Jaisalmer lassi with saffron ice–cream

In the far-flung reaches of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan sits Jaisalmer, a maze of sandstone alleys and homes in a sun-baked medieval fort that tolls with Jain temple bells at every dawn. A little dairy, a parlour with a few benches and some hand-cranked freezers, serves up saffroned lassis bobbing with kulfi and dotted with candied peel. Makes pudding the stuff of dreams.