Nunafoodie: Qaggiavuut Dinner - Finding True North

Nunafoodie is a series that documents my efforts to entertain and share my love for food, north of 60. Scroll down to the bottom of each post for a bonus recipe!

I was very excited to cook up a dinner for the lovely people of the Qaggiavuut Board of Directors. Qaggiavuut is Nunavut’s society for the performing arts, and run by a group of talented, creative, and community-driven members. Ellen Hamilton, Qaggiavuut’s Secretary-Treasurer, informed me that, like the last meal I made, this dinner would also need to provide gluten-free and vegetarian options. Again, I decided to keep it simple by making the entire meal gluten-free and veggie with the best cuisine there is for food restrictions: Indian.

Now, I’m not saying this has anything to do with the fact that I was born in Bangladesh, but I can make a mean curry, with all the fixin’s. From what I heard, the Qaggiavuut Board agreed!

Thanks @_anubha and Ellen for preparing a lovely curry dinner. Proper way to start a board meeting! pic.twitter.com/ReuEEM6gg7

— Qaggiavuut! (@Qaggiavuut) April 24, 2014

Thank you to Aaron Watson for tweeting about the evening meal. It started with curry and sides, and finished the only way it could – with coffee and kulfi, Indian ice cream (recipe below).

And thanks again to @_anubha for Indian ice cream to go with Ellen's espresso. pic.twitter.com/VIMYwFWQ7R

— Qaggiavuut! (@Qaggiavuut) April 24, 2014

Basic Kulfi Recipe

Kulfi is super simple to make, easier than Western ice cream because it doesn’t need to be churned. You can flavour it with a host of South Asian flavours, like rose water, pistachio, almond, mango, or coconut, but my favourite is cardamom. The recipe below is a new one I tried for Qaggiavuut, because the one I usually includes bread. By far the best part of the meal, and one of my all-time favourite desserts.

Ingredients

8 cups whole milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup milk powder
10 cardamom pods, crushed or 1-2 tsp cardamom powder
chopped pistachios for garnish

Preparation

Mix the milk, condensed milk, and milk powder in a pot over low heat for 35-40 minutes until the mixture thickens. Scrape the sides so you don’t lose any of the milky goodness! Once the milk mixture has thickened, add in the cardamom and stir. Pour the mixture into a container – any container! I used a glass baking dish, but you can use kulfi or popsicle moulds, yogurt containers, or individual bowls. Whatever you use, place the container in the freezer overnight. Remove from freezer 15-20 minutes before serving so the kulfi melts just a little, so it’s super luscious and creamy, and serve with a sprinkle of pistachios.

To convert this basic kulfi into “crème brûlée” kulfi, simply allow the condensed milk to caramelize on the stovetop until the sugars turn to a rich brown. This will give the kulfi a burnt sugar flavour.