days back in town. 

That day I realized making Ice cream is so much fun.....I would like to share my favorite magic trick in the kitchen: creamy ice cream made with just two ingredient. Yes, that's right — just two  ingredient, and no ice cream maker needed.                                                           

 To make a no churn ice-cream, all you need is a few cups of heavy cream and a can of condensed milk .Whip the cream, fold it into the condensed milk, freeze for a few hours, and you got to eat your sweet ice cream. Condensed milk is a magic ingredient when making no-churn ice cream - the end result will be creamy, smooth and not at all icy.

 

 With traditional ice cream, you have to make a sweetened base of a cooked mixture of heavy cream and sugar with eggs or corn-starch to help thicken it into a rich custard – which needs to be cooled, then churned in an ice cream maker before freezing. Churning incorporates air and breaks up ice crystals as they form, making the finished ice cream creamy and smooth rather than one icy block.

 

 Pic courtesty: http://www.icecream.com/

With no-churn ice cream, a can of sweetened condensed milk takes the place of the base and  the whipped cream brings the airy, creamy texture. Fold the two together until they’re just barely combined and you get the exact flavor and texture of ice cream after freezing. It’s creamy, it’s scoopable, it melts on your mouth. I love the combo of chocolate and coffee.

                                                                                 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1  can condensed milk

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

• 3 tablespoons instant coffee

•  1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Let's learn how to make no churn Expresso choco chips  Ice cream:

• Pour the  condensed milk into a large bowl.Mix the vanilla extract into the condensed milk.

• Whip the heavy cream using a hand mixer until it holds stiff  peaks.

•  Fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk. Continue to fold, till the mixture is smooth , soft and silky. Stop when you see just a few small lumps here and there — be careful not to deflate the mixture too much or over-mix.

• Stir in the instant coffee powder and the chocolate chips.

• Spoon the ice cream into a freezer-safe container  using a spatula to scrape all the ice cream base into your freezer container. Smooth the top, then press a piece of wax paper against the surface to prevent ice crystals from forming.

• Freeze for 4 hours or  preferably overnight to experience rich and creamy ice cream.

Sending this to “Fiesta Friday” ......at http://fiestafriday.net/2015/08/14/fiesta-friday-81/