page_title: Sweets from the Indian subcontinent
section_title: Kulfi
hierarchical_section_title: Sweets from the Indian subcontinent / Varieties (in alphabetical order) / Kulfi
caption_attribution_description: English: Kulfi eaten from a matka (clay pot)
context_page_description: Sweets from the Indian subcontinent are the confectionery and desserts of the Indian subcontinent. Thousands of dedicated shops in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets.
  Sugarcane has been grown in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years, and the art of refining sugar was invented there 8000 years ago by the Indus Valley Civilisation. The English word "sugar" comes from a Sanskrit word sharkara for the refined sugar, while the word "candy" comes from Sanskrit word khaanda for the unrefined sugar– one of the simplest raw forms of sweet. Over its long history, cuisines of the Indian subcontinent developed a diverse array of sweets. Some claim there is no other region in the world where sweets are so varied, so numerous, or so invested with meaning as the Indian subcontinent.
  In the diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent, sweets are called by numerous names, one common name being Mithai. They include sugar, and a vast array of ingredients such as different flours, milk, milk solids, fermented foods, root vegetables, raw and roasted seeds, seasonal fruits, fruit pastes and dry fruits.
context_section_description: Kulfi is traditional South Asian ice-cream. It is made using flavored milk that is first condensed and caramelized by slow cooking along with a small quantity of rice or seasonal grain flour; once condensed, dry nut pastes and aromatic spices are added and the mix frozen in small earthen or metal cans. This creates a dense form of frozen dessert; it is typically served between −10 to −15 °C when it is easier to spoon and eat. Kulfi comes in a variety of flavors such as mango, kesar, pistachios, badam (almond), coconut and plain. It is also a street side summertime snack and festive sweet, which food hawkers carry around in a big earthen pot and play a particular horn music to attract customers. These vendors are known as kulfiwalla (those who sell kulfi).
caption: Matka kulfi, flavoured frozen sweet dish made from milk.
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