Parsi Falooda

Blogging Marathon# 52: Week 1/ Day 3

Theme: Parsi Dishes

Dish: Parsi Falooda
For the final day of this week's 'Parsi Dishes' I made this colorful dessert drink called Falooda. I wanted to make Parsi mawa cakes, but after all the sweet bakes from last month's marathon, I didn't want anymore extra calories. So the mawa cakes will have to wait for some time later.

Instead I made this rich and delicious Falooda drink. I had falooda bookmarked to make for a very loooong time and finally got a chance to make it. I didn't really know Falooda was a Parsi dish until I started looking for Parsi dessert recipes. It is an Iranian cold dessert drink called faloodeh, consisting of thin vermicelli noodles mixed in a semi-frozen syrup made from sugar and rose water.

The weather is getting warmer in our neck of woods and this drink is perfect as a refreshing afternoon drink in summer. Basil seeds/ tukhmaria seeds are an essential ingredient in this dish. The seeds need to be soaked for a little bit of time when it swell up twice their size. They have amazing health benefits -- read about it here.

Another important ingredients are rose syrup and falooda noodles. Falooda noodles are made from corn flour and water. I bought a pack from the Indian grocery store and they worked great. All in all this drink is full of flavor and textures that is a perfect summer treat.

Ingredients: Makes 2 servings

Tukhmaria seeds/ Basil seeds - 1tsp
Falooda sev/ noodles - 1/4cup, cut into small pieces
Rose syrup - 2~3tbsp
Milk - 3/4cup
Condensed milk - 2tsp (adjust as per taste preference)
Vanilla Ice cream - 4 scoops
Almonds & Pistachios - few, chopped for garnish

Method:

• Soak tukhmaria seeds in 2tbsp water and set aside for 15~20 minutes. They will swell up and be ready when are ready to make the falooda.
• Cook the falooda noodles according to the package instructions. I read some of the noodles only need to be soaked in water while I had to boil mine for 10~12 minutes. Then drain and rinse under cold water. Now the noodles are ready to serve.
• Combine milk and condensed milk. Mix well to incorporate. Alternately you can add just sugar to milk and use.
• To assemble: Add 1tbsp rose syrup in the bottom of the serving glass. Place half of the tukhmaria seeds on top followed by half of the cooked falooda noodles. 
• Slowly pour in half of the milk -- make sure not to disturb the rose syrup layer. Then add the 1~2 scoops of vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle the chopped nuts on top. Make the other glass of falooda and serve immediately.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 52.