Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

I don't eat to live. I live to eat.

Dessert

Chai Boba Ice Cream Bars

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These Chai Boba Ice Cream Bars are nothing short of being on trend right now. And the best part is that you don’t need an ice cream maker – I’ll show you two different ways you can make this.  

The ice cream base consists of whipped cream flavored with tea and whole spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, mace, and star anise along with soft and chewy brown sugar boba.

The first way to do this without churning is simply adding sweetened condensed milk (like with every 3 ingredient ice cream recipe on the internet) and the second way is cooking egg yolks and sugar in a double broiler and then adding it to the whipped cream (similar to semifreddo). The first way is easier but to be honest the second way tastes closer to traditional ice cream.

As for the boba, don’t make the same mistake I did and use tapioca pearls. When they freeze, they freeze hard! I did some research and realized you have to use glutinous rice flour in order for this recipe to work. The pearls were actually incredibly easy to make and cooked in minutes. I finished them by tossing them in a brown sugar syrup.

I have to give credit where it’s due. Edd Kimber from “The Boy Who Bakes” (if you remember he’s from the Great British Bakeoff) had the brilliant idea of steeping heavy cream with tea bags directly instead of just adding chai to the whipped cream. I’ve made his masala chai ice cream recipe before (huge fan, I linked his website below) and so I adapted it into these boba ice cream bars. (By the way please check out his recipes, they’re awesome.)

https://www.theboywhobakes.co.uk/recipes/2017/7/14/no-churn-chai-ice-cream?rq=chai%20ice%20cream

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Chai Boba Ice Cream Bars

(adapted from The Boy Who Bakes masala chai no-churn ice cream)

Servings 3 bars

Ingredients

Chai Ice Cream Base

  • 1/2 c heavy cream
  • 1 tea bag (or 1 tsp of tea leaves)
  • 1 tsp whole spices (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, mace, star anise)
  • 1.5 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk OR 2 egg yolk + 2Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tiny pinch of salt

Boba

  • 1/4 cup glutinous rice flour
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp hot chai (no sugar added) or hot water

Brown Sugar Syrup

  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1.5 Tbsp water

Instructions

Ice Cream Base

  1. Add the heavy whipping cream, whole spices, and tea bags/leaves into a container. Cover and allow mixture to sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

  2. Strain the whipping cream and beat into stiff peaks using an electric mixture.

  3. Add in the vanilla and salt.

  4. Now you have two options. You can either stir in sweetened condensed milk or if you want more of a traditional ice cream base you can whisk two egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl and cook over a double broiler. Basically add water to a pot and bring to a simmer and then take your bowl with the eggs and sugar and put it on top of the pot (without touching the water) and whisk it over until the yolks turn pale. (If this is confusing, just search it on youtube, I promise you it's easy!) After the yolks mixture has cooled add it to the whipped cream.

  5. Taste and adjust for sweetness.

Boba

  1. In a bowl mix your glutinous rice flour, brown sugar, and hot chai (may substitute with hot water). Mix with a spatula or your hand. Combine to form a dough.

  2. Roll the dough out into a thin log and cut into tiny pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

  3. Make sure to coat the ball with extra flour. This ensures they won't stick when cooking.

  4. Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add in your boba pearls. Once they float to the top, take them out using a slotted spoon. It should only take a few minutes.

  5. Now in a small sauce pan, make the brown sugar syrup. Add the brown sugar and water. Bring to a simmer and add in your boba. Cook until the syrup thickens.

  6. Allow your boba/brown sugar mixture to cool and then add it to the ice cream base. Freeze in popsicle molds overnight.

Saffron Panna Cotta

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Guys I found halal gelatin! Which means I can finally attempt a panna cotta recipe – something I’ve been meaning to make for so long.

Panna Cotta is straight-forward to make and only requires a few ingredients – cream or milk, gelatin, and some sort of flavoring – typically a vanilla bean.

Since I’m not adding anything tart on top of the panna cotta (such as fruit), I wanted to make sure the Panna Cotta base wasn’t too sweet or rich. So I decided to stir in a bit of Greek yogurt which really did help balance everything out and enhance that melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Feel free to top the Saffron Panna Cotta with pistachios and whipped cream or some saffron milk (saffron strands soaked in warm milk) for extra decadence.

The best thing about Panna Cotta is that it only takes minutes to put together!

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Saffron Panna Cotta

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp gelatin *** (I used the Halal Hearthy Foods brand)
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 5-6 strands saffron
  • 3 cardamom pods (or pinch of cardamom powder)
  • 1/4 cup greek yogurt

Instructions

  1. In a small ramekin or bowl, add your gelatin. Pour the tablespoon of water over the gelatin. Set aside.

  2. In a saucepan, add your milk, cream, cardamom, and saffron.

  3. Cook the cream mixture on medium heat for 5 minutes or until the saffron infuses into the cream. The cream mixture should turn yellow.

  4. Now add in you soaked gelatin to the cream. Whisk until the gelatin is dissolved.

  5. Remove from heat and remove cardamom pods.

  6. Whisk in the greek yogurt.

  7. Pour the Panna Cotta mixture into your ramekins/serving dishes. Feel free to brush the ramekins with a bit of oil – will make it easier to remove from molds later.

  8. Allow the Panna Cotta base to come to room temperature. Then place in fridge for at least 4-5 hours.

  9. To help remove the Panna Cotta from the ramekin when serving, run a pairing knife around the edges. You can also add the ramekin to a bowl of hot water for 20 seconds. Flip onto a plate.

  10. Serve the Panna Cotta as is or with whipped cream and pistachios on top.

Kashmiri Chai Boba

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**** This is obviously not meant to be authentic! Real noon chai (originating from Kashmir) is typically served warm with just salt. The intention behind this post is to come up with a fun fusion sweet treat while still being appreciative of kashmiri tea which comes from a rich food culture.

One of my favorite things to do in Ramadan with friends is to get bubble tea before or after tarawih. But since we’re on lockdown and most boba places are shutting down early, I thought it would be nice to share a recipe where you can try and make it at home using Kashmiri Chai.

Kashmiri Chai also known as Noon Chai comes from the region of Kashmir – located in the northern part of India and currently under siege (If you don’t know about what’s going on in Kashmir, I highly urge you to take the time to read up on it!). It’s famous for its pink color and is usually served with a bit of salt.

And yes I know, traditionally you’re supposed to drink it warm. But I am always down to play around with new ideas and honestly, this chai is just as awesome in the iced form too.

Now Kashmiri Chai can take a little practice to make and requires you to follow the directions to a T.

I’ve outlined some tips for you to help ensure you get a lovely blush pink shade:

  • You have to brew the tea for at least 30-40 minutes, if not longer! Keep cooking the tea until you have about ¼ of the water you originally started with.
  • When you add the ice cubes, turn the heat off. This whole process is supposed to shock the tea into turning pink.
  • Stir. Stir. Stir. You can use a ladle or a whisk or both.
  • The tea has to resemble the color of pomegranate juice before adding the milk. If it’s too dark, then you’re tea will end up being a tan color.
  • Use evaporated milk. I’ve had better luck with it than regular milk. Plus It just tastes better in tea and helps give a slightly creamier consistency.
  • The shade of pink is not supposed to be this hot pink strawberry frappuccino color. The pinkest I could get it was a dark pink blush. If you’re able to get it even lighter, awesome! But if you can’t and you still want it super pink, you can always add in some food coloring or roohafza!

After you make the tea, let it cool and store it in the fridge until iftar time (or whenever you want to drink it). Add some ice, tapioca pearls (you can find these online) and top with whipped cream, pistachios, and rose petals.

(****Instead of pictures, I did a whole video tutorial that you can find on my instagram page: fatimasfabulouskitchen or Tik Tok: fatimasfabkitchen)

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Kashmiri Chai with Boba

Ingredients

Kashmiri Chai

  • 5 cups water
  • 2 star anise
  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 1 Tbsp kashmiri tea leaves
  • 1/2 tsp himalayan pink salt or regular salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup ice cubes
  • 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
  • 1 Tbsp sugar or to taste

Boba Tea Stuff

  • 3-4 Tbsp Tapioca Pearls
  • Whipped Cream optional
  • chopped pistachios optional
  • rose petals optional

Instructions

Kashmiri Chai

  1. Fill up your pot with water. Add your salt, cardamom, and star anise. Slowly bring to a boil.

  2. Now add your tea leaves. Using a ladle or whisk stir every 5 minutes or so. Brew for at least 30-40 minutes. The tea will start looking orange-brown at first, but eventually the tea should having a dark reddish-purple color (like pomegranate juice) and you should have about 1/4 of the water you started with left in the pot.

  3. Now add in your baking soda. It will bubble up. Stir.

  4. Now turn off the heat and add in the cup of ice cubes. Whisk/stir vigorously for at least 5 minutes. This will ensure you retain that deep pomegranate color.

  5. Turn the heat back on to medium and cook down for another 15 minutes or so, stirring consistently.

  6. Add in your can of evaporated milk. The tea should turn a pink shade. Keep stirring. The tea should become nice and frothy. Cook down for another 15 minutes or so.

  7. Add your sugar. Stir. If you are unsatisfied with the color, you can always add food coloring or roohafza at this step.

  8. Remove tea from stove and let it cool to room temperature. Then place is in the fridge to chill until you are ready to serve.

Turning the Chai into a Boba Drink

  1. Boil tapioca pearls according to package instructions and let soak in water and honey or sugar for a half hour. Make sure not too keep them out for too long because they can harden over time.

  2. When ready to assemble, take a talll glass and add your boba and ice. Then add your chilled kashmiri chai.

  3. Top with whipped cream, pistachios, and rose petals. Your Kashmiri Chai Boba is ready to drink!