Paan Masala Ice Cream

This year, for father's day I wanted to make my dad something special, yet new. It's no surprise to him that I cook different foods, but this was definitely something he was not expecting.

I remember a few years back, we had celebrated a birthday at one of our favorite local Indian restaurants here in Illinois and my dad wouldn't stop raving about this PAAN MASALA ice cream we had there. If you've met my dad, I can almost guarantee you've heard this story at least once (if not a few times) LOL! So naturally, this year, I wanted to surprise him with that same ice cream. The problem, however, was that I only vividly remembered the taste and didn't really recall the ingredients that were in them. Have I mentioned I hated the taste of paan masala before this recipe?

Hence, I was experimenting a little when I first crafted this recipe. But, let me tell you, once I took a bite of the ice cream, it brought me back to that day and that table at our favorite Indian restaurant. Thankfully, my dad couldn't agree more, and maybe now he'll rave about that one time his daughter made an AMAZING paan masala ice cream instead of that restaurant ;)

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 tub of Vanilla Ice Cream

• 12-14 Paan Leaves (Betel Leaves)

• 3-5 Tablespoons of Gulkhand (Candied Rose)

• 2-3 drops of mint extract (optional)

• 3-4 tablespoon chopped fennel seeds (valyari)

• 2-3 drops of green food coloring (optional)

Preparation

1. Leave the ice cream tub outside for a few minutes or until at room temperature. The consistency to aim for is almost like a pudding, not soup. If your ice cream is turning into soup, store in the fridge until it hardens a bit more. If it’s too soupy, all the dry ingredients will sink to the bottom and not mix into the ice cream.

2. Chop your betal (paan) leaves into fine pieces. Set aside about 1-2 tablespoons of the paan leaves for garnishing.

3. Chop the fennel (valyari) into a powder like consistency. You can also grind in a mixer until small, do not over blend.

4. In a bowl, add the chopped paan leaves, fennel seeds, and the gulkand and mix really well. Gulkhand can be a little hard, lay it out for a couple of hours to soften the mixture or break it apart with your spoon.

5. Empty your tub of ice cream into a larger bowl and slowly start adding the paan+gulkhand+valyari mixture into the ice cream, slowly mixing after each addition. Do not over mix or use a blender, this will loosen up the mixture and turn it in to soup. The goal is to have the mixture well incorporated into the vanilla ice cream so that when you freeze it, the dry ingredients do not sink to the bottom. At this point, if you would like to use green food or the mint extract coloring, add 2-3 drops now of each. Don't add too much of the mint extract, otherwise it'll taste like mint ice cream!

6. Place the ice cream in a flattened container and freeze overnight or for at least 8 hours. The purpose of the flattened container is so that the ice cream is evenly spread out vs. the container where the dry ingredients would sink to the bottom.

7. Once the ice cream is again frozen, scoop, garnish with the paan leaves we left aside earlier, valyari, and gulkhand then serve! Enjoy!

Tips

• I bought my gulkhand and paan leaves from a local Indian food store.

• I used Blue Bunny for my Ice Cream.

• I used both the mint extract and green food coloring, though it's optional if you don't have it.