Aparajita Nice Cream

Prep Time: 5 min, plus steeping and freezing time Cook Time: 15 min

Aparajita Nice Cream

Prep Time: 5 min, plus steeping and freezing time Cook Time: 15 min

About This Recipe

Blue is my happy color — for me it’s the color of peace and contentment. It’s not a color we use in food very often, but it can work in a dessert. This nice cream, naturally colored with aparajita or butterfly pea flowers, demonstrates how a pop of color and vanilla can do the heavy lifting in a dessert. This is a dairy-free dessert with no added sugar, but it tastes and looks great

The Benefits

Bananas consists of potassium — great for the heart health and kidney regulation — some B vitamins and quality resistant fiber that helps maintain gut health and promote satiety. Aparajita or butterfly pea flowers are rich in anti-inflammatory compounds called ternatins. They are also high in antioxidants such as kaempferol and p-Coumaric acid, which are known to work against cancer cells and have an anti-microbial effect.

Note: Butterfly pea flowers are available online or at Thai grocers. The day before you plan to make the nice cream, peel the bananas, chop and freeze in a freezer-proof bag ideally overnight, or for at least 4 hours 


Equipment: Blender or food processor

Ingredients

Serves 4
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) coconut milk
  • 15 to 20 dried aparajita (butterfly pea) flowers
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 4 (600 g) ripe bananas, peeled, chopped and frozen
  • Sea salt

For the Garnish

  • 4 fresh lychees
  • 5 to 8 tulsi (holy basil) or purple basil leaves
  • 1 Tbsp toasted shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup edible flowers such as phlox

For the Garnish

  • 4 fresh lychees
  • 5 to 8 tulsi (holy basil) or purple basil leaves
  • 1 Tbsp toasted shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup edible flowers such as phlox

Directions

  1. Step 1
    Heat coconut milk in a shallow pan until just about to simmer. Add butterfly pea flowers, stir and continue to warm over very low heat for about 2 minutes. Slit the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds, and add both seeds and pod to the coconut milk. Stir and switch off heat. Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover, and let it steep in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
  2. Step 2
    Drop frozen bananas into a blender and strain in the coconut milk, removing the flowers and vanilla pod. Add a tiny pinch of sea salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pulse or blend in short bursts, pushing down the mixture with a wooden spoon. If your bananas were well frozen, the nice cream is ready to garnish and serve; if you prefer it firmer, pour it into a container and return to the freezer to let it harden, about 2 to 4 hours.
  3. Step 3
    Prepare the garnish: Peel lychees, slit to remove the seeds, and cut into long slivers. Cut the basil leaves into long slivers or leave them whole.
  4. Step 4
    Take out the nice cream and scoop out to serve. You may need to let it soften on the counter for 10 minutes. Garnish with toasted coconut, lychee, edible flowers and tulsi.

Substitutions: Use 2 to 3 tsp butterfly pea powder instead of dried whole flowers. Feel free to play with the garnish.

Try It with: Spiced Roasted Papaya, instead of the yogurt, for a tropical overload. 

Photo by Thomas George