Falooda

Ingredients

• 1 l full-cream milk, well chilled
• 6 tbsp rose syrup (Rooh Afza or similar), plus extra for the glasses
• 2 tbsp sugar, or to taste
• 2 tbsp sabja (basil seeds)
• 200 ml cold water, for soaking the basil seeds
• 50 g falooda sev (cornflour vermicelli)
• 1 l water, for boiling the sev
• 1 cup rose or mixed-fruit jelly, set and cut into small cubes
• 4 scoops vanilla or malai ice cream
• 2 tbsp pistachios, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp almonds, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp tukh malanga or extra sabja, optional

Instructions

1. Stir the sabja into 200 ml cold water in a small bowl. Leave for 15 minutes until each seed has swelled and is surrounded by a clear jelly coat.
2. Bring 1 litre of water to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Break the falooda sev into short lengths and add to the water.
3. Cook the sev for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and translucent with no hard white core. Drain in a sieve and rinse under cold water.
4. Toss the cooled sev with 1 tablespoon of the rose syrup so it does not clump. Keep it in the fridge until needed.
5. Stir the sugar and the remaining rose syrup into the chilled milk until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust sweetness; the milk should be a pale pink.
6. Spoon 1 tablespoon of rose syrup into the bottom of each tall glass. Add a spoonful of soaked sabja, then a layer of sev and a few jelly cubes.
7. Pour the rose milk slowly over the layers until each glass is about three-quarters full.
8. Top each glass with a scoop of ice cream. Scatter over the pistachios, almonds and a little more sabja, and serve at once with a long spoon.

Tips

• Chill the milk and the glasses beforehand so the ice cream melts slowly and the drink stays cold.
• Do not soak sabja for more than 30 minutes, or the seeds turn mushy.
• Rinse the cooked sev well in cold water; the starch left on it makes it stick together.
• Add the ice cream last so the layers stay visible and the drink does not turn thin.