A soft and creamy Swirl
They say that the softy was created serendipitously. When an ice-cream truck in New York suffered a puncture, its driver pulled into a parking lot and began doling out the fast melting fares to passersby. Surprised at how popular a soft frozen dessert proved to be, he soon developed a secret soft-serve formula and an ice-cream machine that could produce it; thus creating the first softy.
It is a familiar sight: a kid in a mussed school uniform, vigorously licking a fast-melting cone full of swirly vanilla, chocolate or choco-vanilla ice cream. Topped with a range of rather virulent coloured sauces, preserved fruit and a smattering of nuts, the syrupy sweet concoction is a perfect end to a long, hot day. Best places to grab a cone are Creamy-Inn, MilkyWay and kiosks in malls and opposite beaches.
Going the Gola way
You see him on the beach, on the roadside and outside schools, sitting behind a selection of colourful bottles. He packs shaved ice on a stick, christens it with rainbow hued sherbet and offers you the Indian version of a popsicle. It may not have the approval of many mothers, but the sugary, cold treat is undeniably addictive.
The perils of eating a gola are many—the water used is often suspect, the artificial colour of the syrup is possibly carcinogenic, and the drippy gola leaves a colorful stain on your tongue and lips, and more permanently, your clothes. But it is sweet and cheap and extremely delicious, so well, give it a shot. And if you want to play safe, there are now kiosks in malls selling golas that offer some promise of hygiene and standardization.
The King Kulfi
Bite it off a stick, scoop it out of clay matkas or slurp it up from a coconut shell...the kulfi, today, comes in all shapes, colours and flavours. The origins of kulfi, though, date back to princely times, to the palaces of the Mughal Empire, where evaporating milk was slow cooked in large cauldrons into a thick mixture that was flavoured with saffron and pistachios, poured into mud pots and frozen with ice said to be sourced from the Himalayas. The term ‘kulfi’ itself is inspired from the Persian word for “covered cup” — “qulfi”. The dessert has since made its way south of the subcontinent in humbler avatars, and can now be found everywhere, from kulfi-wallas selling them in packeted sticks by the Marina, to five-star hotels serving them in hand-crafted pots. While popular dessert brands such as Amul and Kwality offer kulfi alongside their other dairy products, homegrown brands such as Mhaian Kulfi, Dream Kulfis and Dojo Kulfis specialise in just this, selling flavoured varieties such as chocolate, mango, rose and vanilla. Restaurants here have put their spin on the classic; Copper Chimney, for instance, serves it with an abundance of falooda. Savour it your way, but don’t forget to sample some this summer. It’s happiness in a mouthful.
The popular Popsicle
Who knew plain ice and fruit flavouring could be so satisfying? Made up of such simple ingredients, ice lollies are an eternal favourite among youngsters, if only because it stains their mouth purple or orange, depending on whether they had the grape or orange flavour. It’s an instantly refreshing treat for kids and adults alike, and is also available in many flavours. Even in rural areas, rose milk-flavoured kuchi ice is the preferred way to cool off.
Cool as a Cassata
This thick slice of layered dessert combines the best of both worlds — ice cream and cake. In the 1950s, Vadilal introduced the cassata ice cream in the country and also popularised it. The ice cream takes inspiration from the popular Sicilian sweet of the same name that consists of a sponge cake moistened in fruit liqueur, encased in ricotta, and decorated on the outside with pistachio or almond paste. The ice cream is usually shaped like a colourful brick and is a combination of three flavours that vary from one brand to another — although strawberry seems to be a constant — and is garnished with a sprinkling of cashewnuts.
Well-rounded Ice cream
Remember the feeling on the last day of the annual exams, before school closed for the summer? Or of waking up to Cartoon Network at 11 a.m. in the middle of May? That’s the feeling associated with ball ice creams. It has been around for years — available from Rs.15 onwards, it consists of vanilla ice cream encased in a plastic ball, with a small opening from which the ice-cream can be scooped out. As any 80s kid would know, the plastic balls had to be washed once the delicious, overtly sweet vanilla ice-cream was scooped out. Then, the ball can be used to play street tennis or writing pad cricket. Available from brands such as Amul, Arun Icecreams and Aavin, what makes them special is the packaging — who ever came up with the idea of ice cream inside a ball?
