Falooda ~ Navroze Festivity

Falooda In the Persian language (referring to a 'smoothie')  we call it Faloodeh or Paludeh; while the word Falooda is a Hindi and Urdu word, Faluda is Bengali for the same. A cold milk drink, much like dessert, is traditionally made up of a rose syrup, chilled whole milk, tiny threads of nishashto -vermicelli like, which are white and made up of cornstarch, tukhmuria or basil seeds that have been soaked in water for a few hours to re-hydrate and blossom, and is often topped with fresh vanilla bean ice cream. Optionally, favourites like raspberry or strawberry ripple ice cream or even saffron ice cream may be added, making it even more delicious. The Persians often serve their faloodeh lemon and lime and a sprinkle of pistachios, which can be rather refreshing. I like mine with a scoop of lime and coconut ice cream. The recipe is on page xxx

Serves 6

 

6 cups chilled whole milk

12 tsp red rose syrup/raspberry syrup

12 tbsp nishashto/sev – see tips

12 tsp pre-soaked tukhmuria/basil seeds

12 scoops of vanilla bean icecream

 

In 6 tall glasses pour the milk, add the syrup, vermicelli, seeds and top with ice cream of your choice. Serve immediately with a long spoon or a straw.

 

Tips

Ice is often added to ensure it's very cold. It may dilute the flavours.

Cubes of raspberry or strawberry jelly/jello were often added instead of ice to keep the flavours from diluting!

Pre soak the tukhmuria / basil seeds for an hour or more in water. Strain and use.

 

To make nishashto at home, mix cornflour/cornstarch into water to make a creamy paste using a ratio of 1:4. Pour this into boiling water and allow it to cook for 2 minutes. Immediately pass this through a colander set over a bowl of ice and water, pressing it down to pass through, leaving behind small sev-like strands. The ice ensures it does not become one large clump and does not stick together. Add a pinch of salt while cooking.

Rose syrup can be made at home or bought from larger Indian and Persian Stores. It should be pure rose flavour and not made up of any kind of essence.

 

 

Golab nu serbut | Rose syrup Make a sugar syrup from  1 kg/2.2 lb sugar 2 cups of fresh water 1 cup of rose water juice of one lemon or lime a few drops of red food colouring  In a heavy bottom pan mix the sugar and water. Stir until each crystal is melted. Do not allow it to boil or simmer before the sugar has completely melted. Brush down the sides of the pan if the sugar crystals are above the water level. This will ensure it does not crystalise once cooled. Boil until desired thickness.  Bay taar no seero - The syrup should fall in two fine, thread-like streams. Generally, it should be visually thick. Add the juice of the lime or lemon, a cupful of rose water and enough colouring to make a bright pink.  Tips   Traditionally, saakur – pure sugar crystals – were used. While this has the property of not melting down quickly, it is much sweeter than regular sugar. If unavailable, white granulated cane sugar will work well. Rose water and rose essence are completely different. Only rosewater can be used for this recipe.

 

Pick you favourite ice cream here are a few to pick from

Vanilla Bean

Lime and Coconut

Tukhmuria seeds atop the scoop of ice-cream

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.