Taystit by Hasna: jelly

Classic Royal Falooda

Subhan Allah! The holy month of Ramadan is surely flying away. Its already the 22nd Ramadan, this is beyond belief. Trying to stay away from social media and other activities as much as I can.

Increase your time in Ibadah, and do the maximum for the hereafter. If you are a busy mother and you don't have the time to do Ibadah like reciting the Mushaf and standing in prayer other than the obligatory ones, remember Allah is merciful and He rewards you for all that you do, be it household chores, or any other responsibilities as a mother, wife, daughter or sister. Moisten your tongue with dhikr and make duaa for the current situation to cease. Do include me and my fam in your duaa too.

Now coming back to star recipe of the day! The well known Royal Falooda is a dessert drink that is enjoyed amongst us especially during summer. Well, it is believed that the falooda was evolved from Persia. Persians had strong trade relations with India during the Mughal Era along with which food cultures were also adopted. It is said that Falooda was once served to the upper class, which is now enjoyed in every household too. This drink is prepared in various flavors, but I stilll prefer the classic rose flavored ones. I initially thought of making mango falooda, but my heart didn't feel like it.

Basically, Royal Falooda consists of rose syrup flavored ice milk, falooda sev or vermicelli, khas-khas or basil seeds, dry fruits, fresh fruits, and Ice cream. Falooda, as far as I remember was my favorite part of visiting India. We could never hold back our ecxitement to visit our favorite ice-cream shop 'Íceberg' or the then only ice cream cafe in Thalassery. If anyone would say they were going to Iceberg everyone would just jump to the car and join the clan. Ah! Those fine days were the best, even though we have many such cafe's and coolbars now in Thalassery, the memories and nostalgia attached to our visits to Iceberg are special. Fond memories of visits to Iceberg include this particular dessert drink that would quench our thirst, refresh us and fill our tummies, and Falooda was usually the most popular order given. The one faint memory if I hated falooda was that they added tutti fruitti which I totally dislike.

So I prepared it with all ingredients that I love. One spoonfull of this dessert drink and it felt like it took me back in memory lane and it was bliss!

You may add any fresh fruits of your choice or nuts preferably non-tropical fruits, I have added chopped apple, banana and pome aril seeds (anar seeds) in my demostration. You may add other fruits like sliced grapes etc.

For iftar, we open our fasts with dates, juice and an array of fruits, why not try Royal Falooda since it is all in one and definitely a tummy pleaser.

Ingredients (makes 2 tall glasses of Falooda):

5 tbsp rose syrup
1 cup chilled milk
1 cup cold milk
4 - 5 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp basil seeds (soaked in 2 tbsp water for 10-15 minutes)
3- 4 tbsp cooked falooda sev or vermicelli
6 tbsp cherry or strawberry jelly (prepared according to package instructions)
4 scoops vanilla or pista ice cream
6 tbsp chopped apple and banana
2 tbsp dried fig and almonds chopped
1 tbsp pome aril seeds
1 tbsp slivered pistachio, for garnish
1 strawberry, for garnish

Instructions:

In a tall glass, add you bloomed basil seeds.
Next, add your falooda sev or vermicelli and pour 1 tbsp rose syrup around the edges of the glass.
Now in a blender, pour 1 cup cold milk, add 2 tbsp rose syrup and sugar. Blend well and add the chilled ice milk to the blender and pulse for a second or two.
Add 3 tbsp jelly to the glass and pour in your prepared rose milk.
Next add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and add your fresh cut fruits.
Next add your dry fruits and almond and some pome aril seeds (anar seeds).
Scoop in a couple of tbsp of jelly and finally finish off with a scoop of ice cream. Garnished with slivered pistachio and pome aril seeds.

Notes:

Use Pistachio Ice cream for added nuts effect, I only had vanilla ice cream so used it.
My mom suggests to add sago seeds instead of Chia seeds or along with it.

Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡

Strawberry Vanilla Jelly Pudding

One of my first experiments in the dessert segment was this 'Strawberry Vanilla Jelly Pudding'. Happened when I was a teenager, my mom had gone to India and my brother had invited his friend and his wife over for iftar and she called me up to say that she would cook the main dinner for our day and I took control of the snacks, juices, etc.

I had already planned what to make for the snacks etc, but choosing a dessert was a huge decision as this was the first time I was hosting a party all on my own (with little help from my sister). So now you know how I would have been brainstorming ideas. Finally, I thought to myself that I would make something with the ingredients available at home.

There, I saw a pack of strawberry/ cherry jelly peeping at me from the pantry. I was overjoyed! I started contemplating on how to make this jelly interesting yet uncomplicated. (As I already had so much to do in a short span of time i.e., before Magrib azan, planned the iftar on the same day morning). To get better ideas I opened the fridge to find apples sitting in there. I thought to myself that cutting apples into small cubes and adding to the jelly would add dimension and a fruit crunch in between for the first layer of my pudding and there I began preparing. Once the iftar was over I was overwhelmed by the response I got for this easy peasy dessert. Since then I never stopped experimenting🙈 Alhamdulilah. <3

When I called mama to tell her what happened excitedly she was like had already tried this after she saw a recipe in 'Vanitha' - Women's Weekly magazine which similar to what I explained to her. But anyhow she was happy that it was something that I achieved on my own without referring any recipe. Maa Sha Allah 😍🙈

Now let's go and prepare just the right kind of dessert you need after a heavy party meal!

Ingredients:

Bundt pan
1 pack Strawberry/ Cherry flavor Jelly
1 pack Caramel Custard Pudding Mix
275 ml whole milk
1 Apple, Chopped uniformly
8-10 Strawberries, quartered
Water, as required, on the pack
Sugar, if required

Instructions:

Chop your fruits, (apple and strawberries uniformly) and make the jelly according to the instructions at the backside of the jelly pack.

Pour in the prepared jelly liquid into the bundt pan and drop in the fruits proportionately and place in the fridge to set.
After about half an hour make your caramel custard according to the instructions on the pack and once the mixture is about to boil switch off the flame and let the mixture cool enough to pour over the jelly.
Ps: Do not keep the caramel to cool for too long as it might start to set.
Pour the cooled custard mixture slowly over the now set jelly and place in the fridge to set. At least for 3-4 hours.
Once set place bundt pan in warm water for 5 minutes and slowly invert onto a serving plate by keep the plate upside down on the bundt pan and tilting the plate and pan together to invert and voila! Your pudding is ready to be relished!

NOTE:
I like the Green's brand for the Caramel Custard. You may make your own caramel custard if you want. But this is an instant option. (very handy when you have guests coming over)
You may add extra sugar before the milk boils if you feel the sweetness of the custard isn't enough.
Only use the bundt pan if you are willing to take the risk. If so please do not forget this step, place your bundt pan in warm water for 5 minutes before you invert the pudding onto a serving plate.
You may do the same in a glass bowl for more transparency if you do not want to invert and take a risk😊 but the bundt pan version looks so beautiful 😍😍😍