Falooda / Faluda is a cold dessert / drink popular in the Indian sub continent. Traditionally it is prepared by mixing rose syrup, cooked vermicelli (falooda sev), soaked basil seeds/ tukhmaria/sabja, jelly pieces with some lightly sweetened milk. I have adopted a layer approach and layered the different ingredients (nuts, rose syrup, soaked basil seeds, noodles,jelly pieces and milk) and finally topped with a scoop of ice cream:) It is perfect during hot summer days:) Although, Falooda is very popular in India and Pakistan, the origins of Falooda go back to Persia where it was called Faloodeh. It is said to have made its entry in to India through the Muslim merchants and royal dynasties like "The Mughals" that invaded the country and settled here.There are other variants of the popular Falooda served in many other countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Mauritius etc. In Thailand, a drink named "Nam Manglak" is very much similar to Falooda. As I always believe , food brings us all together:) Coming back to this recipe, you need to do some prep work but the assembly is super easy:)Also, once prepared, it has to be served immediately.So lets get started with the prep work.. Step 1 Soaked Basil Seeds: Sweet basil seeds are also called Tukhmaria or Sabza seeds. They are available in the Indian grocery store. Apart from being a source of coolant during summer, they are also said to be good for the skin, hair and digestive system. You can read more about their benefits here. Take 1.5 tbsp of the sweet basil seeds and soak them in enough water for about an hour. They will swell up and obtain a gelatinous texture.Drain and set aside. Step 2 Cooked Vermicelli / Falooda Sev: You can purchase these Falooda sev from the Indian grocery stores. They are generally made of corn flour. Cook the 1/2 cup of falooda sev as per the instructions mentioned in the packet. In my case, I cut the falooda sev into small pieces and added them to boiling water and cooked for about 5 minutes. Drained the hot water and let some cold water run through it. Drain and set it aside. In case you do not get hold of the Falooda Sev, you can use the wheat vermicelli that is used in Indian recipes/ desserts . wheat vermicelli used in Indian recipes Cook in enough water . Once done, drain. Run some cold water through it , drain and set aside. Step 3 Jelly: Prepare the jelly as per package instructions .I have prepared strawberry jelly. Set it aside to cool. Step 4 Sweetened Milk: Add 1/4 cup of condensed milk to the 2 3/4 cups of regular milk and heat this sweetened milk in the microwave for a 5 minutes. Chill this sweetened milk in the refrigerator. Now with the prep work all done , lets prepare Falooda:) INGREDIENTS Note: All measurements are based on the US measuring cup and spoon sizes where 1 cup = 235 ml Serves 4 Sweetened Milk : 3 cups Rose Syrup / Rooh Afza : 6 tbsp Jelly - 16 small scoops or cubes Cooked Falooda Sev / vermicelli : 4 tbsp Soaked Tukmariya / basil seeds : 4 tbsp Vanilla ice cream - 4 scoops Raisins : 16 Chopped / Slivered almonds : 2 tbsp Rose petals for garnish (optional) Everest kesari milk masala (for sprinkling on top) PROCEDURE: Take a tall glass. Put 1/2 tbsp slivered almonds and about 4 raisins into the glass. Next, add 1.5 tbsp of rose syrup / Rooh Afza. Add 1 tbsp of soaked sweet basil seeds / tukmaria / sabja. Add 1 tbsp of cooked Falooda sev / vermicelli. Add 4 small scoops or cubes of jelly. Slowly pour 3/4 cup of the chilled sweetened milk. Lastly, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle some Everest kesari milk masala on top and garnish with rose petal.(Instead of the milk masala, you can simply put crushed pistachios on top and sprinkle small pinch of powdered cardamom powder). Repeat steps 1 to 8 for the remaining 3 tall glasses.