Not a single summer goes by without me thinking of the gorgeous Lonavali ice cream that is available in small family-run ice cream parlours in Ahmedabad. These parlours specialise in sort-of home-made ice creams, both common flavours like Kesar Pista and Chocolate and some highly uncommon ones, like Lonavali.
Lonavali ice cream, as the name suggests, is a tribute to the famous chikkis of Lonavala. With a faint hint of rose, a gorgeous green colour, a generous dosing of pistachios, and bits and pieces of crunchy sesame brittle or chikki in it, Lonavali would make for a fabulous treat any time of the year. My friends and I would down cupfuls of this green beauty, especially in the hot summer months. Sadly, though, it has been ages since I had a cup of Lonavali – it isn’t available anywhere in Bangalore.
I had been wanting to try out my own version of this ice cream, at home, since ages, but it kept being pushed to the back burner again and again and again. Finally, the experiment happened yesterday, and was a happy one at that. I managed to create an ice cream with sesame-and-jaggery brittle that was very, very close in taste to the Lonavali, and everyone at home loved it to bits. Coincidentally, yesterday was Ugadi, the Kannada new year day, when it is customary to consume ellu (sesame) and bella (jaggery). So, yay to that!
I’ll be improvising on this recipe with time, but, for now, let me share with you the one that I used yesterday. So, here’s presenting to you Lonavali aka Ellu Bella aka Tilgul ice cream!
Ingredients (Makes about 4 servings):
- 250 ml whipping cream (I used Amul)
- 200 grams sweetened condensed milk (I used Amul Mithai Mate)
- A pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon rose essence
- 1/4 cup sesame-jaggery revdi (use the large ones that have a rose fragrance to them)
- 1/4 cup jaggery powder or to taste
- About 2 tablespoons roasted, unsalted, shelled pistachios
Method:
- Lightly crush the revdi using a mortar and pestle. Do not make a fine powder, and let large-ish chunks of the revdi remain. You should get chunks of the revdi in your mouth as you eat this dish – that is the whole point of this ice cream! Keep aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, take the condensed milk, cream, salt, pistachios, rose essence, crushed revdi, and jaggery powder. Whisk well, until everything is well combined together.
- Transfer the mixture to an air-tight, clean, dry box.
- Put the box, closed, in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator. Freeze at maximum temperature for 3-4 hours or until the ice cream is set well. That’s it!
Notes:
- Adjust the quantity of jaggery that you use, as per your taste preferences.
- The jaggery will add a slightly salty undertone to the ice cream. If you are not okay with that, use sugar to taste instead. Alternatively, you could use a mix of jaggery and sugar. It is the jaggery and the revdi together that give this ice cream its lovely caramel colour.
- I used revdi to make this ice cream because of the hint of roses that they possess. I would strongly recommend using revdi, but if you don’t have them, you could use sesame chikki instead, too.
- The Lonavali ice cream in Ahmedabad makes use of sesame chikki, as far as I remember, so I used revdi with sesame too. You could make this recipe using peanut chikki or peanut brittle as well.
- This ice cream melts dreadfully fast, in a matter of seconds. It melted before I could bring a cupful of it from our kitchen to the living room, to take a picture! So, remove the box from the freezer only when you are ready to serve the ice cream.
- Add green food colour if you want, if you wish for the ice cream to look exactly like Lonavali from Ahmedabad. I skipped that, though.
You like? I would love it if you could try out this recipe at home, and I hope you’ll love it too!
The World Through My Eyes 
Interesting! What I would do to improvise on the melting too fast front would be to use lesser condensed milk (or lesser in proportion to the cream), and to first whisk the cream till nice, fluffy, and airy and then combine the rest of the ingredients into it and then freeze it. Perhaps it is this cream + condensed milk ratio which is affecting the melting point of what is a very novel flavour. 🙂
LikeLike
@Babushka
Oh, thanks a lot for that tip. I’ll try that out. 🙂
LikeLike
Hi there! I loved the photos and the recipe. I wanted to know where did you buy revdis? Any specific shops that sell this?
LikeLike
@Rusty N
Thank you! Good to see you here.. Long time! How have you been?
I have seen these revdis at quite a few shops in Bangalore. I got them at Aishwarya Departmental Store in HSR Layout.
LikeLike
I always lurk around 😉 both in this and the other blog. I am fine and happy to see you so productive! Tell me the secret; I don’t seem to get a hang of it 😦
I wonder if I will get it in Chennai. May be I should try the bigger/exclusive shops like Brown Tree or Amma Naanna types. Will let you know if I get hold it and make it to the icecream making stage 😛
LikeLike
@RustyN
Thank you so much. That’s really gratifying to know. 🙂
No secret. I love it, that’s why I do it. It keeps me alive. It helps me learn. It makes me grow.
You might not find this in specialty stores. In Bangalore too, it is only small stores that stock it. Try Place Of Origin.
LikeLike
A big thumbs up to you! 🙂 Keep posting – it’s a joy to read.
I shall try getting hold of this revdi this month, for sure.
LikeLike
@RustyN
Thank you so much! 🙂 It means a whole lot to me.
LikeLike