Falooda Kulfi

During hot, summer days, after a light meal, a chilled glass of falooda kulfi is just what the heart desires. I have made kulfi in the past, but never bothered to go the whole nine yards for the falooda kulfi. One major deterrent was the making of the falooda sev. I have never made this, and somehow I feel that it is a very complicated thing to make.

Then the other day while doing my grocery shopping at one of the Indian stores, I came across this packet of ready made falooda sev. I immediately bought one. So, now I wanted to try making this chilled beverage.

One of the ingredients in a falooda is this pearly substance that I always thought was tapioca pearls. But one of my friends told me that it was actually basil/tukmaria seeds or सब्जा. A little browsing around the shelves where I found the falooda sev resulted in my getting the basil seeds as well. The remaining ingredients I already had in my pantry.

We loved this refreshing dessert! It was the perfect end to a hot Sunday. As DH said, definitely worth a repeat! The only thing I might change though is that I might reduce the quantity of sugar syrup used as it was a tad sweeter than what we prefer.

For flavoring the kulfi, I used ready made Badam Milk Masala. This contains powdered almonds and sugar. Feel free to replace with any other flavor, or just finely powder almond and sugar and use.

Preparation: 20 minutes    Kulfi Freezing & Basil Seeds Soaking: Overnight     
Kulfi Servings: 8             Falooda Kulfi Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

Basil/Tukmaria Seeds - 4 tablespoons
Falooda Sev- 1 packet
Rose Syrup - 5-6 tablespoons
Sugar - 2 tablespoons
Water - 4 tablespoons (for sugar syrup)
For Kulfi:
Heavy Cream - ½ pint
Condensed Milk - 14 oz can
Evaporated Milk - 12 oz can
Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder -3.2 oz
Low Fat Milk - 1 cup
Badam Milk Masala - 2 heaped tablespoons
Kesar/Saffron - a few strands
Elaichi/Cardamom Powder -½ teaspoon
Jaiphal/Nutmeg Powder -½ teaspoon
Mango Pulp Puree - ¼ cup
Mixed Fruit Essence - 1 teaspoon

Method:

Soak Basil seeds in water overnight.

Mix together all the ingredients for the kulfi in a large bowl.

Whisk it into a smooth flowing consistency, making sure there are no lumps

Fill Kulfi/Popsicle moulds with the mixture.

Seal the kulfi molds and freeze them overnight. The next day un-mold them and eat them as it is or garnish with chopped nuts of your choice.

Pour the remaining kulfi mixture into a wide container and freeze this as well overnight.

When you want to make the falooda, take sugar in a vessel and add water to it.

Bring this to a boil and continue boiling till the sugar dissolves completely. Let it cool.

Boil the falooda sev in adequate water for 5 minutes.

Once the sev has cooked and softened, replace the hot water with cold water and let the sev rest in this till it is ready to be used.

In the glass to be served, add the basil seeds at the bottom.

 Next add in a little of the falooda sev, 2-3 tablespoons of rose syrup & 2 tablespoons of sugar syrup.

 Finally add in a couple of scoops of kulfi & drizzle a little more rose syrup on top.

Tada! Yummy and refreshing falooda kulfi is ready!