Coconut Falooda | Recipe
We’ve all tried some version of Falooda at some point in our life. Whether at a street side juice wala or at a proper restaurant, Falooda is one of the most distinct drink desserts in the Indo-Pak cuisine. Last Ramadan I came across a slightly different version of Falooda on the Instagram page of one of my good friend and blogger Shabina (@shabosphere), and being an ardent lover of everything coconut, I decided to make it with my own twist.
Having a majority of cooling ingredients in the mix, like basil seeds and milk, Falooda makes a great Iftar drink and keeps the stomach cool after a day long fast. Moreover, it is also perfect for summer afternoons and evenings as a semi-dinner. If you find it too rich, you can always make a healthier version by using low fat or vegan milk and replacing sugar with honey.
Preparation
Falooda requires very little in terms of preparation, except for the fact that you need to pre-soak the basil seeds for a couple of hours so they’re fluffy and translucent by the time you serve the Falooda. Also, the vermicelli can sometimes be tricky. In my first attempt, I cooked the vermicelli right at the start and left it dehydrated which got it all clumped up. In my second attempt though, I soaked the cooked vermicelli in an ice bath and refrigerated it to avoid the clumping and keep the strands separated. You can leave it outside as well, but since Falooda is usually served cold, I recommend refrigerating it in before adding it to the drink.
Cooking Vermicelli
Falooda is possibly the easiest to make, and more often than not you will find most of the ingredients readily available at home. While your basil seeds (also known as sabja or tukmariya) are soaking, start by cooking the vermicelli.
Add milk to a pan along with vermicelli (seviyan) and sugar or honey. You can skip sweetening it at this stage altogether if you like. Bring the milk to a boil and cook the vermicelli until it cuts through with a spoon.
Tip: You can also cook vermicelli in water instead of milk, but the latter makes it creamier.
Once boiled, remove it from pan and immediately soak it in an ice bath until your Falooda is ready to serve.
Milk Base for the Falooda
Everybody has had the usual milk Falooda that’s made out of cow’s milk, usually the full cream variety. But this time, I though of adding a nutty flavor in the mix with a half and half of low-fat cow’s milk and light coconut milk. You can very well replace cow’s milk with any other vegan milk based on your preference. I love the coconut flavor, but find it a little too dense on its own, which is why I decided to dilute it with regular milk.
I added a little honey for sweetness (instead of sugar), and gave it a quick blend to make sure everything is mixed well. Some people like to add canned cream, fresh cream, whipped cream, vanilla essence or other flavorings while blending the base, but since I wanted to coconut flavor to stand out while keeping the Falooda light, I chose to not add any cream or flavoring at this point.
Since I had all this ready by afternoon, and had to serve it only after Iftar, I refrigerated the milk mix as well. If you are serving this immediately, make sure the milk is chilled.
Serving
The final step is putting everything together, and there are a hundred and one ways to serve Falooda. Right from the choice of glasses to the toppings, you can get as creative as you want.
I added my own twist while serving with roohafza syrup. I have always loved the sharp rose taste in this syrup and really admire the pinkish red hue it adds to milk.
To start with, I added a little roohafza syrup in the glass and swirled it around so it tints the walls of the glass.
Basil seeds went in next. Now you can add vermicelli at this point, and it will be just the same, but since mine was in the refrigerator, I decided to add it at the end.
I added the milk mix next.
And this was topped with a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream. Obviously, you can add whatever flavor you prefer, or top it with whipped cream as well (but that would go in last).
I also added a few milk soaked cashews for a slight nutty density and crunch.
A little more roohafza was drizzled on top.
This was followed by fresh scraped coconut.
And finally I added in the absolutely non-clumpy vermicelli.
And voila! The perfect Coconut Falooda is ready to drink!
Hope you liked this recipe. Don’t forget to tag @rashidablogs when you post pictures of your coconut Falooda on Instagram.
Coconut Falooda
Ingredients
- 1 L low-fat cow's milk can be replaced with full cream, skimmed or vegan milk
- 500 ml light coconut milk regular coconut milk is also fine, but it will be denser
- 1/2 cup basil seeds also known as sabja seeds or tukmariya
- 1 cup falooda vermicelli
- 3 tbsp honey for milk mix
- 1 tbsp sugar for vermicelli
- 15-20 pieces cashew nuts soaked in milk
- 4-5 tbsp roohafza
- 4-5 scoops vanilla ice cream
- 3-4 tbsp fresh scraped coconut you can also use dry coconut flakes
Instructions
- Soak basil seeds in water for 1-2 hours
- Pour regular milk in a pan and add vermicelli
- Add sugar to the milk (this is optional and can be substituted with honey or other sweeteners)
- Once cooked, transfer vermicelli to an ice bath and refrigerate until serving
- Mix 500 ml cow's milk and 500 ml coconut milk in a glass jar or blender
- Add honey (or other sweeteners) as per your taste preference
- Blend the milk and honey together and refrigerate until serving
- To serve, add roohafza in a glass and swirl it around to cover the walls
- Add basil seeds
- Add vermicelli
- Pour the milk mix
- Add 1-2 scoops of ice cream
- Garnish with cashew nuts and fresh scraped coconut
- Drizzle roohafza on top
- Serve chilled
