Melting moments

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Summer might be over but that does not mean you don’t need anything to beat the heat. And there is nothing like ice-cream to do so. Don’t walk the middle path, choose interesting flavours and try new variants. Here are some you can try. (At least, till the time Ben & Jerry’s gets here).

Sweet on coconut and jaggery

It tastes just like it sounds. Sweet. But not in the saccharine sort of way. With a dominant taste of jaggery cooked in milk, the ice-cream has a lingering aftertaste of coconut. The best part of this is that it tastes like it’s hand-made. Well, maybe it is. Go find out at the Oriental Octopus, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

On the other hand, if you want to stick with plain vanilla, let it not be boring and synthetic. Re-discover the one at

Baskin-Robbins. While others use vanilla essence/flavouring, here, they claim to use real vanilla. And like everything else in life, the real thing is much better. There is a reason why vanilla is the best-loved flavour. And that’s not only because it is a known aphrodisiac.

Ferrero flavours

You think you know your chocolate? Try this flavour at Gelato Vittorio. And don’t eat it with any topping, garnishing, even a cone. Swirl it in your mouth and you know why women say they prefer chocolate over men. This ice-cream is dark and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness. By the way, this is a rare one that also smells like chocolate and not ice-cream!

But this is not the only reason why gelatos are so popular. Just when you thought that yoghurt could not taste better, it does. Try the raspberry yoghurt flavour and you’ll figure out why this is such a classic. All ice-creams are between Rs 50-100 per scoop

Chilli ice-cream

There is no other word that can describe this ice-cream but weird. Yes, how else would you describe something called chilli ice-cream? Available at Apsara in Mumbai, this is a flavour the people behind the counter claim grows on you. Try it for the novelty factor if not for anything else.

Then, there is also rose almond and roasted almond ice-cream — yes, you read right. Unless you are one of those who swears by chocolate, you cannot not like this flavour. It tastes cool, and not just because it is cold, with crunchy almonds in a creamy malai base, characteristic of sancha-made ice-cream.