Ice creams are a go to dessert always. Why? They are a link to happiness and comfort. Days spent care free and happy as kids when you could have anything sweet anytime. They are easily available at any market. However, additives and preservatives always deter me. Fresh home made ice creams are a class apart. They do need some extra time but effort is well worth the smiles. Rose and pista ice cream is a winning combination. It reminds me of falooda ice cream. Subtle sweetness of rose heightens the flavor of pistachios in creamy ice cream. Summer is a time when body needs to cool down. You can also make rose ice cream or pistachio ice cream without eggs if you like. Although, fruits are the best to cool down.
With or without the machine?
I love making ice-cream in a ice cream maker. However, not everyone has it at home. Hence, the below recipe does not use the machine. You can always use it to make a batch though with or without egg yolks as you please. You can always have an ice cream once a while. We always feel homemade is best. Local ingredients, fresh food is always better than having market based food. Life should be a balance of both home cooking and eating outside. I love experimenting with technique and use the local ingredients to re-create recipes. Best is to use natural ingredients like saffron, nuts and fruits for flavor. 
Equipment
- Grinder
- Pan
- Whisk
- Sieve
Ingredients
- Full fat milk
- Rose water
- Corn flour
- Sugar
- Pistachio nuts
- Pectin powder /Jamsetta/Corn flour
- Thickened cream
How to make Rose & pista ice cream?
- Roast pistachios and keep them aside to cool.
2. Grind them to a fine powder once they are on room temperature. 
3. Boil and reduce the milk. 
4. Add corn flour syrup and boil. Turn off the heat and add pectin.
5. Add pistachio powder, rose water and keep it in refrigerator for few hours, best left overnight. 
6. Sieve the mixture to remove any impurities. 
7. Whip the heavy cream. 
8. Add to the milk mixture along with food color optionally. Stir well to get the right colour. Optionally you may add more pistachios or just have a light colored ice cream if you want to avoid adding food colours. 
9. Pour the mix in a container. Set in the freezer to freeze for about 4-6 hours. 
10. Serve chilled after garnishing the scoop with rose petals and chopped nuts as per your choice.
Read the rose and pista ice cream recipe:
Rose and Pista ice cream
Equipment
- pan
- Grinder
- whisk
- Sieve
Ingredients
- 3 cups full fat milk
- 2 tablespoon rose water
- 1 tablespoon corn flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 50 gm pistachio nuts you may add more,if you want to avoid the food colour
- 1 teaspoon pectin powder or 2 teaspoon jamsetta (or replace with 1 tablespoon corn flour)
- 200 ml thickened cream any cream that can be whipped
Instructions
- Heat a pan,toast the pistachios and keep it aside to cool.
- Powder the pistachio and keep it aside.
- On a heavy bottom pan,start boiling the milk,once boiled,let it simmer on low heat.
- Keep aside ¼th cup of the boiled milk,allow it to cool and add corn flour to it.
- Once the milk is reduced to 2 cups(500ml), add the corn flour-milk mixture to it.
- Let it boil and turn off the heat.
- Now ,add the rose water,pectin powder and powdered pistachios.
- Allow it to cool overnight in a refrigerator.
- Whip the cream until it starts forming soft peaks (do not over whip).
- Add the whipped cream to the above mixture and freeze it for 4-6 hours.
- For best results,move it to refrigerator from freezer 30 mins before serving.Scoop once set.
Notes
Mum leads the way
Probably, a lot of this is due to seeing my mum. We all learn from our parents. During childhood, I remember mum sharing recipes with aunts. There were pool lunches with various families. Various backgrounds, different lineages. Different cuisines in a small township. Thus, there was a lot of learning. They had great support system even if they had a nuclear family. There was no computer, forget the internet and very little TV. Back then, there was less communication with the outside world. However, it didn't deter them. They struggled to make things from scratch but learnt from each other.
Food also leads to great friendships. Pool dinners and potlucks. Home parties and great gatherings. How I wish time came back! Some of these friendships are now still strong for 40 years and more. Those days there was no online marketing. Many of us (both me and hubby share this) stayed in remote locations with minimal resources. Still mum showed us how to use local ingredients to their top potential. Same goes for my MIL. I still reach out to both mum and MIL. It is best way to improve our diet. Food is a great way to re-live your childhood memories. Try these yummy ice-creams to beat the heat!
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