ROSE-SCENTED FALOODA

This weekend kicked off the start of Eid Al Adha (or Feast of Sacrifice). For those that are unfamiliar, it's the second of the two Muslim holy holidays and is considered the most holy, the other being Eid Al-Fitr, celebrating the end of Ramadan.

Although this holiday is considered the "Salty Eid" with savoury dishes being the mainstay of the celebration, it made me think about a sweet drink I grew up having at the sweet shops when I travelled. Falooda is a rose-scented, sweet milk that is flecked with sweet basil seeds (tukmaria), a cornstarch vermicelli and ice cream. It's such a distinct taste memory, an Indo-Pakistani bubble milk tea of sorts for a reference point, and was always a treat.

I thought it would be fun to recreate and also do it a bit more naturally (to give to my little one!). I used a rice vermicelli because falooda sev, the traditional cornstarch noodle, was too hard to find. In lieu of a pre-fab, pre-sweeted rose syrup, I made my own to control for sweetness, but, by all means, it tastes great using either. Finally, I used a touch of kewra essence because that flavor is part of my childhood, but it's totally optional (and also not the easiest to find).

Basil seeds, by the way, are very similar to chia seeds. When you soak them, they swell and become gelatinous. Like chia, they are considered a superfood, but, theoretically, you could sub in chia if they are too tough to find.

Serves 4

2 teaspoons basil seeds

1/3 cup white or brown rice vermicelli, broken into 1- to 2-inch pieces

2 cups milk (whole, skim, almond, coconut)

3 tablespoons rose syrup*

1 1/2 tablespoons kewra essence (optional)

4 medium scoops ice cream (vanilla, honey, pistachio, or any flavor you think fits here)

In a small bowl, cover the basil seeds with water and let sit 5 to 10 minutes. They will swell up, so you may need to add a bit more water. Strain.

Cook the vermicelli per the package instructions - usually about 3 minutes in boiling (unsalted!) water. Strain and transfer to an ice bath (water and ice) to cool down immediately and stop cooking. Strain once cooled.

To the milk, stir in the rose syrup and kewra essence, if using.

Divide the basil seeds and vermicelli between 4 glasses. Top with the rose milk and finish with a scoop of ice cream. Serve immediately with a straw and a spoon!

*For the rose syrup, in a medium pot, bring 1 1/2 cups water, 1 cup dried rose petals and 1 cup white sugar (if using a natural brown sugar like palm or coconut, change this to 3/4 cup) up to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep until it cools to room temperature. Strain, using the back of the spoon to press through as much of the liquid (and flavor) from the rose petals as possible. Add a few tablespoons of rose water to intensify the flavor if need be - it all depends on the strength of the rose petals you're using.

Pomegranate-Rose Milk Pudding

A few weeks back, I read two separate articles that helped inspire this dish. One discussed Sephardic culinary traditions that originated in North Africa, and the other addressed using rose water in modern cooking. Milk pudding thickened with rice flour, and often scented with rose water, is a traditional North African and Middle Eastern dish called malabi (in Israel), sutlage (in Turkey and the Balkans) or muhallabeya (in North Africa and rest of the Middle East). With the Jewish New Year passing and Yom Kippur coming up, I thought this could be a beautiful, sweet dish for the Break Fast meal.

Before starting this dish, I decided to dig a bit deeper and chatted with a friend of mine whose family comes from Sephardic culture, and she clued me in on a few things. First, her family eats something sweet immediately after the fast to get their blood sugar up. She also said her family clears the table after, so a dish like this, which has dairy, is totally fine. For a parve version, coconut milk (regular, lite or even half diluted with water) would work well as a substitute for milk.

But it was the symbolism I found even more interesting. Pomegranates have special significance because the number of seeds in the fruit corresponds with the mitzvots, or commandments of the Torah. Fascinating! Also, I plated these in individual, circular bowls to signify the full circle of the coming year, another symbolic gesture.

After all of the importance, the taste just seems secondary…but thank goodness because it is tasty! The fruity tartness of the pomegranate is offset by the sweet milk and the vanilla notes, and the rose comes later…almost like you are smelling it rather than tasting it. I love sprinkling the pomegranate arils on top for a juicy crunch to offset the texture of the pudding. This is delicious regardless of time of year! Enjoy…

Ingredients

Yields 4 to 6 servings

3 pomegranates, juiced, or 3/4 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice*

½ cup rice flour

4 cups milk

½ cup + 2 tbsps sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ tbsps rosewater

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (optional)

Procedure

Place a medium-sized bowl over a pot of simmering water (not touching the water and at a medium heat) or use a double-boiler for this recipe.

In a small bowl, add the rice flour to the pomegranate juice in increments, whisking until thoroughly combined. You don’t want any lumps.

Heat the milk in the top of the double boiler. You should see bubbles around the edges, but the milk shouldn’t be boiling. Add pomegranate juice with rice flour, sugar, vanilla extract, rosewater, salt, and pomegranate molasses if using. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until thickened.

Again, there shouldn’t be any lumps, so blend with a hand blender if you happen to have a few. Ladle into serving cups or one large bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours.

Serve garnished with pomegranate arils.

*For the recipe, I seeded (messily…) 3 pomegranates, blended the arils, and strained out the juice. You can more easily do this in a juicer if you have one. If using bottled pomegranate juice, it’s definitely more concentrated than juicing the fruit, so I wouldn’t add the optional pomegranate molasses. Also, be careful of the sweetness if the pomegranate juice has added sugars…

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ROSE-SCENTED FALOODA

Pomegranate-Rose Milk Pudding