Scream for Dua lipa’s ice cream

The singer recently revealed her favourite ice cream combination and it’s got our summer sorted

Stars leave their stamp of approval on everything, from recycling and fashion to food. Adding to the list, this one is sure to make it to your summer soirée! Singer Dua Lipa recently revealed her favourite ice cream in a radio show — vanilla ice cream with olive oil and sea salt on top and the zany flavours have whipped up a viral food frenzy. Will you try it?

Dua Lipa recently revealed her fave ice cream on a show and it was offbeat, alright! (X)

Wacky goes luxe

The Levitating singer’s preference whipped up a storm online. Influencers started crushing on the dessert, trying their hand at the unique flavour profile and it drew a bunch of reactions. It was hailed as everything from “rich” and “favourite late night snack” to “addicting”, while others felt it had a luxury appeal.

While there are a bunch of wacky ice cream flavours out there like sriracha, lobster, chilli-peppermint and fish chip, Lipa’s olive oil-vanilla is hot on that list and guess what? Chefs back home approve, too!

Salt in dessert and the Indian connect

Reetu Uday Kugaji, Mumbai-based chef and culinary consultant tried making Lipa’s combination and loved it. She says, “I think this is a flavour that people will take to. As Indians we are not unaccustomed to having salt in our sweet dishes. For instance, it is common to add a pinch of salt to gajar ka halwa to enhance taste. I also loved the creamy richness that olive oil added to the vanilla ice cream.”

Savoury ice cream, the next big thing

Tracing how ice cream trends find their way onto palates here, Delhi-based chef Ashish Bhasin, says, “Olive oil ice cream is not new, but it’s certainly new for India. Flavour trends like sea salt and masala chai are moving in for two reasons — salt adds contrast to ice and also adds depth to the main flavour. I would like to work on combinations like caramel and black pepper.”

Flavours work by imparting contrast and depth to ice cream (Shutterstock)

Elaborating on the potential in ice cream, he adds, “Traditional cakes are being replaced by ice cream cakes. You also have ice cream sandwiches, and ice cream waffles are another popular trend. The next big thing that I see, is savoury ice cream with black garlic, sea salt and coriander.”

Versatility scores

Talking about innovative ice cream in Bengaluru, Chef Harish Closepet, says, “In Bengaluru, people are receiving new, quirky flavours really well. The advantage is that ice cream is so versatile; I’ve even used it in dishes. From floats, sandwiches and cookies to fried ice cream, it goes with everything.”

Karishma Sakhrani, MasterChef India 4 finalist, also whipped up a unique combination. “I did an amazing coconut and curry leaf sorbet with cauliflower waffles and it was insane! I think ice cream flavours today are about pushing boundaries. Personally, I love a good hit of salt in a miso caramel and I’d also love to add olive oil to stracciatella ice cream with a crack of black pepper,” she says.

Pani puri to popcorn: Flavours break the mould

Want a bite of popcorn ice cream? (Shutterstock)

In the current scenario, there’s a lot happening in terms of flavours. Preet Sanghvi, food curator and founder of The Gourmet Tales Co, shares, “Recently, we curated a lemon curd-marshmallow ice cream. I’ve also seen some really offbeat ice cream mash-ups come up at events across India. From aamras poptails (cocktail-meets-popsicle), strawberry-balsamic, popcorn, pani puri popsicles and even an ice cream one with cereal-milk, it’s all about innovation.”

How Ladakh is setting the trend

In Ladakh, the iced treats get an interesting spin! Rigzin Wangmo Lachic, founder of Tsas by Dolkhar in Ladakh creates ice creams using local herbs, spices and fruits. “We did an apricot gelato using raktsey karpo (variety of apricot) plus a melon-candied chill sorbet."

Rigzin Wangmo Lachic, founder of Tsas by Dolkhar in Ladakh creates interesting flavours using locally-sourced ingredients (Tsas by Dolkhar)

She adds, "We also do a lachu (rhubarb) sorbet, Konyot (wild caraway) gelato with a locally-sourced buckwheat and made a cornetto using local peas, garnished with Ladakhi thanyer (local chilli) so the ice cream has a kick. Another cornetto is made with Ladakhi ricotta (Labo).”

INDIAN-ICE YOUR OLIVE-OIL ICE CREAM WITH THESE INGREDIENTS

Turmeric

Sandalwood

Saffron

Mint

Basil

Masala chai

Paani puri

Kashmiri chilli flakes

Paan

Nolen gur

Punjabi masala gur

Fresh coconut

Dry fruits

Sandesh

Rajbhog

Rasgulla

Kathal

- Inputs by chef Reetu Uday Kugaji