This super quick and easy Betel Leaf Ice Cream by MasterChef Australia Season 13 contestant Kishwar Chowdhury incorporates fennel and cardamom for a delicious post-dinner treat.
Photograph: Kind courtesy MasterChef Australia
The Bengali After Dinner Mint
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the betel leaf ice cream
- 1 cup cream
- ½ cup milk
- 10 gm betel leaves cut in pieces
- 10 gm saunf or fennel seeds, toasted
- 1 green cardamom pod, crushed
- 70 gm castor sugar (a kind of finer sugar manufactured by top baking brands)
- 3 egg yolks
- Salt, to taste
To serve
- 4 betel leaves
- 2 tbsp coconut flakes, toasted
- 4 pitted dates, diced into 5 mm pieces
- 1 tbsp mukhwas (an after dinner mouth freshener)
Method
- Pre-chill ice cream machine.
For the betel leaf ice cream
- Bring the cream, milk, betel leaves, fennel, cardamom and salt to just below simmering point over lowest possible heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Take off heat and set aside for 20 minutes.
Return to simmering point then take off heat and strain into a jug.
- Place the sugar and egg yolks into a bowl and whisk together.
Whisk 1/3 of the warm cream mixture into the eggs.
Whisk in remainder then return the combined mixture to the saucepan.
- Over medium heat, stir continuously until mixture thickens and reaches 83°C (use a cooking thermometer if you can).
Pour through a sieve into a bowl and cool over an ice bath.
Churn in the ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions and then store ice cream in the freezer.
- To serve, place betel leaves onto a small plate.
Top with the coconut, date and a scoop of ice cream.
Sprinkle with mukhwas.
