Indian Sooji Kheer Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami

This Indian-style ice cream definitely will be special! It’s really easy to make with only a few ingredients, and the Ninja Creami does all the work for you to achieve the perfect ice cream! For ice cream lovers in your life, definitely put your heart in a bowl with this unique ice cream recipe as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get started for free today by signing up to my newsletter, plus all of my latest recipes will be sent right to your inbox!

What Is Sooji Kheer?

Sooji Kheer is an Indian milk pudding made with semolina, milk, and spices. I have the classic recipe on the blog which you can read about here for more details. Sooji kheer involves roasting semolina with ghee and milk, and adding cardamom and saffron for flavor. We add some maple syrup for a touch of sweetness. It’s a fairly easy dessert to make and it was a favourite in my household growing up! With this ice cream version, we’re going to take these elements but throw in some sweetened condensed milk to get an amazing ice cream texture. To be honest with you, you’ll experience the classic Sooji Kheer in this ice cream with much fewer steps and without all the babying over the stove that your stovetop kheer requires! Of course, you’ll need to be patient when considering freezing the ice cream base, but this can be avoided if you plan accordingly!

Why You Need to Make This Indian Sooji Kheer Ice Cream!

• Indian-style recipe: Love a good kheer? This Kheer Ice Cream recipe has all of the aromatic flavors of the base of a classic Indian kheer all packed into a satisfying ice cream treat! You’ve got a bit of texture coming from the roasted semolina, contributing to layers in the ice cream. Furthermore, you’ll see saffron threads blooming right before your eyes when you take your ice cream out! Lastly, we’ve got sweetness from the sweetened condensed milk and a lovely colour that comes from the saffron as it blooms when you’re enjoying your ice cream. For some crunch, feel free to add your favourite nuts and/or dried fruit!
• Few ingredients: Only a handful of core ingredients are required to make this Indian-Style Ice Cream recipe! It is likely you already have everything on hand, but if not, then no worries! You can easily find the ingredients at your local Indian and South Asian grocer, or on Amazon.
• Natural ingredients: I never add gums, thickening agents, or artificial sweeteners. Everything here is natural, and the textures and flavours come from whole ingredients!
• Easy process: In contrast to a traditional Indian kheer, no cooking is required! The only “cooking” that will be done for this recipe is to roast the semolina in a pan.
• Smooth and creamy: What else can you ask for in an ice cream? It is just so smooth, scoop-able, and gives you all the joy and fun you love when having ice cream!

Extra Tips for Smooth and Creamy Sooji Kheer Ninja Creami

• Using full-fat milk will get you the best creamiest ice cream. However, if you want to use lower fat milk, you can still achieve a delicious treat by re-spinning multiple times.
• Feel comfortable with experimenting with the re-spin function on the Ninja Creami machine in case the final product does not turn out as creamy of a texture as you are hoping for.
• To help get the semolina to rise, after your first spin, unlock the container from the Ninja Creami machine and remove the lid. Scrape the sides, put the lid back on, and return the container to the Ninja Creami machine. Select “Re-spin.”
• If desired, feel free to mix-in the pistachios or dried fruit instead of garnishing on top. To do this, after you’ve spun the Ninja Creami for your base to reach the desired texture, then remove the container from the machine and make a hole in the centre. Add in the chopped pistachios, then return the container to the Ninja Creami machine and select the “Mix-in” feature. The Ninja Creami will distribute the pistachios or dried fruit of your choice throughout the ice cream without crushing the topping.
• If you don’t want to make an entire pint, you can use the recipe card to reduce the amount of ice cream base. The Ninja Creami will still spin less liquid under the “max fill” line perfectly fine! That being said, if you’re using the Ninja Creami deluxe ice cream maker, you can use the recipe card to scale the recipe by 1.5 times, or make the same amount as outlined but not fill your pint up all the way.
• To store the ice cream in the freezer long term, make sure you have used an airtight container in the freezer. Furthermore, be sure to cover the ice cream with plastic wrap, with the wrap pressed firmly against the surface of ice cream. Covering with plastic wrap isn’t entirely necessary, but it will benefit you in keeping the ice cream fresher for longer because it will prevent ice crystals from forming.

Tools Needed to Make Kheer Ice Cream

• Ninja Creami ice cream maker
• Extra Ninja Creami pints
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Whisk
• Saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Ramekins
• Ice cream scoop
• Mortar and pestle, to crush pistachios

Ingredients for Indian Kheer Ice Cream

You can find the full list of ingredients and save the recipe for later by scrolling to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD, or by pressing the “Jump to Recipe” button. The recipe card can also help you scale the recipe based on how many pints of this ice cream you want to make. By default, this recipe yields one pint in the regular Ninja Creami ice cream maker.

For the Ice Cream Base

• Whole milk: You can use a lighter milk if you would like, but full fat milk gives the best results not just for a classic Sooji Kheer but for when you make ice cream recipes in the Ninja Creami. Using full fat milk reduces the amount of re-spins you need and just gives such a smooth final texture without the iciness some people experience using lower fat or plant-based milk.
• Semolina: Any kind of semolina flour you can find. Toasting it before adding it to our ice cream base will add a bit of a grainy texture which makes this ice cream so unique!
• Vanilla extract: Essential to enhance the flavours and sweetness of our base!
• Sweetened condensed milk: This adds an amazing thickness and lots of sweetness to our ice cream. Because there is a lot of sugar in sweetened condensed milk, we’re not going to add in any extra sweetener. If you have a crazy sweet tooth, of course you can add in some maple syrup, honey or table sugar. Taste the base and see if you think it is necessary! You can use canned sweetened condensed milk or make your own! If you don’t have sweetened condensed milk for whatever reason, you can substitute with heavy cream and add your preferred sweetener. It may not be an exact substitute, but the heavy cream will give you the richness you’re looking for to achieve a classic ice cream texture.
• Salt: Essential to bring out the sweetness and all of the wonderful aromatics in our ice cream base. Remember, freezing food mutes the flavours, so you need to enhance everything so that when you thaw and spin your creami base, you don’t lose the flavour!
• Ground green cardamom: I’m using green cardamom that was already ground. If you don’t have cardamom powder, then you can use whole green cardamom pods that are crushed. This is key for authentic flavours!
• Saffron: Typically, we put saffron threads in warm milk so that they can bloom and release their colour. However, you can add the saffron threads directly into your ice cream base since the saffron will have time to bloom as it’s freezing with the entire ice cream base.

For the Toppings

• Pistachios: Pistachios are my favourite! They really bring a classic kheer together for garnish, so I’ll be roughly chopping them for garnish after I’ve scooped out my ice cream. If you want to distribute the pistachios throughout, you can use them as a mix-in. Alternatively, you can garnish with other dried fruits such as raisins, or other nuts like cashews, almonds, or peanuts.

How to Make Indian Kheer Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami

Dry roast the semolina on a pan on medium to medium-high heat until light golden brown.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the condensed milk, whole milk, saffron, ground green cardamom, salt and vanilla extract.

Whisk your mixture well.

Pour the mixture into the Creami container. Place the container in a leveled spot in the freezer and freeze for at least 24 hours.

Once the Ice Cream base has been completely frozen, place it into the container and select the “Ice Cream” setting on your Ninja Creami machine.

While the ice cream may be scoopable and smooth after the first spin, the semolina may still be at the bottom of the pint. Select the “Re-Spin” button on your Ninja Creami to bring the semolina to the top of the pin. Repeat until you’ve reached the desired texture.

Scoop immediately into a bowl and garnish with pistachios or other dried fruit of your choice!

Variations

• Chocolate: Add in some chocolate chips as a mix-in or add some cocoa powder to your base.
• Rose: Add a little bit of rose water to the ice cream base and add crushed edible rose petals as a mix-in.
• Turmeric: Make this golden by adding a touch of ground turmeric into the ice cream base.
• Mango: Add pureed mango into your ice cream base.

Storage Instructions

If you don’t finish the entire pint, then don’t worry about it! You can put it back in the freezer and eat it like you would like a pint of ice cream that you got from the store. This is because the ice cream has already been spun, so there’s no need to spin it again! It will be scoop-able and ready for you when you’re ready to dig in again! To keep the ice cream stay fresh for longer, cover the ice cream surface with plastic wrap, making sure to press down any air to preserve freshness.

More Amazing Indian Desserts

• Indian Rice Kheer in the Instant Pot
• Indian Rose Falooda with Chia Seeds
• Kesar Pista Lassi - Indian Yogurt Drink with Saffron
• Classic Sooji Halwa