Recipe Index

Milk 2 cups boiled and cooled.
Assorted fruits (apple, banana, strawberry, mango, pineapple, grapes) cubed 1 c
Vanilla ice cream 2 big scoops* ( see notes)
Nuts ( cashews, almonds) 2 tbsp*
Basil seeds 1 tbsp soaked in 1/2 c water.
Falooda sev 1/4 c*
Sugar 1/ 2 c
Rose syrup 2 tbsp

Notes

1. You can use any flavor of ice cream that you like. Feel free to experiment with two or three flavors. I ve tried mango and banana. Also mango and chocolate work well. In case you use a flavor other than vanilla, dont use rose syrup.
2. You can roast the nuts and add them.
3. Soak the basil seeds for 1/2 an hour.
4. In case you dont find falooda sev, use the very thin roasted vermicelli available in the market.
5. Dont use orange or other citrus fruits as they will make the falooda bitter.
6. Assemble the falooda just before serving.
7. You can also use any fruit jelly available in the market. Add the jelly after you place the fruits in the glass during the assembling.

Method

Preparation

Soak the basil seeds in 1/2 c of water for half an hour.
In the meanwhile, Cook the falooda sev as per instructions on the packet. Drain and let cool.
Boil milk and add sugar while it is still hot. Let cool completely.
Add rose syrup to the milk and mix well. Refrigerate.
Also, refrigerate the cup fruits too.

Assembly

To assemble the falooda, you need two tall  and considerable big glasses.
Divide the fruits, nuts, ice cream, basil seeds and sev into two portions.
Place the fruits in the bottom of one glass.
Now, add the sev.
Next add ice cream.
Add the soaked basil seeds to the top of the ice cream.
Sprinkle nuts and raisins.
Pour one cup of milk slowly from the sides.
Repeat with another glass.
Serve cold with a spoon and generous sprinkling of chocolate vermicelli if you desire.

Almonds 1/2 c soaked overnight and peeled
Milk 500 ml ( I used full fat)
Sugar 3/4 c
Cardamom powder 1.5 tsp
Saffron strands a few
Pistachio slivers a few for garnish
Almond slivers a few for garnish

Remove 1/2 c of milk, bring it to a rolling boil and add saffron strands to it. Let it sit.
Now, add another 1/2 c of milk to the peeled almonds and grind to a slightly coarse paste.
Heat the remaining milk and sugar along with cardamom powder until the milk comes to a rolling boil.
Now add ground almond paste and mix well.
Add saffron flavored milk to this milk.
Top with pistachio and almond slivers just before serving.
Serve hot or cold.
But hot is my bet for these wintry days.

Note: Dont reheat the badam milk after making it. The milk will curdle.
Make sure you dont add too much cardamom or saffron or the almond flavor wont shine through.

Cows milk 1.5 litres

For The Sugar Syrup

Sugar 3 cups
Water 3.5 cups
Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp
Saffron strands a few (optional)

Method

Chenna:

Bring the milk to rolling boil. Once it boils, let cool completely and remove the cream that forms on the top. We must remove the fat completely to get soft rasgullas.
 Once done, heat the milk again and when it begins to boil, add diluted vinegar and keep stirring until it curdles completely.
Remove from fire.
Add ice cubes to the curdled milk and let rest for 10 mins.
Drain the whey completely using a colander and transfer the whey to a clean cotton cloth.
Tie the cloth into a bundle and hang it in a clean place where no water splashes for about 1/2 an hour. This to remove all the excess moisture.
After half an hour, remove the chenna from the cloth and transfer to a bowl.
Add semolina to the chenna and mix well.
Now, start kneading the chenna till it all comes together in a dough form without any cracks on the surface. This is the part where you require a lot of patience. But hey! remember , we are going to eat rasgullas at the end. ( wink)
I kneaded the chenna for about 10 to 12 mins until i got a smooth dough.
Once done, close with a moist clean cloth.

Sugar Syrup

Combine sugar, water and cardamom in a deep bottomed pressure cooker or pan.
In the meanwhile, divide the chenna into 12 equal parts and shape them into small balls without any cracks on the surface.
While doing this, make sure you keep the chenna not being rolled covered all the time.
Once you have shaped all the balls, heat the sugar syrup until sugar dissolves completely.
Wait for the syrup to begin boiling.

Rasgullas

Now, add the balls one by one gently into the sugar syrup.
Once you have added all the balls, close the pressure cooker with the lid and immediately put the pressure weight on.
Now, set a timer to 12 mins exactly. Not one minute more, not one minute less.
During this time, you may or may not get whistles from the cooker. Turn away from the cooker till the timer goes off. Read a book, fold clothes, sort laundry, do whatever but dont be tempted to switch off the stove in between or dont get alarmed at the number of whistles. You have to believe me in this.
Once the timer goes off and the 12 mins are up, switch off the stove immediately.
Place the cooker under slow running water ( i did this in my sink with the tap slowly turned on).
This is to release pressure immediately.
Once the cooker has cooled and pressure released, open the lid and transfer the rasgullas to a clean container or a vessel.
Sprinkle saffron strands on top.
Chill for an hour.
Serve immediately or keep chilled.
This keeps well for 3 days when refrigerated.