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Pistachio Kulfi Pops





Active Time
15 mins



Total Time
6 hrs 15 mins



Total Time
6 hrs 30 mins

Kulfi is a rich, thick ice cream beloved on the Indian subcontinent–and on Indian menus in the West. Natural food coloring gives them a greenish hue (otherwise they are pale brown). You can use any mold you like for these popsicles, but you’ll get a different number of pops depending on the mold size.

This recipe, and others like it, can be found in the article “The Recipes You Should Be Cooking This July.”

su-Pistachio Kulfi Pops Image




Photo: Erin Kunkel; Styling: Emma Star Jensen

 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
 1/2 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise
 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
 1/4 cup whole milk
 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
 8 drops natural yellow food coloring (optional), such as India Tree*
 2 drops natural blue food coloring (optional), such as India Tree
 2/3 cup toasted salted pistachios, finely ground in a food processor, divided
Step 1
1

In a medium bowl, whip cream to soft peaks with a mixer. With the tip of a knife or a spoon, scrape vanilla seeds from pod and add to cream. Add condensed milk, whole milk, cardamom, pepper, and food coloring, if using, and beat cream 1 minute to rethicken a little. Stir in 1/3 cup pistachios by hand.

Step 2
2

Divide mix among 8 (1/4 cup) popsicle molds*. Freeze until slushy, about 1 hour; then insert sticks and freeze until solid, about 5 hours more.

Step 3
3

To unmold popsicles, either let sit at room temperature 5 minutes or run molds under warm water 10 to 15 seconds. Dip tops in remaining pistachios.

Step 4
4

*Find natural food coloring online or at most Whole Foods markets. We used 3-oz. Dixie cups for these pops.

Step 5
5

Make ahead: Up to 2 weeks, frozen.

Nutrition Facts

0 servings

Serving size

Amount per serving
Calories178
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 14g18%

Saturated Fat 6g30%
Cholesterol 30mg10%
Sodium 103mg5%
Total Carbohydrate 11g4%

Dietary Fiber 1.4g5%
Protein 3.4g

* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.