Riti’s Kulfi Ice Cream is in the Nibble Kitchen booth at today’s market.
This is authentic kulfi so if you’ve had this flavor at Toscanini’s or Christina’s prepare to be amazed by the depth of flavor, richness available in two sizes and 4 or 5 flavors.
I ordered a small mango saffron. Prepackaged it needs maybe 6 minutes to eat easily with a spoon.
I was tempted by lemongrass chai as well and the cardamon but those will be for next time.
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Thanks for the information. Did you get the impression this was to be a regular occurrence? I can’t find any information on the Nibble Kitchen site besides this:
https://nibblesomerville.com/riti-doshi
Is Riti’s made with reduce/caramelized milk? You’re right that what Toscanini’s and Christina’s pass off in-store as “kulfi” is a travesty: an ice-milk, gritty with tiny nuts and harsh with coarsely pre-ground cardamom. Oddly, Christina’s once produced a genuine kulfi that a now-closed chai&snack shop in Arlington carried. Oh, the pani-puri, and the chaat, followed by falooda or kulfi of those bygone days!
(If I may doff my dabbler hat for a minute, and put on my quibbler: I can see why Riti might choose to label her product as kulfi ice cream, but technically kulfi is a kind of ice cream, so it’s like calling it “ice cream ice cream”. I’m probably the only one on whom it grates, so ignore me, but to my ears it’s as jarring as “chai tea”.)
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It’s when people say “PIN number” to my ears. I’m like, what do you think the N stands for? 
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ATM Machine.
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In all honesty I did not ask how often she might be at USFM. Tony who is the facilitator at Nibble spoke about the appearance as a next step. I took this to mean prior to launching a pop-up or a brick and mortar location. Nibble is very supportive of people and their ideas.
Riti was nervous. I certainly hope she appears again. I would like to give some feedback as well as try a few more flavors, such as the lemongrass chai. I digress.
With respect to ingredients I did read the label, what I recall was organic milk, organic sweetened condensed milk, mango pulp, saffron. I thought it was delicious - smooth, rich but not heavy or cloying. There was another gentleman in the booth who was deliberate in stating this Riti’s is authentic kulfi.
To extend the conversation “shrimp scampi” . People seldom really listen to themselves talk.
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I wonder if it’s possible that:
- The texture of the kulfi ice cream may be more like that of traditional ice cream (whipped) than of traditional kulfi (not whipped). I’ve never had it, so this is just a speculation.
- The words “ice cream” may help create a context for customer expectation, especially those who might not recognize “kulfi” on its own but might be open to trying a previously unfamiliar flavor of ice cream. It’s easy to get pedantic about this, like how can brands like FOMU offer the rather oxymoronic vegan or plant-based “ice cream” when there’s no cream, Shake Shack describing its frozen custard as soft premium ice cream, or the multiple redundancy embedded when discussing Chai Yen Thai’s Thai iced tea ice cream?
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Scampi are not shrimp, actually. They’re langoustines, so shrimp scampi is shrimp prepared in an Italian style used for langoustines.
Although you’re replying to @digga, It was for this reason that I’d said:
@sciaccagirl: It’s the condensed milk in the ingredients you listed that would give this “kulfi ice cream” the caramelized taste of “authentic” kulfi. (Ideally, you’d boil the milk down yourself, as I do when I make it at home – complete with metal kulfi-cones to freeze it in – but condensed milk is an understandable shortcut.)
Yes, when in Italy. I have yet to find langoustines locally in the fish markets I frequent. Shrimp scampi style is a more precise/accurate name for the dish IMHO.
Thanks to @fooddabbler for reminding me of this post! Nibble’s latest email from 12/4/2024 said that Riti’s kulfi will be sold at the newly opened Nibble Retail Market for the next four months, though it didn’t say where the retail market is - assuming Bow Market? Here’s the blurb about the kulfi:
“Matki Artisinal Kulfi - Kulfi is a rich and decadent style of ice cream from Indian. Instead of a custard base (with eggs) like most Western ice cream, Kulfi is made from high-quality milk that is reduced until the natural sugars begin to caramelize. The base flavor of Kulfi is green cardamom and Chef Riti’s offerings include Saffron & Rose, Mango, Coffee and Brown Butter, and the classic Matka, which is green cardamom with pistachios and cashews.”
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After several failed attempts to get the kulfi from Nibble at Bow Market (Nibble mentioned there were some issues during the Christmas/NY holiday but now are regularly open during Friday evenings and Saturdays), I happened to see Riti at the Somerville Winters Farmer’s Market. Picked up two flavors - the matka original and rose pistachio, both of which were creamy and delicious. I’m not familiar with kulfi, but aside from the spices and pistachio, both had a deep carmelized flavor that was pleasant, and seemed to me to not be as sweet as most US ice cream. Would get again!
Each container was $5 and were on the smaller side. A little pricy, but to my mind price was on par with a scoop from a higher end ice cream parlor, and tasted a league better than Cristina’s kulfi flavor (haven’t tried Toscaninni’s).
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Thanks for the initial tip @sciaccagirl ! Would not have found this treat without your info.
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You are most welcome ! Thank you for sharing the up to date info.
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