Food: Popular Kolkata ice-cream brand to debut in Mumbai

As many as 17 ingredients go into making a paan flavoured icecreamIn 1985 when Anuvrat Pabrai started a small ice cream shop at Kolkatarsquos Russel Street it was to help wife Tulika gainfully utilise her time ldquoMy brotherinlaw owned a small 350 sq feet space from where we began to operate Initially we bought and sold ice cream from Vadilal and Kwalityrdquo says Pabrai who went on to invest in a factory in 1986 making Tulikarsquos Ice Cream now one of Kokatarsquos best known regional brandsThe highest selling item is the nolen gur or khajur ka gur the traditional jaggery that can be found only in West Bengal and BangladeshBut in 2008 the Pabrais were forced to shut shop due to severe labour problems ldquoKnowing nothing else but to make ice cream we took over a small factory in Kolkatarsquos Ballygunge Park Road area and decided to make a niche product mdash natural icecream of unusual flavours The aim was to offer varieties the likes of which people had never heard or tasted beforerdquo explains the 58yearold who took this decision because competing with established brands seemed commercially impracticalThe lemon grass ice cream has been inspired by Thai cuisineToday after eight years Pabrairsquos Fresh amp Naturelle Ice Creams is synonymous with the unconventional and bizarre flavours such as wasabi sandalwood which gives a cooling sensation mascarpone cheese with candied fruits aniseed saunf matcha green tea rose sandesh sandalwood and lemongrass Flavours are also adopted from different cuisines regions and fruit extractsThe Mumbai store will be launched tomorrow at JP Road VersovaAnd itrsquos got some wellknown patrons too President of India Pranab Mukerjee Rahul Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli are said to have their own favourite Pabrairsquos ldquoIn fact when Hillary Clinton visited India in 2012 she fell in love with the nolen gur or date palm jaggery flavour She was staying at the Taj and had just the ice cream for dinnerrdquo says Pabrairsquos elder son Kunal who now runs the business with his brother NishantFrom leftacircAcircu00c2u0080Acircu00c2u0088Nishant Kunal and Anuvrat Pabrai run the ice cream businessPerhaps among their celebrity list will now be a few Mumbai stars as well The brand launches its first franchise in Versova tomorrow Currently present in 11 cities including Ahmedabad Chennai and Gurugram the Mumbai outlet will be its 26th franchise outlet ldquoWersquove been eyeing Mumbai for a while now It is an exciting space for an entrepreneur because people here are open to experimentationrdquo reveals Kunal who in the past one year has made several trips to the city to understand the market and competition like Naturals Gokul and TajMuch of the research he says goes into identifying flavours that the public will resonate with ldquoSo when we went to the South we realised people love their filter coffee and hate instant coffee brands So we introduced the Indian filter coffee flavour in the menurdquo He adds that the brand often ties up with executive chefs to craft the recipeBut that was not always the case Back in 2008 Pabrai recalls spending hours studying ingredients and making trials ldquoI would typically make two or three combinations and give it to friends and family members for feedback Even now every time we concoct a new flavour it calls for a dinner table discussionrdquo says Pabrai who has now turned chief advisor to the brandThe most challenging recipe till date has been the paan ice cream because there are 35 different types of betel leaves and each tastes different ldquoAs many as 17 ingredients go into making a paan and the Kolkata meetha paan has a blend of flavour and sweetness We make a concoction of the ingredients and add it to the paan ice cream We also use mulethi a herb commonly used as a cough remedyrdquo he explains adding that they also prepare the gulkand inhouse The highest selling however is the nolen gur or khajur ka gur the traditional jaggery that can be found only in West Bengal and Bangladesh It is also called lsquonew jaggeryrsquo and is only extracted from the trees during winterThe Pabrais take care to ensure that all ingredients are genuine While the mascarpone cheese is imported from Italy the wasabi comes from Japan Itrsquos probably why each scoop costs between R6080 The attention to ingredients also has the Pabrais using naturally processed cocoa ldquoThis gives the icecream five times more antioxidants than green teardquo explains Pabrai Using natural ingredients he adds can make a basic flavour like vanilla taste different ldquoYoursquoll be able to spot the vanilla pods the black spot marks on the scoop We procure the bean from Madagascarrdquo says KunalInterestingly the fruits are not processed using machines but are hand cut ldquoWe realised that the natural flavour of the fruits gets lost when processed in a machine People find that hard but in the past we have offered patrons a taste of handcut and factoryprocessed variant and they invariably taste the differencerdquo he saysTwo years ago they introduced the concept of cuisinebased icecreams and have flavours inspired by Chinese Thai Italian Vietnamese and Japanese fare with varieties like sichuan peppercorn black sesame and 5 spice These are supplied to some popular restaurants like Mainland China and the ITC GroupDespite drawing from other cuisines Pabrai tries to add a desi touch to their ice cream by weaving in flavours such as chandan rose sandesh and kesaria rabri malaiThe family normally encourages patrons to do at least 10 tastings before selecting a flavour ldquoFunny as it sounds we even ask them to smell it because each flavour has a distinct aroma The matcha green tea is nothing like the green tea we have It has a wonderful aroma and is rich in tasterdquo he says This flavour we learn left Japanese Emperor Akihito and his wife Empress Michiko asking for more when they visited the country in 2013ldquoWe are hoping the same from Mumbairdquo smiles Pabrai