Frozen Yogurt Popsicles for Indian Summers

Shop-bought ice lollies are largely sugar, water and colour. Made at home with dahi, the same format becomes something with actual protein and live cultures in it — and children cannot tell the difference.

The base formula

For six standard moulds:

• 2 cups thick dahi or Greek yogurt
• 1 cup fruit puree
• 3 to 4 tablespoons honey or sugar
• A pinch of salt

Blend, pour, insert sticks, freeze for six hours or overnight.

Why the pinch of salt

Salt suppresses bitterness and amplifies sweetness, which matters more in frozen food than anywhere else, because cold blunts your perception of sweetness considerably. A pinch will not make it salty; it will make the fruit taste more like itself.

Four combinations

Alphonso mango and cardamom

Mango pulp, dahi, honey, a pinch of green cardamom. The one everybody asks for again.

Strawberry and basil seed

Strawberry puree, dahi, honey, a spoon of soaked basil seeds stirred through at the end. The seeds add texture and a nod to falooda.

Rose and pistachio

Dahi, rose syrup, chopped pistachio. Pour in two stages so the pistachio suspends rather than sinking to one end.

Coconut and pineapple

Coconut milk in place of dahi, blended pineapple, a squeeze of lime. Entirely dairy-free.

Getting the texture right

• Use thick yogurt. Watery dahi produces an ice lolly rather than a creamy one.
• Do not skip the sweetener. Sugar lowers the freezing point; without it you get a solid brick.
• Tap the mould before freezing to release air pockets.
• Fill to about a centimetre below the rim. The mixture expands.

Getting them out

Run the mould under warm — not hot — water for five to ten seconds and pull steadily. Do not twist, and do not force it; the stick will come out and the popsicle will not.

Storage

Once released, wrap individually in parchment or cling film and store in a zip bag. This stops them fusing together and reduces surface frost. They keep about three weeks before texture starts to suffer.

A note for parents

These are one of the few ways we know of to get fruit and cultured dairy into a child during peak summer with zero negotiation. Let them choose the fruit and they will eat almost anything you put in the mould.