If you guys belong to another part of the world and have no idea as to what a falooda is, you guys are in for a treat because today I would be sharing a delicious Falooda recipe. The weather has been crazy and only two things are very necessary, the air conditioner and cold drinks. When I think of drinks that gives me the boost on a hot day, I think of a refreshing strawberry lassi or the delicious summertime juice made from watermelon and strawberries. These are drinks that rejuvenates me and my family. I go out of the house all dolled up and come back with an electrocuted hairstyle and a face that shines just like a glazed krispy kreme doughnuts (which I personally think that it is obscenely over-rated). This sweltering heat is not suitable for me. I am made in Singapore but definitely not made for Singapore. I am thinking of ways as to how I can run away from this temperature.
- Migrate to somewhere cooler. (This is gonna be expensive)
- Air condition the whole house. Toilets and store room included. (Sighs, this isn’t gonna be cheap either)
- Get a fridge large enough to accommodate myself. Keep the temperature at 16 degrees and I will keep popping myself in the refrigerator every now and then. (Cheapest option)
I shall embark on a journey to find a fridge that would fit me and maybe a few glasses of Falooda.
Falooda/faluda is a very popular dessert in India. It is a creamy, cold and sweet dessert. Falooda contains vermicelli, basil seeds, jelly and it is brought together with milk, rose syrup and topped with ice cream. TOO delicious! There are obviously many different approaches to this dessert but I don’t think you can really go wrong with whichever recipe you are trying. Upon some research, I found out that Falooda is not just an “Indian thingy”
- The Iraqi Kurds also have their own version; but made with thicker vermicelli.
- A famous type of Faluda, named the “Andrea”, involves mixing various rose syrups with creamy milk and premature tapioca pearls.
- The Mauritian version is called alouda, which is a corruption of the word falooda, and the beverage is almost identical in ingredients and flavour.
- South Africa has a variant called Falooda and is often served as a milkshake to be drunk with or after a meal.
Source: Mr Know It All (Wikipedia)
If you are not able to lay your hands on the basil seeds, it would still be fine to omit them. It would be really good to use it though as it gives the Falooda an interesting texture. Basil seeds, just like Chia seeds, do have a lot a lot of health benefits too.
- Aids in digestion
- Treats cold
- Cure respiratory disorders
- Stress reliver
- Memory booster
- Fever reduction
- Increased kidney function
For those of you who are not familiar with having vermicelli in your dessert, I PLEAD with all my heart, do not skip this recipe based on first impressions. This is an AWESOME dessert. My brother had a large glass of this and kept nodding his head in approval. Coming from a fussy eater like him, this means a LOT.
From “Picasso of pastries” to the “The king of modern patisserie”, Pierre Herme’ does not need any special introduction among most of us. Besides his very famous Ispahan, he also created a very unique dessert named Emotion Fragola which is made of spaghetti cooked in strawberry juice, with balsamic gel and mascarpone cream. If he can use spaghetti as a dessert, I don’t see why would you give vermicilli a pass. This is a dessert that would have your family or guests eating out from your hands. Try it, I pinky promise you that you are gonna love this. 🙂
- 6-8 tbsp rose syrup
- 2 tbsp basil seeds (Soaked in 1 glass of water)
- A small handful of roasted vermicelli (Refer to notes below)
- 1 cup of strawberry jelly (Either purchase the instant ones or make from scratch using Jell-o or other jelly crystals premix)
- 3 cups of cold fresh milk
- Vanilla ice-cream
- Chopped almonds or pistachios (optional)
- Boil 3 cups of water in a pot, add vermicelli and cook for 3-4 minutes. Strain and keep aside.
- Place 1.5 tbsp of rose syrup in a tall glass, top with 1 tsp of soaked basil seeds, 2 tbsp of vermicelli and 2 tbsp of jelly.
- Pour cold milk and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Drizzle with a little rose syrup.
- Top with almonds or pistachios if using.
- Boil 3 cups of water in a pot, add vermicelli and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Strain and keep aside.
- In a pitcher, combine all of the ingredients (Except ice cream)
- Divide the falooda into 4 glasses and top each glass with a scoop of ice cream.
Do take note that Jell-o is not halal.
I am surprised none commented on Delicious Falooda which is unbelievable.Thanks maya for this recipe. this is something i used to have in india. I always wondered how it is made.? I will some day will get ingredients and definitely try.