From Malai: Frozen Desserts Inspired by South Asian Flavors by Pooja Bavishi. Copyright © 2025 by Pooja Bavishi. Reprinted courtesy of Weldon Owen, an imprint of Insight Edition. Photography by Morgan Ione Yeager.
In the Plum Sauce recipe in my book, I tell the story of how my mom was once making a spiced plum juice that she left on the stove for too long, turning it into a thick sauce that we ended up pouring over vanilla ice cream. I created this sorbet as the frozen equivalent of that culinary mishap. I wanted to marry the umami saltiness of the chaat masala with the fruity sweetness of the plum, but I also wanted a flavor that was available year-round. Enter, hibiscus tea. It’s acidic but not too much, has floral notes, and can be easily sweetened, making it the perfect balance to the spices.
