Slurrp Exclusive: Chef Nishant’s Desi Ice Cream Comes With Magic Of Haldi And Sugarcane

Indian superfoods like turmeric, amla and jaggery have become a global sensation and rightfully so. Having grown up in the subcontinent, we are no strangers to the healing benefits of these desi superfoods, especially turmeric or Haldi. From our glass of milk to our Sunday face packs, a pinch of turmeric made it to everywhere it could, or so our parents and grandparents ensured. Now that the world is also waking up to the magic of turmeric, we are hearing of many modern recipes that are celebrating the golden spice in all its glory. Remember the Turmeric Latte? Yes, the same turmeric-infused milky brew that got the Desis on the internet all riled up for its uncanny resemblance with our Haldi Doodh. From soups, to salads to stews, turmeric is finding a firm place in many, many exciting preparations, and Chef Nishant Choubey’s Turmeric and sugarcane ice cream is the latest to catch our fancy.  

Corporate chef of Seinan Tokyo and consulting chef for Michelin-plated Indus, Chef Nishant Choubey loves to give a gourmet treatment to all things local. In his turmeric and sugarcane ice cream recipe that he shared on his profile on Slurrp Community, he mixes fresh turmeric root with low-fat cream, skimmed milk, orange rind and sea salt to make a creamy, yet zingy ice cream. The sharpness, of orange rind and fresh turmeric leaves, offer a nice contrast of flavours by undercutting the creaminess of the silky, smooth ice cream. The sweetening agent of the ice cream is not refined sugar but sugarcane juice. It is a sweet syrup pressed from sugarcane, its sweetness is very distinct from refined sugar. It has a much more warm, rich and somewhat smoky flavour.  

The best part about this ice cream is that it does not even need an ice cream maker. If you get hold of the ingredients, it is actually a cakewalk from there. Make sure you clean the turmeric root well, you do not want to be biting into the sand, chop it nicely so that it blends well with other components nicely. The aroma of fresh turmeric itself is so tempting and do not even get us started on the lovely yellow-orange colour of the ice cream. This ice cream has indulgence written all over it.  

So without further ado, here’s the recipe

#OMG Sugarcane And Turmeric Ice Cream  

Ingredients

  • Fresh turmeric root – 200 gm
  • Low fat cream – 100 ml
  • Skimmed milk – 100 ml
  • Sugar cane juice – 40 ml
  • Fresh turmeric leaf- 100 gm
  • Orange rind – a bit
  • Sea salt- A pinch

Method:

1. Pluck fresh turmeric from the garden or buy it fresh from vendor.

2. Wash it carefully as it may have hints of sand.

3. Chop everything roughly.

4. Take a saucepan.

5. Add milk, cream and about 30 ml sugar cane juice.

6. Boil it in slow flame for 35 minutes. add orange rind at last and cool it down

7. Season the mixture with sea salt.

8. Blend the same in a blender.

9. Freeze it for 24 hrs.

10. Make a quenelle or roundel and serve it some sea salt, orange rind and drizzle some bit of reserved sugarcane juice.