Mumbai Food: Beat the heat with these delicious ice creams in town

During the 5th century BCE, Hippocrates urged his patients to eat ice, as it "livens the life juices and increases the well-being". Today, more than 2,400 years later, city-based foodies are still paying heed to the ancient Greek physician's advice, especially when combating the unforgiving Mumbai summer. The good news is that in 2019, your choices are no longer limited to the same time-tested classics you go back to year after year. You don't even have to worry about your sinful indulgences transforming into layers of fat around that summer body you've worked so hard for - when it comes to being innovative, our local ice cream-makers know how not to disappoint. If you're in the mood for some icy, flavourful joy, here are some of the coolest ice-creams you absolutely must check out.

Your childhood, but better

Few comfort foods can outmatch the delicious familiarity of a PBJ sandwich, but this quirky Mumbai-based brand is determined to give it a shot. Their peanut butter and jelly ice cream combines creamy peanut butter ice-cream, with streaks of sweet strawberry jelly and crunchy, roasted peanuts. The ice-cream is vegan, made of almond milk and coconut cream instead of milk cream, and a sugar-free option is also available on special request.

At: Papacream (call to order)
Call: 8879670435
Cost: Rs 500 for a 500 ml vegan tub

Portuguese 'sawdust'

The serradura is also locally known as sawdust pudding. But before you balk at that description, let us remind you that the "sawdust" in question refers to the delicious, crumbly biscuit bits that this Portuguese dessert is layered with. This summer, a Bandra-based ice-cream parlour is adding their own cool twist to the traditional serradura. "Our orange serradura ice-cream layers a lightly-flavoured orange ice-cream with swirls of orange jam and pieces of orange cream biscuit for added texture," says Sharan Goyal, co-founder of Where's My Cone?

At: Where's My Cone?, Bandra
Call: 8291603137
Cost: Rs 95 per scoop

Guilt-free indulgence

There are days when nothing but a good ol' helping of decadent chocolate ice-cream will do, and for all those occasions, this Colaba café has you covered - minus the associated guilt. "Our chocolate ice cream is made of coconut milk, cacao and melted sugarless chocolate. Using coconut milk instead of dairy cream reduces the calories from fat by 25 per cent, while honey is a great low-carb substitute for sugar," says Shivali Sharma, managing director of EasyHuman.

At: EasyHuman, Colaba
Call: 22153303
Cost: Rs 175 per scoop

Cool as a cucumber

It's time for cucumbers to move out of boring salads and coolers, and into exciting new domain, namely ice cream. "Since more than 95 per cent of a cucumber comprises water, they are effective in keeping the body hydrated. Our cucumber ice cream is, therefore, a natural choice for this season. The natural sweetness of cucumber allows us to use less sugar and focus more on the unique flavour," says Ranjit Khanvilkar, co-founder of Minus 30 Degree.

At: Minus 30 Degree, Virar
Call: 9975397453
Cost: Rs 120 per scoop

All grown up

Ice-cream has surely come of age this summer, thanks to this Oshiwara-based outlet that infuses a rich Nutella and Belgian chocolate variant with oodles of smooth whiskey. Aptly named Drunken Nutella, the ice cream is topped with Oreo crumbs, even more Nutella, chocolate shavings and whiskey-soaked brownies. This is one treat you won't mind cheating on your healthy resolutions for.

At: IceKraft, Oshiwara
Call: 9136075050
Cost: Rs 249 per scoop

Easy, breezy, tasty

Indulgences don't always have to be guilty, at least not as far as ice-creams go. Satisfy both your sweet cravings and gym trainer with this high-fibre, gut-friendly probiotic ice-cream that weighs in at just 70 calories a scoop. The ice-cream is made of fresh milk cream and manages to tread the line between delicious and healthy by using less than one spoon of cane sugar per scoop. To doff your hat to the Mumbai summer, try out Good Fettel's mango flavoured ice-cream, which incorporates organic Alphonso mangoes.

At: Neelam Stores, Khar West.
Call: 9892901650
Cost: Rs 85 per scoop

Also Read: Mumbai Food: The jack of all fruits

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