Falooda Recipe by Anisa Karolia

This traditional Indian drink features layers of vermicelli, cardamom cream, pink falooda jelly, and a scoop of ice cream for a decadent creamy drink, perfect for iftar.

Indian 45 minutes 20 minutes Easy Serves 2

Ingredients

½ tsp basil seeds (tukmaria)
100ml water
500ml full-fat milk
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp double cream
½ tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp rose syrup, plus extra to decorate
2 tbsp falooda vermicelli, soaked in water to soften
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
1 tsp chopped pistachios and almonds

For the falooda jelly:

125ml water
1 tsp falooda powder
1-2 drops of pink food colouring

Method

For the falooda jelly, place the water, falooda powder and pink food colouring in a small saucepan on a medium heat and bring to the boil. Pour into a heatproof dish and leave to set until firm.

Soak the basil seeds in the water for 30 minutes – they will start to swell up. Drain through a tea strainer to remove excess water and set aside.

Pour the milk into a large saucepan on a medium heat and bring to the boil. Add the sugar and boil for 1 minute, stirring all the time so that the milk doesn’t stick to the pan and burn. Once boiled, cool and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Add the cream and ground cardamom to the chilled milk and whisk together. Grate the falooda jelly using a coarse grater.

Divide the rose syrup between 2 tall glasses and add the soaked vermicelli and basil seeds. Pour in the milk, which will change the colour to a subtle pink. Add 1 tablespoon of grated falooda jelly to each glass, then top with the ice cream and chopped nuts, and drizzle a little rose syrup on top to decorate.

Tips:

Rose syrup can be quite sweet, so adjust the amount of sugar you add to the milk accordingly.
If you are short on time, you don’t have to boil the milk, but it does give the falooda a richer, thicker and creamier taste.

Recipe notes by Anisa

This traditional, ultimate Indian drink has exciting layers of flavour and textures and is the beverage of choice on any iftar table at the end of a fasting day or any day, for that matter.

It has a creamy flavour, delicately perfumed with rose, and a nice dollop of ice cream to make it extra cooling. It’s quite a major part of Middle Eastern and Indian culture, from the villages of the subcontinent to homes here in the UK!

It looks so pretty and exotic in pink, don’t you think?

About this recipe

This Falooda recipe is extracted from The Ramadan Cookbook by Anisa Karolia and photography by Ellis Parrinder (Ebury Press).

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