"Mumbai ka Falooda"

My first ever blog post...and I dedicate this to the great artist, true pride of India, M.F Hussain. As this blog is going to feature lot of art work( my experiments and also interesting work of others, as and when I come across them) and also my culinary trials, its only apt that I start on this extraordinary and exciting journey into the world of blogging by honoring a great artist.

The reason I chose to make Falooda and blog about it is because that was the last thing Hussain saab wanted to have,lying in his death bed in a hospital in London. As the cheerful nurse got him the tray of one of his last lunches, he turned to his son, and said.."All I want to have is some Mumbai ka Falooda"...Reading this in the papers  I couldnot help but feel extremely sad for him....he passed away in a foreign land, far from his motherland and with an unfulfilled desire to have something as simple as Falooda...So this one is for you, Hussain saab..

Since this was my first time making Falooda, I wasnot sure inititally as to how to go about making it, as in what ingredients to buy, complexity of the process etc...Anyways, I decided finally that I will never really know till I go out and browsed around at my local grocery store...As I was strolling down the aisles at Haiko looking around at varied assortment of instant dessert mixes my eyes suddenly spotted these small transparent packets tucked away neatly in the bottom shelf. I almost spontaneously squealed out like a little kid and jumped towards the shelf...I found a multitude of options in instant falooda mix in various flavors. After much contemplation and debating I decided to pick one each of Rose and Kesar since I felt those would be most palatable to Sudhi and me...

Posted here is the Rose flavored Falooda..Why else?? Coz its PINK!!! And this blog being named after my favorite colors HAD to feature a post that had something to do with these colors...Hence, while the edible part is Pink, the accessorizing and decor has been kept in Purple to add as a contrasting shade as well as coz the two colors together make for great visual appeal...

Now for the actual process of preparing the falooda, which may I add, was child's play..
Firstly the packet ingredients:
Sugar, Vermicelli,Sabja Seeds, Nuts and raisins and permitted food color.

To make it:
Take a litre of full milk and mix it with a glass of water. To make it more figure friendly, you may skip the full cream milk and go with skimmed milk. Since the skimmed milk will be a little watery in consistency, skip adding the water. This is what I did, and trust me it tastes just as good, while being a lot less in calories too..

Anyways, going ahead...heat the milk and once its a little warm, mix in the dry ingredients and dissolve it well. Bring this to a rolling boil and simmer for 10 mins or till desired consistency is achieved. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool...Once it aquired room temperature, I poured it out in tall glasses and refrigerated them to get all chilled and yummy and be ready to be eaten after dinner..

If you so desire, you may add ice cream, kulfi or jello to this before eating. But since we like it as is, I decided to skip on the frills..

Posted above is a picture that I collaged, of the dry ingredients(which has been plated for better visuals) as well as the finished outcome in tall crystalware..

Hope you all enjoyed this post and do try making this super simple super delish treat for yourself and your family...specially am sure the kids will just love it..
So Bon Apetit, till my next post..which in all probability will be about food too...;)