India, June 25 -- At first glance, the ice cream flavours at Malai seem more like a spice menu than a dessert list: ginger root, cinnamon, mace, vanilla, cardamom, garam masala, masala chai, and even a riff on that age-old Indian favourite, sweet roti and ghee. But when I step into the cheerful scoop shop's Philadelphia outpost, a few days after its opening, surprise quickly gives way to delight. It's clear that founder Pooja Bavishi has reimagined the classic American ice cream parlour through a South Asian lens, blending traditional techniques with the bold, aromatic ingredients of her Indian heritage. The result is a range of unexpectedly lush, fragrant ice creams, as comforting as they are adventurous.

Born to Indian immigrant parent...