This super quick and easy Betel Leaf Ice Cream by MasterChef Australia Season 13 contestant Kishwar Chowdhury incorporates fennel and cardamom for a delicious post-dinner treat.

The Bengali After Dinner Mint

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the betel leaf ice cream

• 1 cup cream
• ½ cup milk
• 10 gm betel leaves cut in pieces
• 10 gm saunf or fennel seeds, toasted
• 1 green cardamom pod, crushed
• 70 gm castor sugar (a kind of finer sugar manufactured by top baking brands)
• 3 egg yolks
• Salt, to taste

To serve

• 4 betel leaves
• 2 tbsp coconut flakes, toasted
• 4 pitted dates, diced into 5 mm pieces
• 1 tbsp mukhwas (an after dinner mouth freshener)

Method

• Pre-chill ice cream machine.

For the betel leaf ice cream

• Bring the cream, milk, betel leaves, fennel, cardamom and salt to just below simmering point over lowest possible heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
  Take off heat and set aside for 20 minutes.
  Return to simmering point then take off heat and strain into a jug.
• Place the sugar and egg yolks into a bowl and whisk together.
  Whisk 1/3 of the warm cream mixture into the eggs.
  Whisk in remainder then return the combined mixture to the saucepan.
• Over medium heat, stir continuously until mixture thickens and reaches 83°C (use a cooking thermometer if you can).
  Pour through a sieve into a bowl and cool over an ice bath.
  Churn in the ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions and then store ice cream in the freezer.
• To serve, place betel leaves onto a small plate.
  Top with the coconut, date and a scoop of ice cream.
  Sprinkle with mukhwas.

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