Another fascinating innovation of the late Ram Avatar Pandey, the founder of Thaggu Ke Laddu is Badnaam Kulfi that literally translates to disreputable kulfi with the famous tagline ‘मेहमान को चखाना नहीं, टिक जाएगा, चखते ही जेब और जुबां की गर्मी हो जाएगी गायब |’ that means ‘do not offer it to your guest, for he will never leave, for once one has tasted it, the heat of the pocket and tongue will disappear!
Though the tagline sounds better in Hindi rather than the poor English translation, it makes one fondly remember the founder and appreciate his sense of humour. The late Ram Avatar Pandey started selling his delicious version of the quintessential summer favourite kulfi on the footpath in front of his shop.
What sets this kulfi apart from the rest sold across the country is its rich creamy texture with the right amount of sweetness. The kulfi mixture is made of kesar, pista, pure full fat milk, sugar, cardamom powder and other secret ingredients maybe, khoya and desi ghee.
This kesar pista wali kulfi tastes and has a texture like frozen rabri and the reason is that the kulfi mixture is rabri made from milk to which kesar, pista and others are added. The mixture is then transferred to a stainless steel vessel and placed in between blocks of ice and salt and hand churned for hours till the rabri becomes smooth and freezes and is served as kulfi.
This unique kulfi has a generous sprinkling of pistachios and saffron.
Written by Lakshmi Subramanian
sahasa.in 