Weekend Treat - Falooda
Not one but two treats actually. First we visited an arts & crafts village that was great fun for a pottery buff like me. Tlaquepaque (say that fast three times in a row!) has an abundance of art galleries, crafts shops and restaurants set in a charming Mexican-inspired setting. I particularly liked the hand painted lizards and the surprised looking sun in this shop :-)
This was followed by a glass of falooda to soothe our sun baked nerves.
(rose falooda with vanilla ice cream)
Summer in Bombay is made bearable by ice cold treats like the falooda. During April and May everyone seems to be sipping and eating their way through tall glasses of this frothy pink concoction. The combination of chilled rose milk and ice cream is indeed hard to resist.
Falooda appears to have been introduced in India by the Parsis of Iran. The community makes this drink to celebrate the spring equinox on March 21. The drink, though it is more like a sundae is named after the noodles that are used in making it.
Eating a falooda is great fun because of the different texture of each ingredient, in particular the chewy, gelatinous seeds and the soft noodles.
(clockwise from left: tukmaria seeds, rose syrup and noodles)
ROSE FALOODA
(for 1 glass)
1 tbsp of tukmaria (basil seeds/ sabja/ falooda seeds)
2 tbsp of rose syrup
3/4 cup cold milk
2 tbsp of vermicelli (falooda sev)
a scoop of vanilla ice cream
Place tukmaria in a bowl, cover with just enough water and refrigerate for at least an hour or two.
Break the noodles into tiny pieces and boil in hot water (or as per directions) until done, about 3-4 minutes. Cool. Beat milk until it is frothy.
Take a tall transparent glass, add 2 tbsp of rose syrup, then gently spoon in the noodles and the seeds (they should be swollen by now). Pour the milk over this layer slowly. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve immediately.
* Falooda can also be made in saffron (a pinch dissolved in milk) and mango (substitute mango pulp for rose syrup) flavors
Tags: rose syrup falooda sabja takmaria
Posted By Ashwini | Permalink |
32 Comments:
Yum yum yum !! Love falooda & miss it a lot. Yours looks great.
snaps look marvellous, just want to have your falooda Ashwini. haven't tried this.will save it under my fav.
I have never tasted falooda but heard and seen similar concoctions...well its high time i try it...thanks for posting it...another thing can u send me a glass of the falooda u made..it lookks gr8!!
Hai Ashwini,
I was thinking about this recipe recipe lastweek.
Now i got it here.Definetly i will try it.Thank You.
Vineela
Hey thats yummy- do you get all the ingredients in Chicago though??
I am in Bombay now, but it's ages since I've eaten falooda- looking at your post- i've been reminded of it- shall have it over the weekend :)
wow! that looks fantastic! very nice pictures and that falooda is just calling my name :) I didn't know you can make the falooda noodles at home. learned something new today....
cheers!
Sonali - thanks
Lakshmi, BDSN - maybe I could fedex it to you? :-)
Vineela - let me know if you try it
Nandita - isnt it surprising? I got everything here and the vermicelli was so authentic. I didnt drink falooda often in Bombay and now I miss it :-)
SH - Thanks. I havent made them myself so dont know how fool proof the recipe is but it looks simple enough
Looks like you're having a blast in your new hometown, Ashwini! How much of a hole did that arts village burn in your pocket? :-D
I always thought falooda was a Muslim drink. I didn't know the Parsis had brought it to India.
I always asked for mine without the vermicelli. I loved the takmaria, though.
The falooda looks super yummy !!! iam a big fan of all your dessert recipes and beverages. I have tried most of them and i can never go wrong with them. Iam yet to try your carrot halwa and gulabi phirni and now this goes right to the top of my list. Shall try it when i get falooda vermicelli and tukmaria. Thanks for the link for vermicilli and how good are these online stores, i havent tried buying from any of the online indian grocery stores.
Love the colorful background and the pretty pink falooda ( your favourite pink ;) )
Manisha - I prefer to live in denial so dont ask me for an account! Though its popular in the Muslim community falooda is Irani in origin. The Irani faludeh/ peludeh is more like a slush and does not use milk.
Priya - Thanks dear! You just made me realise how many recipes of desserts I post! The phirni is my personal favorite too. Let me know when you get around to the falooda. I think Indira has a link to an online shop - I shop Indian. If you have an idiappam press you can make the noodles at home. Look for the seeds in an Asian/ Chinese market if you dont get them at an Indian store.
I wanted to avoid the pink totally but it actually looked good :-)
What?! No blow-by-blow account of how it travelled?! :D
Seriously though, I always thought it was a Muslim drink. When I was little, I always tagged along to some famous restaurant on M. Ali Rd that was supposed to serve the world's best falooda whenever my aunt lost to my sister or vice versa at carrom. I never cared who won as long as I got my falooda! I was also way too little to care about its origins.
Later, in Nairobi, it was very popular with the Bohri Muslim community. I had a lot of Parsi friends and they bragged about a lot of things but not falooda.
Your post made me go look up falooda, and Navroze and falooda have been mentioned in the same breath. That the Zoroastrians are a common link between Iran and India would make this credible.
Wiki on ice cream traces the history of ice cream and refers to faludeh, the Iranian dessert. From what I have been reading, the Indian version is more delicious!
Hi,
Your Falooda looks yummy!!!! Crystal Clear Pictures , Thanx for sharing your secret recipe.
WOW...you are bringing back the Summer Hyderabad falooda memories :). The falooda looks so yummy!
Ashwini,
falooda looks delicious, great pictures! Love the back ground, is it from the scrapbooking supplies?
I have seen the sun in art form in many other cultures not just Indian.
Krishna - its a gift bag :-) I just placed it behind the glass and took the pic. The sun in the shop is actually just a wall hanging. I think native Indian & Mexican cultures have a little similar symbology to us. I am just discovering this here
Neat idea Ashwini! Yep wall hangings is what I meant by art forms earlier. I found the same wall hangings in carribean islands too(they were carved out of wood though as opposed to the clay ones from the mexican store you took a picture of here and yep they did put hole in my pocket as I couldn't stop myself from buying one).
Manisha - aah yes Mohd Ali Rd faloodas are fab. Our family fave though was a restaurant in Crawford market run by Iranis. It was like a summer pilgrimage for us! We used to visit my dad in his office, catch a movie at Regal and then end the evening about town with their falooda :-) They have been profiled in Uppercrust if you are interested - http://www.uppercrustindia.com/
22crust/twentytwo/eatingout.htm
Btw Katy Dalal in her Parsi cookbook 'Jamva Chaloji' has included a recipe for falooda. I saw faludeh in a Middle eastern store in CA and I so agree with you that the Indian drink is more delicious :-)
MT and L2C - Thanks!
Krishna - I am glad to hear I am not the only one who spends a bomb on bric a brac! Btw I am so jealous that you have been to the Carribean
Hi Ashwinin,
You brought a smile to my face by mentioning the Irani place in Crawford Market. I'm sorta guessing its the same one where you also get yummy pav bhaji and other snacky eats. It was THE place for us to go to on our trips to Mumbai. Falooda, believe it or not was an exotic treat becoz all we got in Goa was a sorry-excuse-of-a-falooda. I remember taking really long to finish mine just so I could make it last.
Hi Anonymous,
It is, it is! Badshah...goodness just saying that name makes me nostalgic :-) Yes you do get excellent pav bhaji there. Did you know its almost 100 years old?! Its been such a long time since I went there. I just added it to my list of 'things to do on my next trip' :-)
that looks mouthwatering. Great blog.Take a peek at mine
I love falooda!.
Actually I am planning to prepare mango falooda this weekend for friends get together. And here you are, tempting me with vanilla falooda. Yum... can't wait for the weekend.:)
That looks sooo good! You bring back some great memories of eating falooda at Badshah's in Crawford Market, Bombay. Thanks for sharing!
Ashwini guess,I'm just in time to catch up with your yummy falooda ..I do have mango ice cream and falooda sev,plan to make for this friday with more of seasonal fruits it's my fly's fav ...:)
Ashwini,
Although I am no big fan of this drink, it was good to get so much information about it. I, too, have some Parsi friends, but have never heard them talking about it. I wonder whether they know that their ancestors brought it here. I'll make sure I tell them about when I see them next.
And hey, your photographs are always getting better. Your blog is evolving with every new post. Good for you!
Stunner! Wow! What a treat!
I didnt know ice-cream has its roots back in Persia!
That's a beauty there,Ashwini.Lovely!!
Going to try it..
i miss falooda very very badly.......going to try this today itself..thanks a lot...
Hi Ashwini,
I am in Reston, Virginia. We are having a chilli and dessert and chilli contest at my place of work and I am going to participate in this contest by presenting your Falooda recepie (not sure about the spelling!!!).
Please wish me luck.
Regards,
Amit Dey
PS: Ths Falooda pictures look really delicious
Wow looks great! I just recently bought rose syrup for something else--
Now I know what to do with the leftovers! Thanks :)
I know that there is a machine that automaticaly cook Falooda. Do you know what it call ? Where i can find this machine ?
Thx.
loved the pictures of the Falooda. Never tried but will do so when the barrometer rises here is not so sunny NJ. I am growing Tukmaria seed and my plants are about 6 inches high. Can't wait for the Falooda! Do you have more recipes?
loved the pic. Am growing the Tukmaria from seed and have some nice sized plants. Can't wait for the barrometer to rise here in not so sunny NJ so that I can try this exotic drink. Thanks for the recipe!
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