It’s been a long time since I first thought of making curry ice cream, and I finally got around to it this winter. I thought this was a good time to share it, for those of you in seasonal climates, feeling the first signs of spring among the remaining chill of winter. You might associate ice cream with balmy weather, but the many spices in this recipe provide an earthy, invigorating, and overall warming effect.
I have a friend who’s lived most of her life convinced that she strongly dislikes Indian cuisine, especially any dishes having to do with curry. Things have changed for her recently, after taste testing many curry-centric dishes in my kitchen, which I have, somewhat strategically, asked her to try. For better or for worse, I’m the type of person, who often makes it their goal to get people to like whole food-based ingredients they have rejected. That might be one of the reasons I have this blog! To end the story, my friend has grown to not just like, but love curry, and she now frequently makes it at home. She has also turned out to be the number one fan of this ice-cream, so this one’s for her.
This story might be proof of the theory that any type of food can be delicious if made from scratch, with the right ingredients and attention. It also reminds me to keep trying foods I think I dislike, in hopes of developing a taste for them.
This ice-cream was a big hit among those who tried it. The mingling of sweet and savory, creamy and spicy makes for a bold and complex flavor. And you might be thinking this same thing at this point – it would be interesting to try making curry ice cream with no sweetener, to serve next to savory dishes. I will certainly be doing that one day soon.
Curry Coconut Ice Cream
Note: If you are looking for a trusted source for buying your spices, Mountain Rose Herbs is an excellent online herb and spice shop, stocking all the freshest, organic spices you will need for this recipe and beyond.
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 whole cloves
3 green cardamom pods
2 black peppercorns
2 cups coconut milk
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
1-inch fresh ginger root – peeled, sliced and crushed with a knife
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon xanathan gum or 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1. Toast whole dried spices in a medium, heavy-bottom sauce pan over medium low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant. Coarsely crush spices in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. Return to the pan, add coconut milk, turmeric and ginger. Bring to a boil over medium heat, lower the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes, partially covered. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. If you have a high-speed blender such as Blendtech or Vitamix, pour milk with spices into the blender, add maple syrup and xanathan gum/arrowroot powder and blend until smooth. If you have a regular blender, strain the milk and discard spices. Add strained milk into the blender with maple syrup and xanathan gum/arrowroot powder and blend to combine.
3. Place the mixture in the refrigerator and let chill thoroughly, preferably overnight. Churn in an ice-cream machine for 20-25 minutes or according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Scoop into a container and freeze for at least 4 hours. When the ice-cream becomes hard, let it soften at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Looks exotic and it reminds me of my turmeric ice cream. Love your use of spices and need to make it too, once! Thank you for this cheerful recipe, Anya!
The name of the ice cream says it’s Curry Coconut, but there is no Curry listed in the ingredients! What do I do? Sounds wonderful and would love to make it. I
Hi Cindy,
Curry Spice is a spice blend, which usually consists of the spices that I call for in this recipe (except the star anise). I like to mix my own curry, which leads to more flavorful and aromatic results. You can definitely use a pre-blended curry mix here, but since different curries vary in their degree of spice, I cannot tell you exactly how much curry to put in your ice cream. Just start out with adding one teaspoon at a time to the ice cream mix and taste along the way. Once you reach your desired flavor/spice, you can make the ice cream. Hope this helps and enjoy :)
Wow! What a great idea. I have to try this!
Hello,
Loved your ideas of mixing in with spices.
Surely going to try this one out. Great recipe.
Thank you for sharing :)
Shantanu sinha
This is so intriguing! I love the idea. I need to try this as soon as the weather best warmer. <3
Waouh! It is a fabulous idea and a magnificent recipe! I miss a ice cream maker which I should buy before summer. I shall test your recipe immediately! Thank you, Anya!
This is one of the weirdest things I have run across. I will forward this to my dad to see if he’s willing to give it a try – he loves curry to death!
I do have to admit, it sounds very interesting and looks quite good from the pictures :-). Sadly, we don’t own an ice cream mixer or I would give it a try.
This ice cream is a crazy idea– i was a bit hesitant to try but decided to today and I am SO HAPPY that I did. It is so so good!
I recently ordered this chai spice blend off of etsy and included31 tsp of it in the recipe as a substitution for the cinnamon etc… and it put it over the top.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/263470098/medicinal-masala-chai-blend
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Danica,
I am SO happy you tried and liked the ice cream. That masala chai looks good and I bet it was a great addition!
Anya
Loved this recipe, In South India you can take any food stuf you will find coconut, But I heared first time curry coconut sounds good, Looks Special and Yummy So i will try in my kitchen thanks for sharing your Ingredients and method to make..
The recipe looks beautiful. I am making it tomorrow, however I seem to imagine the ground up spices in the ice cream vs. the strained out spices will look and taste quite different. I have a Cuisinart Blender. Is there anyway to grind up the spices anyway and add in even if you don’t have the a high speed blender? I would really like that added punch.
Thanks so much.
Hi Michele,
You can first dry toast all the spices and grind them into a homemade curry powder. Then just blend the curry powder with the milk and the rest of the ingredients, process and chill. Hope you enjoy the ice cream :)
That looks so good! I’ve been musing over curried ice-cream recently but am yet to take the plunge!!
These colors! WOW!
Whoa! I didn’t see this one coming! Who would have thought to use curry ingredients in an ice cream? Super interested in trying this!
This curry icecream looks amazing im gonna try it soon.