Brooklyn's Malai Ice Cream Just Released 3 Flavors To Celebrate Holi

South Asian flavors are a specialty at Malai, the boutique ice cream concept that opened in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens neighborhood in March 2019, following four years of online sales. Founder Pooja Bavishi has a background in business, but the creation of Malai was about more than simply running a successful company. It was also about celebrating her Indian roots.

Bavishi is a first-generation Indian-American, and she honors her heritage by creating ice cream flavors that feature Indian and South Asian spices, often as an evocation of childhood memories. Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Malai is introducing three new flavors in celebration of Holi, the colorful Hindu festival which takes place each spring on March 8 (via a press release).

But the release isn't solely inspired by Holi. It's also falling on the same day as the fourth anniversary of the Brooklyn ice cream parlor, which is why the new flavors will only be available during the month of March. These will be available for purchase in-store or throughout the U.S. online on the gourmet food platform Goldbelly.

The first of the newly released flavors will not be a surprise to loyal Malai customers — Thandai is released annually in celebration of Holi. Pooja Bavishi's ice cream variation of the traditional Indian spiced beverage, reflects her family's favorite flavors of almond, black pepper, cardamom, fennel seed, and saffron. Although the ice cream will be available both in-store and on Goldbelly, the special spiced Thandai Shortbread, complete with rose petals, will only be available to visitors at the Brooklyn location.

Shahi Toast is another of the new flavors, specifically created in honor of the fourth anniversary of the Brooklyn-based ice cream parlor. A variation of the classic Mughlai-style dessert, Shahi Tukda, Malai's ice cream version features saffron and subtle cardamom flavors, along with pieces of caramelized bread. In addition to the in-store ice cream, Goldbelly will also package Shahi Toast together with flavors Malai previously created on its anniversaries. These include Black Forest, Confetti Sweet Milk, Saffron Pistachio, and Sweet Roti and Ghee.

Holi Sweet Milk is the last of the three new flavors Malai is launching this March. It's a variation of the Sweet Milk flavor the ice cream parlor typically offers but made in collaboration with Supernatural Kitchen. These will be offered in the four vibrantly colorful plant-based swirls — orange, purple, red, and yellow — that evoke the Hindu festival of Holi.