Healthy non-dairy Paan Ice Cream

Paan has a symbolic value in ceremonies in India. It is also offered to guests as a sign of hospitality after a heavy meal. Various spices like clove, cardamom, fennel seeds, when wrapped in a betel leaf to make paan, make an excellent mouth-fresher. Today, we will be using the readily available paan syrup to make this decadent ice cream. Of course, you can make it with fresh ingredients also but since I already had this syrup at home and the summers were driving me crazy, I thought why not put the paan syrup to some good use with good looking ice cream?

You will also like one more factor here – the fact that there is no additional sugar, no eggs, no heavy cream, and the taste, well – something you will remember a lifetime! I have made use of coconut milk here, that too, the regular one which you get in the Indian markets (something which is devoid of a large amount of fat). The flavor of the coconut combines so beautifully with the flavor of the paan – like the north and the south of India, either of which, if taken out would leave the county incomplete.

I have again used custard powder here as I didn’t have corn flour at home. Use either of them, won’t really make a difference, corn flour though would prevent the color of the ice cream from turning a little yellowish which happens with custard powder. And of course, since its vanilla custard powder, there is a slight taste of vanilla also added to this ice cream which doesn’t happen with the addition of corn flour.

Feel free to garnish it as you like – you can use tutti frutti, dried rose petals, sugar-coated fennel seeds, gulkand, rose syrup, chocolate chips, etc.

I always say this- any kind of homemade ice cream(especially that which is dairy free) should not be frozen for more than 12 hours. It’s the ideal best to freeze it for 12 hours, after that the ice cream tends to form ice crystals and becomes too hard to come along in the form of full lovely scoops. This is the trick to enjoy a homemade ice cream which looks and tastes just like a market bought ice-cream. Longer hours in the freezer will tend to spoil all your effort.

Also, make sure you keep your mixing bowl and beater in the freezer for at least a few hours (minimum 3-4 hours) before you start making the ice cream.

Ah well, how could I leave before telling you about some facts about ice creams, most probably you don’t know of them? So yeah, enjoy!

History of ice creams had probably begun around 500 BC in the Achaemenid Empire (Persia) with ice combined with flavors to produce summertime treats. In 400 BC, the Persians invented a special chilled food, made of rose water and vermicelli, which was served to royalty during summers. The ice was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavors.

Kulfi is a popular frozen dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent and is often described as “traditional Indian ice cream”. It originated in the sixteenth century in the Mughal Empire.

The most popular flavor of ice creams in North America(based on customer surveys) is vanilla and chocolate.

There is an Ice Cream Fruit in Hawaii. That’s right. There’s a Hawaiian fruit that tastes exactly like vanilla ice cream. It’s called the inga feuillei, but locals call it the ice cream bean.

It grows on perennial trees in hot climates, and it is enjoyed in many different ways by locals.

RECIPE:

This pan ice cream is eggless and no whipping cream or milk powder has been sued used here as well. It’s really healthy and super easy to make. It makes for the most refreshing summer treat helping you melt away all your worries within minutes.

2 cans coconut milk

3-4 tbsp vanilla custard powder

Paan syrup – according to taste

Method:

Chill 2 cans of coconut milk in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Open the 2 cans of chilled coconut milk. The cream should have risen to the top. Carefully scoop the cream into a mixing bowl. (Reserve the coconut water that has separated from the cream to use in a smoothie). Even if the cream hasn’t separated, there’s no need to panic. Just use the entire coconut milk from the can.

Now take about 3/4th of the mixture and add custard powder to it and mix well. Add the rest of the mixture to a pan and heat it on medium heat. When it just comes to the first boil, add the custard mix and stir it well. Keep stirring it continuously or else it will form lumps. When you see the first boil here, take the pan off the heat.

Let it cool down a bit and add the paan syrup and mix well.

Transfer to a lidded container and cover with a foil before you place the lid on the top. Now use another foil to cover the entire container as well (this helps to minimize formation of ice crystals). Freeze for 4 hours first. Then churn the ice cream well in a blender or mixer. It tends to become a little thick after this process. Then cover the ice cream container in the same way and freeze for 10-12 hours. As this ice cream does freeze harder just give it a few minutes at room temperature to make it easier to scoop.