This Old School Ice Cream Shop In Malleswaram Does Homemade Scoops Of Awesome

A quiet street in Malleswaram is home to Amrith Ice Creams, a legendary ice cream shop that has won the adulation of locals, once vegetarian scoop at a time.

Flashback to 1993. M N Sarathy, having worked in the field of dairy, imported the know-how and the technology to make ice creams from Denmark. He and his wife’s sister, Rajalakshmi, then joined hands to start Amrith in a small shop {that looks like a converted garage space} that was attached to their own home. Surrounded by houses and apartment complexes, the ice-cream parlour soon became the talk of the neighbourhood for its homemade, vegetarian ice creams that came in 25 different flavours.

Over two decades later, Amrith still operates out of the small shop {although worse for the wear} and is still a favourite among its patrons. On a hot summer’s day, when we stopped by, we saw grandmothers bringing their grandchildren along for a treat, passersby diving in for delicious scoops of ice cream that would help escape the heat, and others packing up whole blocks to take home.

Every morning, M N Ramapriyam, Sarathy’s son, and his siblings make fresh batches of ice cream in the backrooms of the shop. They make just enough for the day, depending on the demand. Once the ice cream is ready, it is stored in a rickety ice box at the front of the shop. Amrith churns out simple flavours like vanilla and strawberry and, even, more exotic treats like Pure Saffron.

We tried the Litchi Treat Cone. It had a mellow sweetness to it and came flecked with bits of litchi. The Caribou Coffee, that we tried next, was an utter delight. It had just a hint of sugariness with the coffee flavour calling the shots. The soft crunch of the walnuts was an added bliss. Two more scoops of Caribou Coffee for us, please!

Of course, ice cream needs to be your main agenda at Amrith. But you can also buy homemade gulab jamun and badam milk mixes made by MN Padma, the founder’s wife.