Refreshing Falooda Recipe

As the weather starts to warm up, the only thing I look forward to after a long day of fasting is a big frothy glass of falooda with ALL the trimmings. Yes, sev, ice cream, lots of rose syrup – the works! 

Now mind you, I can’t go out to Nargisi – who just so happens to do my favourite falooda – every time I fancy one. I cannot fathom the drive to Southall almost every day so I decided to try my luck out at home and I was really happy with the results!

The recipe is straightforward and extremely versatile so if you have any allergies or fancy a lighter version, by all means, change some of the ingredients below and you will still get an awesome result. E.g. Substitute the whole milk for coconut milk, the wheat vermicelli for rice vermicelli, etc etc etc.

Scroll down for the full recipe – I like mine full fat and full of delicious, sweet calories!

FALOODA RECIPE

Makes 2 big glasses of falooda

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 handful vermicelli (falooda sev, rice, or wheat)
• 1 tsp basil seeds (or chia seeds)
• 5 tbsp rose syrup
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream (or kulfi for an even better falooda!)
• crushed pistachios and almonds
• dehydrated rose petals
• Halal/vegetarian strawberry jelly (can be found in arab or indian supermarkets)

METHOD

Milk: Place a pan on medium heat and add the milk (you can add in an optional 1 tbsp of sugar at this point). Let it boil until it thickens. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

Sev: Place sev in boiling water and cook until soft. Remove from heat, drain, and place in an ice bowl so it does not cook further. Leave to cool. When cool, drain the sev and cut into smaller pieces. This allows it to be sucked up by a straw easier!

Jelly: Make the jelly, according to instructions on the box, in a shallow dish and place in the fridge to set.

Basil/Chia seeds: Place 1tsp of chia/basil seeds in a bowl with 3/4 cup of warm water. Whisk and leave aside to soak up. This should become a gel-like consistency.

Assembling the falooda: Chill the empty glasses in the freezer for half hour before serving time. Add rose syrup, chia/basil seeds, sev, jelly, and chilled milk. Finish off with a dollop of ice cream (or 2 if you haven’t boiled the milk beforehand), crushed pistachios and almonds, dehydrated rose petals, and more rose syrup!

Notes:

• You can use kulfi instead of vanilla ice cream for a upgraded version, or like my favourite restaurant Nargisi, add in a scoop of kulfi and a scoop of ice cream!
• If you do not fancy boiling the milk beforehand, you can add in two scoops of ice cream when assembling or combine your milk with tin milk for a thicker consistency.
• I used chia seeds as I had them on hand, but basil seeds are just as good.
• You can make any flavour combination you like – maybe mango kulfi instead of ice cream or mango pulp instead of rose syrup!