In a modern spin on the traditional falooda, fresh strawberry syrup and sweet-tart orange jelly are layered with the usual suspects like pearly basil seeds, thin vermicelli and ice cream to make a luscious and enticing dessert. Presenting, the orange-strawberry falooda; the perfect sweet treat to welcome spring into our midst!
You will need:
For orange jelly,
Orange flavored gelatin powder - 3-oz packet
Hot water - ¾ cup
Cold water - ½ cup
Ice cubes - a few
For strawberry syrup,
Strawberries - 8 oz, chopped
Sugar - 2 tbsp
For Falooda,
Sabja or basil seeds - 4 tsp
Vermicelli - ½ cup
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Milk - 3 cups, divided
Vanilla ice cream - 4 small scoops
Orange - 1, peeled and cut into slices or segments
Mint leaves - for garnish (optional)
How to:
Prepare orange jelly by first dissolving gelatin powder in boiling hot water. Add ice to cold water to make 1¼ cups and stir well till slightly thickened. Remove unmelted ice and cover bowl with cling wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes or till firm. It is okay if it is a soft set since you will be layering the jelly with other ingredients anyway.
Meanwhile, prepare strawberry syrup by cooking down the strawberries with sugar in a small saucepan. In a few minutes, the fruit will break down and form a thick syrup. Transfer to a jar and allow to cool.
Soak the sabja seeds in a cup of water so that they become soft and plump, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Cook vermicelli in 1 cup of milk and 1 tbsp of sugar till milk is absorbed and vermicelli is soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
To make the falooda, add a tablespoon of sabja seeds in the bottom of a tall glass. Top with a few 1" slices of orange jelly, 1-2 tbsp of vermicelli and 1-2 tbsp of strawberry syrup. Gently pour in ½ cup of cold milk without disturbing the bottom layers. Add a small scoop of ice cream of top. Top with fresh orange segments and more strawberry syrup. Repeat for all servings. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve.
Notes:
1. All the individual components can be prepped simultaneously and made ahead of time, thus saving you time. 2. Traditionally, falooda sev, a variety of super thin vermicelli is used. This sev simply needs to be soaked in hot water to soften it. But here, I have used regular vermicelli that has been broken into small pieces. This needs to be cooked in water till al-dente. 3. You can use strawberry ice cream or vanilla ice cream in this recipe. I used vanilla ice cream since that is what I had on hand.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2017/02/28/orange-strawberry-falooda/