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Ice Cream in Muslim Cultures Around the World

Ever wondered where ice cream came from? It is believed 2000 years ago in Persia, Arabs who conquered the Persian Empire enriched the recipe of snow chilled honey with milk & sugar


Here are 25 frozen treats from Muslim cultures…


1/ Es Doger, Indonesia


Made of shaved ice, coconut milk, coco pandan syrup, fermented sticky rice & fermented cassava. It is popular in Bandung, West Java & comes from Cirebon. Its name is derived from ‘es dorong gerobak’, which translates as ‘carousel-pushed ice.


2/ Dondurma Ice Cream, Turkey


Dondurma is a Turkish mastic ice cream, typically including the ingredients cream, whipped cream, salep, mastic, and sugar. It is believed to originate from the city and region of Maraş and hence also known as Maraş ice cream


3/ Faloodeh, Iran


A traditional Iranian cold dessert similar to a sorbet. It consists of thin vermicelli-sized noodles made from starch in a semi-frozen syrup containing sugar and rose water. Faloodeh is often served with lime juice and sometimes ground pistachios


4/ Potong Ice Cream, Malaysia


Potong means “cut” in Malay, referring to rectangular popsicles that are cut into portions from a bigger block. Made of coconut milk, skimmed milk, corn starch & sugar, & fused with flavours such as yam, durian & red bean (pictured)


5/ Booza Ice Cream, Syria


Made through a process of pounding & stretching in a freezer drum, instead of the churning method. In Al-Hamidiyah Souq in the Old City of Damascus, there is an ice cream store named Bakdash, renowned for its stretchy and chewy ice cream


6/ Falooda


A popular Ice cream dessert made with vermicelli, jelly, rose syrup, sabja seeds, milk and ice cream. Also spelled as 'Faluda', it is popular in India, Pakistan and the middle-east. Falooda is an Indian Mughlai version of the Persian dessert “faloodeh”


7/ ‘Abele Walls' or 'Tso Ice Cream', Ghana


Ghanaian Popsicle/Lollipop or Custard Ice Cream locally known as 'Abele Walls' or 'Tso Ice Cream' must be acknowledged. Homemade they are inserted with the local chewing stick (Miswak) and frozen