16 June 2021

Homemade falooda recipe in three way -Royal,healthy and jiggly wiggly

royal-falooda-recipe

"Eat sweet, be sweet !" used to be the motto of my life. But now, people, circumstances, and life all together have taught me,"Don't be !".Too much sweetness can be injurious to one's overall well-being!

My college classmates used to say,"Jo isko dekh karr naa girega ,wo iske baaton pe toh zaroor girega ." meaning one who will not fall for her looks, will fall for her words for sure . Not that I was/am super gorgeous or something, a very average-looking girl next door , but ironically, even though I was always surrounded by beautiful girls inside-out from school to college days even I couldn't stop staring, I was the one who had a few secret admirers ...

falooda-recipe

The one who used to call me every day during hostel days and my hostel warden used to be damn strict. No men's call except that of my father or brother or uncle were allowed but he surpassed that, the one who always wrote ILU on my bench drawers during school -college days...I used to get b'day cards and SRK sir's pic from my juniors, likewise many incidents..still don't know who those mysterious guys were...Maybe some kind of prank that appeared like Deewanapan....#Nostalgia

My friends used to tease me that after all her nakshatra/zodiac star is of Lord Shri Krishna...πŸ˜†πŸ˜‹What they don't know is that my kula devi,the Goddess worshipped by our ancestors and family has the same nakshatra too...

falooda

Likewise, when my hubby came to my house for pennukannal/ladki dekhne/ selecting the girl for an arranged marriage, his folks were least interested in this proposal and they were heading to see the other high profile party for the marriage. But when we met, I knew he was gonna marry me lol...And he went against his folks and he wanted to marry me  ..My father insisted, "Get engaged now and marry during your next India visit."( as he didn't have enough leave left). But he was adamant and we got married in a week (the latest shubh muhurath / holy time as per astrology available then)...#PaavamNRIPayyan

Being super-romantic by nature, I found all this very very impressive :D ...I always wanted to marry a gutsy like this who would listen to his intuition not others which is something I always appreciate and admire forever....

But then he flew back to the US after just four days ...Sighhh...It took months for me to get the visa to join him in the US...

SPECIAL-FALOODA-RECIPE

So,I don't know what he saw in me,I was also looking for a new job then,just 23 year old..maybe like they say," Eyes are the mirror to the soul !"πŸ˜ŠπŸ˜‹πŸ˜‰ But sadly for this decision, he is still facing the brunt, there are people who don't want to see us together /happy for us ...Perhaps that's why he kinda walks on eggshells and there is a distance between us (emotional)...

Endayallum ellavardem aagraham almost saadikandey aayirrunnu....

recipe-of-falooda

My father told me the night before my marriage that always treat your Husband like God and I was lol'ing as it sounded like a famous dialogue from some old Indian movies. However, that's exactly what I did and I do ...I never believed in falling in love blah blah (all these looked good on others or in movies but in my life's dictionary, all these never existed and I believe love marriages are as vulnerable as any arranged marriages ...I have seen broken love marriages and blessed arranged marriages ...

Also , with the lola hridyam/the sweet heart I am, and the way people love and ditch nowadays, I would have been left heartbroken and afraid of commitment eventually. So, neither I came across someone who would give me that special spark nor I wanted any guy to come close enough to me for that matter.My parent's conservative upbringing somehow saved my heart from being misused like that.Not having a boyfriend was/is actually a feather in my cap. All I knew was ,the one I will marry, I will give my all,give not 100 but 200 %  and I am......

healthy-falooda-recipe

My parents were like, we will take care of the money aspect (part of our Hindu wedding ceremony) but then it is up to you,to win everyone's heart.With love you should, you can and you will !! Since I think I am good at loving others for sure, I had no doubts about it ....But ..

OMG..Is it ok to share all this in public or is this what is called treating someone, own, as if they are an outsider ???

No this is not my style ..though...


Well,I used to have health issues ,I had a problem conceiving and I was in and out of the hospital...Even my friends (not all ) were getting fed up with my health dilemmas when I shared but when I didn't,they wondered ,reacted , reminded me how can I still be so happy... ...It made me feel vulnerable ,confused, moody, and insane (about human behavior)......I started losing people and kinda isolating myself...Not complaining ,people have their own priorities and issues but having a sweet heart , hurts a lot... Problem is ME /my heart !#Dil-ae-nadan...Badi mushkilon se fir sambhaltha hai dil,kya kya jatan karthey hai inhe kya pata....



But whatsoever, by God's grace ,I never get fed up with me 😁, and God's precious gift called LIFE...I've always been my best friend ,cheerleader , sunshine, and rainbows!! #AaallIsWell

Mein zindagi ka saath nibhati chalii gayi,harr fikr ko dhuyein mein udati chali gayi............

However, being an inexperienced first-time mommy, taking care of my baby all by myself, my hubby's job required traveling then, sometimes I accompanied,so it was quite challenging for me and she was very handful till I was in India...That phase is kinda over for good...

how-to-make-falooda

So, I learned the hard way that being too sweet,kind,humble,just makes people think that it is a sign of weakness and that you are just innocently stupid, an emotional FOOL....I read and realized somewhere,"True love (not just romantic ones) regardless is "mostly" a facade and benefit-oriented nowadays !"... 

So, my parents are kinda wrong that with love one can win everyone's heart, some will just destroy you if you don't have thick skin. They taught us always to be nice to others whatsoever. Guess what, I and my brother both had to go through tough situations and people in life and ended up becoming rebels, the black sheep in the family, rest all are nice but smartypants in their own way and that's how we should be too in this modern era ,where even TVs,cars and phones have become smart .We realized, yes one should be nice to others but don't have to prove to others always how nice we are !! My maturity level now totally depends upon who I am with.Period.There is a limit! 

Besides,like the Malayalam saying ,"Pottaney chetti kalipichal,chettiye daivam kalipikkum."....meaning "People can fool people,But eventually God will fool them." 

I know :)..Only in God I trust !

I will always be grateful to God and people for all blessings in my life and NOTHING is gonna make me arrogant or proud-y or cold-y BUT not a very sweet person anymore !!

AND ,like Bob Marley said, "The truth is, everyone is going to hurt youYou just have to find the ones worth suffering for." 

Isi baat pe ek aur gana hojaye...(with 0 emotions , drum roll pls :D )

Jag ne chheenaa mujse,mujhe jo bhi lagaa pyaaraa
Sab jeetaa kiye mujse,main har dum hi haaraa
(Then I look into the mirror)Tum haar ke dil apnaa , meri jeet amar kar do πŸ˜‚πŸ˜ (Hothon Se Chhu lo Tum [From Premgeet] Ft.🎡)

#IAmALoveDonor #MyWeirdJokesAreMySavingGrace


So,character-wise, I am on the borderline of sweet and bitter but look wise, thanks to my hubby for bringing me to the US, after coming here I was transforming like a butterfly every way ,especially after quitting my 9-5 job, when I started to look after myself seriously,I also started looking a little better and feeling better.

Financial wise,thanks to my mother for all those cooking lessons and my hubby's love for the food I cook for him dil se ,cooking has become my passion,my peace,my happiness,my part-time gig ...It was my dream to work at Google someday, that couldn't happen but when Google accepted my blog for the Google Adsense program even though I didn't have many followers, and I've read that it takes sometimes twice or thrice attempts to get accepted but by God's and Google's grace my blog was accepted in the first attempt itself....

So,it was indirectly like a dream come true for me (They say,if you are good at something, don't do it for free and it's loads of work to maintain my blog and YouTube all by myself !)...That's why only Google is my boyfriend.Also thanks to Honey P for all my technical knowledge and help! It keeps me financially (not that stable) but sweet! I always wanted to carve my own creative path....

Falooda-Fruit-salad

So, now I dread to say eat sweet and be sweet ,I even used to impose on some people who were not sweets fans...Now I am like ,just eat sweet and retain little sweetness ...athukum mele venda moley venda mole vendaaa...

BUT I have such a bad cavity-prone sweet tooth, that any kind of Indian sweet is simply irresistible to me ..

Guess what today's recipe is loaded with sweetness ...It was my biggggg wish to make a falooda with as many sweet ingredients as possible ....😍😊

SO,what is FALOODA ?

Falooda is a cold drink cum dessert layered with special vermicelli (made up of wheat,arrowroot,corn starch,sago etc) , rose syrup, chilled milk, sweet basil seeds, and ice cream mainly and served in a tall glass and scooped with a long spoon in a bottom to up motion. It is chilled,sweet,smooth,velvety,creamy,crunchy,vibrant,the best thirst quencher, and a great hunger killer.

falooda-at-home-recipe


Falooda is refreshing and the best antidote to a scorching summer. That's why Falooda is a popular food item from high-end restaurants to street vendors and every sweet lover's favorite and most sought-after cold dessert.If you eat it for the first time ,you may wonder if it is a drink as you can't simply sip it up. Finally ,you will end up realizing it is a drink that you can eat too .😍

Many versions of Falooda can be found all around in Asia .Like Halo Halo ,a Philippine dessert, Singaporean Cendol, Mauritian bubble tea etc etc...(Wish I could taste them all too in this birth ! #Fingerscrossed)

With a few ingredients, it can be easily made at home as well, like I did in three ways.

History of Falooda

As exactly mentioned in Wiki,"The origin of Falooda goes back to Iran (Persia), where a similar dessert, faloodeh, was popular.The dessert came to Medieval India with the many Central Asian merchants and dynasties that settled in the Indian subcontinent in the 16th to 18th century.[7] The present form of falooda was developed in the Mughal Empire and spread with its conquests. "

It is mentioned in this article that, "Falooda began life as a decadent concoction in the royal courts of Mughal Emperor, Jehangir. Akbar's son Jahangir had a great curiosity about anything novel," writes the eminent food historian ,KT Achaya, in The Story of Our Food. "A favourite of Jahangir's was faluda, a rich jelly-like drink made from the strainings of boiled wheat mixed with fruit juices and cream." Others say that king Nader Shah brought it with him when he came to India."

When Manju met Falooda

I never ever had Falooda in my childhood days .I've seen it in some shops and I used to think it is some kind of royal and price-y drink and my parents thought it was damn unhealthy seeing those color syrups added layer by layer.I tasted Falooda for the first time in an Indian shop in the US with my hubby and I was thinking how am I gonna finish this tall glass all by myself.It was a messy affair yet so delicious ......mmmmmm....It was like an ultimate pett pooja /taming a hungry belly layer by layer.....

The best thing about Falooda is that we can easily prepare them at home with a few ingredients with our own innovative twist to it and the best-est thing about Falooda is that, unlike other recipes, there is no particular order to make or arrange this recipe ...Just layer as you wish! 

Falooda-with-Jello


I wanted to make this sinfully delicious
falooda that had almost every sweet thing but I forgot to make a cake, so, it is excluded...other than that I tried my best to include everything possible and I am gonna share my three favorite ways to prepare Falooda -one that is all-in-one falooda,second is a healthy version of falooda and third is a mix of colorful jellos Falooda.

Here is a Falooda special VLOG , I had as much fun in making this video ,as I had in eating these faloodas...



So,here is my favorite version of falooda,the royal Falooda ...I didn't use any special falooda sev/vermicelli ,I simply used the ordinary vermicelli ,instead of sabja seeds I used the twin ,chia seeds and I just added the plant-based colour to make rose milk instead of using any rose syrup particularly,then I used some tapioca pearls/sabudana,choco chips,M&Ms, homemade bread gulab jamuns,tutti-fruity mix, mixed dry fruits, homemade colorful icecream,topped with cherry ,garnished with wafer biscuits ....

Royal falooda

Ingredients

Vermicelli - 1 cup

Tapioca pearls - 1 cup

Chia seeds - 1 cup

Milk (I used the pasteurized milk) - 1-4 Cups

Sugar to taste (optional)

Red edible color

Choco chips - 1 cup

M&Ms / Gems - As needed

Tutti fruity - As needed

Gulab Jamuns -2-3 Nos.

Homemade jams -1-2 Tbsp

Mixed dry nuts- As needed

Water as needed

Homemade ice cream

To garnish:

Cherries

Wafer biscuits

Tall Glass , spoons and tissues

How to make Royal Falooda /Preparation method :

  1. Soak the chia seeds and tapioca pearls until they swell up properly.The chia seeds will become a little sticky, that's ok but it shouldn't be raw.
  2. Clean the tapioca pearls under water to remove the starch and then boil water in a pan.Reduce the flame and add the tapioca Pearls/Sabudana to it and let it puff up and become translucent,just make sure not to overcook or it will become sticky .Put off the flame.Allow it to cool off .Then drain the water away.Keep the sabudana aside in a bowl.
  3. Similarly,boil water in a pan.Reduce the flame.Add the vermicelli/sev and let it cook or soften up. Don't overcook or it will become sticky and mushy.Put off the flame.Let it cool off.Then drain the water away.Transfer the vermicelli into a clean,dry bowl.Keep it aside.
  4. Add a few drops of red color to milk ,stir till it turns pink, and keep it refrigerated.Mix sugar if needed.
  5. Now take the tall glass and arrange all ingredient to your wish layer by layer ,pour the chilled pink milk,top it with ice cream,cherries,crushed mixed dry nuts and wafers.
  6. That's it,Royal Falooda is ready !!
  7. Scoop it and ENJOY !!
  8. Oh by the way...don't forget the tissues !You will need it...You are welcome !;)
NOTE:The ingredients need to be layered/adjusted as per your preference little by little.

Easy-Falooda-recipe

Now the second version of Falooda is a healthy version of Falooda .This falooda I made exclusively for my hubby as it is sugar-free and healthy comparatively.He is diabetic.He got it at a very young age as it is genetic,it runs in their family.I've always seen my father-in-law taking insulin shots daily and it was very hurting to see that .

So,I gave my unnecessary expert advice like I always do to others lol😁😜...that he should please exercise ,lose weight,be healthy and just like the son,he frowned upon it and one day the unthinkable happened (of course not because he didn't listen to me though ), he got brain stroke, half-paralyzed and is bed-ridden for so many years. It is painful to see that and also that it is a heavy toll on my mother-in-law too ...This is one of the reasons that I am a little strict about my hubby's health as well.

Well, nowadays, even kids have diabetics,young people have Cholestrol,B.P.,heart attacks etc due to our hectic , unhealthy lifestyle .Even diabetes is one of the diseases that run in my family too.My mother has it too! Since no one eats sweets like ME in the entire family, I am worried when I will succumb to it (GOD forbid!) .So far so good !(Touchingwood and the entire tree !)

Hence I made a healthy, guilt-free version of falooda as well ,like this :

Healthy Falooda recipe

Ingredients

Vermicelli 1 cup

Chia seeds 1 cup

Tapioca Pearls 1 cup

Chilled milk 1 cup

Plant-based red edible food color a few drops

Mixed fruits chopped

Mixed dry nuts, crushed 1 cup

Honey as needed

Yogurt 1 cup

Cherries (optional)

Homemade Banana icecream 

Tall glass,spoons, and tissues

Preparation method to make healthy Falooda :

  1. First of all, I made this easiest ice cream by blending ripe Bananas with vanilla until smooth and creamy in a food blender/mixer and freezing it .
  2. I used the pasteurized milk mixed with a few drops of plant-based red food color and chilled it.If you have fresh milk from the farm or doodhwala/milkman,you must boil it and let it cool down and proceed.
  3. Place the ice cream out of the freezer so that it is easy to scoop out.
  4. Now into the tall glass arrange all ingredients one by one as per your preference as there is no particular order like mentioned above in the Royal Falooda.
  5. Just finally top it with scoops of ice cream and garnish with cherries and crushed dry nuts.
  6. That's it healthy and yummy falooda recipe is ready !
Falooda-made-with-jelly-recipe

Finally, I made a Falooda as colorful as possible with different readymade jello I had. Actually, I forgot to add the jellos in the first royal falooda recipe.So,I made an exclusive Falooda filled with different colors of readymade jello for the love of colors and the jiggly-wiggly texture of jello ....Not a fan of jello especially non-Indian ones but I love how jiggly-wiggly they are hehehhee...It makes the kid in me alive...

Jello colorful Falooda

Ingredients

Vermicelli 1 cup

Chia seeds 1 cup

Tapioca Pearls 1 cup

Chilled milk 1 cup

Plant-based red edible food color a few drops

Mixed dry nuts,crushed 1 cup

Readymade Jello (Red,Yello,Green,Blue)

Choco chips and M & Ms/Gems chocolates

Cherries

Homemade icecream

Wafer biscuits

Tall glass,spoons, and tissues

Preparation method to make Jello colorful Falooda:

Since my readymade jellos came in small cup cases.I had to break down the jello into small parts using a spoon. Then simply arrange all ingredients one by one into the tall glass. There is no particular order to follow. Finally, top it with homemade ice cream ,cherries ,M&Ms and wafers. 

Insert the spoon into the falooda ,bottom-up gently and scoop it up ,eating a little bit of all layers, then only you will enjoy the falooda to the fullest and not just by eating from the top. That's my jello colorful Falooda recipe!

It looked so beautiful, all those colors popping out that I didn't want to eat it.

falooda-street-food

Falooda is such a flexible recipe. We can make so many innovative falooda versions .It's all about the layers and one's tastes and preferences ...I can't wait to make more varieties ....It is also so filling and time taking to eat .Falooda is one of those recipes, that needs to be savored bit by bit and not in a hurry...Summer,Falooda shots,friends/family,chit-chats = Perfect ! ...For me ,Falooda = Self-love celebration too !! Like they say, stressed spelled backward is DESSERTS!πŸ˜ŠπŸ™Œ

Take Care ! Stay safe and sound!

HOPE and LOVE !

Praying hard and ALWAYS for all our real superheros (All sincere Doctors,nurses,medical staffs, scientists etc ) who are doing their best for SO LONG non-stop to save us from the bio-weapon C !πŸ™ ...I wonder how they are holding onto it,after all at the end of the day, they are just a human...May angels and God be always with each one of them and their family ..AMEN! I wish and pray, may every country acknowledge their contributions during this challenging ceaseless pandemic not only in a non-monetary way like just extending thanks but also in a solid monetary way too always..They should be rewarded/motivated ,deserve the best in every way !!.....Hope they are ! #Salute #ThankYou #ChingiKaHatyarHaiDeshKhatreMeinHain #InGodWeTrust 

Love and light ,