Rose Falooda or Faluda is a yummy indian beverage dessert made with rose syrup, noodles, ice cream, jelly and cold milk. It is incredibly popular all across the indian subcontinent and is super easy to make. Falooda layers can be customized to your taste and liking. If you love layered desserts, this would easily become your favorite.
All over Delhi, you will find cafes & ice cream parlors selling falooda Ice cream during summers. Falooda from lanes of Old Delhi is my most favorite. It is quite strange that my husband hadn't tried Falooda before I made it for the first time years back. However, he loved it instantly. I know thandai gets all the love during Holi, but with its burst of colors and flavors, we love making falooda on Holi as well. Falooda is quite rich and calorie laden but festivals are perfect for little indulgence, right?
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What Is Falooda?
Falooda has origins in the Persian dish faloodeh. The dessert was developed and gained popularity in India during the rule of Mughal empire. Falooda is also a huge part of Pakistani & Bangladeshi cuisine. It is also called Royal Falooda due to its roots in the mughal kitchens. Traditionally falooda is made by mixing rose syrup, vermicelli (falooda sev) and sweet basil seeds(sabja) with cold milk and is often served with kulfi, ice cream or rabri. It is a unique layered sweet treat which is both a beverage and dessert in one.
I love adding rabri/rabdi to my falooda recipe. There are a ton of variations that you can try, I am sharing few of my ideas later in the post.
Layers of Falooda (Ingredient & Notes)
I am writing ingredients in the order I like to layer it, however there is no hard and fast rule, you can layer in any order that you like. I hardly make two servings the same!
- Jelly/Jello - If you can find rose flavored jello where you live, that is the best thing. I use a pack of raspberry or strawberry jello from the baking aisle. All I do is follow package instruction and set it in the fridge. If you want to make it the same day, jello sets in as less as 4 hours. Berries and rose are an amazing combination, so flavors work together very well.
- Falooda Sev- Are a special kind of noodles made with corn starch/cornflour. Falooda sev is easily available in indian or pakistani stores. I suggest using thin rice noodles if you cannot find since they have chewy texture post cooking.
- Rose Syrup : I love using Rooh afza in my rose desserts. You can use any culinary grade rose syrup.
- Sweet Basil Seeds - Also known as sabja or tukmaria seeds. Sweet basil seeds are used in the indian beverages during summers due to their cooling properties. They are said to aid digestion since they are a good source of fiber. In falooda, they add texture and the characteristic look. If you cannot find, use boba pearls or (last resort) chia seeds.
- Rose milk- I sweeten whole milk with condensed milk and rose syrup. You can use evaporated milk as well.
- Rabri (Optional) - I make a quick saffron rabri using paneer and milk. Makes it super delicious.
- Icecream - Vanilla or strawberry ice cream. Or you can use rose or pistachio flavored ice cream.
- Chopped Nuts - Any mix of nuts you like.
- Other Ingredients - Whipped Cream, Rose Petals, Marachino Cherries.
How To Make Rose Falooda
There is a little prep work needed which you can do a day or two in advance.
A Day before :-
- Set the Jello- See package instructions and set the jello a day or night ahead.
- Prepare Rabri (If you are using it) - My instant rabri using milk and paneer takes under 30 minutes to make. See instructions in the recipe card.
- Thicken the Milk- This is optional. You can reduce the milk a little bit, it definitely tastes better especially if you are not using rabri. However with rabri, trust me there are so many flavors and textures going on that you can totally skip it, especially if you are short on time. Sweeten milk with condensed milk and/or rose syrup.
When you are ready to Layer Falooda
- Soak The Basil Seeds- Soak them 30-45 seconds in advance. Sabja seeds take seconds to soak unlike chia seeds. Just add 2-3 tablespoon water and use. If you are using chia seeds, soak them a couple hours ahead.
- Cook the Falooda Vermicelli - It takes5 -7 minutes depending on the brand you are using. Keep the noodles al dante.
- Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks.I add a couple pinches of ground cardamom powder while whipping the cream. Or use Reddiwhip.
Serving the Falooda
Serve/Layer Falooda in Tall Glass Cups
- Add few pieces of Jelly
- Add Falooda Noodles
- Spoon soaked sweet basil seeds
- Drizzle Rose syrup
- Add Rabri & chopped nuts
- Add a scoop or two of icecream
- Fill the glass with rose milk until ¾ full
- Spoon a little more rabri
- Top with whipped cream & little more syrup
- Finish with chopped nuts, those petals, cherries etc. Serve immediately.
Flavors & Variations You Can Try
- Kulfi Falooda - Instead of Ice cream use pistachio or malai kulfi. Slice or cut kulfi into small pieces and add.
- Mango Falooda - Make Mango Milk using fresh or canned mango pulp and milk. You can use orange or banana flavor jello in that case.
- Chocolate Falooda :- Add chocolate syrup to milk instead of rose syrup.
- Fresh Fruit Falooda - You can add chopped fruits or fresh berries to add freshness.
- Boba Falooda- Add some cooked boba pearls along with the jelly. So So good!
- Custard falooda - Use vanilla custard instead of rabri.
- Caramel Falooda- Use caramel to sweeten the milk.
- Make It Vegan/Dairy free - Use plant based milk and make sure that the syrup you are using is vegan. Use vegan ice cream of choice. Use agar agar based jello.
My Tips
- Falooda is all about colors, layers and textures. If you ask me, the loaded the better! However, if you wish to skip certain items like whipped cream, its is totally fine.
- Since there are a lot of sweet layers going on, be a little mindful of how you sweeten different components like milk and whipped cream. It is totally fine to leave the whipped cream unsweetened.
- Layer falooda right when you are ready to serve it.
- Make sure that the different components are super chilled when you start layering the falooda.
- Use softened ice cream. Its easy to scoop and starts mixing right away with other layers.
- To save time, I do start prep a day or two ahead (making jello, making rabri, reducing milk etc) and highly suggest you do the same.
- You can toast the nuts for a nice flavor.
- Usually Falooda is served with a long handle spoon. Serve both with spoon and a sipping straw.
- If you wish you can make 3 servings out of this recipe by serving in shorter/small size glass cups.
More Holi Recipes
- Thandai
- Chanshni Gujiya
- Thandai Nan khatai
- Pista Mawa Ladoo
- Mango Frozen Shrikhand
- Rose Cheesecake Thandai Shortbread Bars
- Aloo Chaat
- Matar Paneer Tikki Chaat
Rose Falooda Recipe (With Rabri)
Rose Falooda or Faluda is a yummy indian beverage dessert made with rose syrup, noodles, ice cream, jelly and cold milk. It is an incredibly popular in the indian subcontinent and is super easy to make.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon jello/jelly raspberry or strawberry
- ½ cup falooda vermicelli available in indian stores
- 2 tablespoon sweet basil seeds (sabja/tukmaria seeds)
- 2 scoop ice cream vanilla or strawberry
- 2 tablespoon mixed nuts chopped
- 4 tablespoon heavy cream
- pinch cardamom powder
For Rose Milk
- 2.5 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoon rose syrup
- 2 tablespoon condensed milk or sugar
For rabri (makes extra (about ½ cup Rabri, We need 2 tablespoon per serving)
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup paneer malai or full fat
- ¼ cup condensed milk
- 6-7 saffron strands
Toppings
- Rose syrup, Rose petals, Marachino Cherries
Instructions
Set The Jello (Can be done 1-2 days in advance)
- Follow package instructions and set the jello. Once set, you can cut into squares, I just use a spoon to layer the jelly 🙂
Prepare Rabri (Can be done 1-2 days in advance)
- Add milk to a heavy bottomed pot. Place on a stove, bring to a boil, reduce the stove to low medium and let the milk simmer for 8-10 minutes, stir periodically to make sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Note:- The milk will almost reduce to half its volume and start getting thick. Scrape the sides of the pot every now and then and add back the malai scrappings to the milk.
- Once the milk has reduced a bit, add the crumbled paneer and condensed milk.Mix well and cook stirring often. Tip:-Stirring often makes the rabri creamy and also breaks down the paneer for the right (slightly grainy) texture of rabdi. Cook for about 8 more minutes or till it reaches the desired thickness. Taste and if you feel you can add 1-2 tablespoon of sugar if you feel that the rabdi isn't sweet enough. I like to keep in lightly sweet else it tastes quite heavy.
- When the rabdi has thickened, switch off the stove and mix in the saffron. Mix well. Let it sit covered till its cooled down. Store refrigerated.
When You are ready to serve falooda
- Soak the sweet basil seeds in 4-5 tablespoon cold water.
- Cut or break the noodles a little bit to reduce length. Boil the falooda vermicelli as per package instructions. Keep the noodles al dante. Rinse with ice cold water to chill them.
- In a small pitcher with spout, mix the milk with rose syrup and condensed milk.
- Add cardamom powder to chilled heavy cream and whip to soft peaks. I keep the whipped cream unsweetened you can sweeten ith 1-2 tablespoons of sugar if you wish. .
Layer The Falooda
- To a tall glass, add few pieces of jello followed by about 2 tablespoon of falooda noodles. Drizzle ½ tablespoon rose syrup over the noodles.
- Add 2 tablespoon of soaked sweet basil seeds.
- Add 1.5 tablespoon of rabri along with few chopped nuts.
- Add a scoop or two of icecream. Spoon 1 tablespoon rabri on top.
- Fill the glass with about 1 to 1.25 cup rose flavored milk.
- Add 1-2 tablespoon of whipped cream. Drizzle little rose syrup.
- Top with chopped nuts, rose petals, cherries and serve immediately.
Notes
- Falooda is all about colors, layers and textures. If you ask me, the loaded the better! However, if you wish to skip certain items like whipped cream, its is totally fine.
- Since there are a lot of sweet layers going on, be a little mindful of how you sweeten different components like milk and whipped cream. It is totally fine to leave the whipped cream unsweetened.
- Layer falooda right when you are ready to serve it.
- Make sure that the different components are super chilled when you start layering the falooda.
- Use softened ice cream. Its easy to scoop and starts mixing right away with other layers.
- To save time, I do start prep a day or two ahead (making jello, making rabri, reducing milk etc) and highly suggest you do the same.
- You can toast the nuts for a nice flavor.
- Usually Falooda is served with a long handle spoon. Serve both with spoon and a sipping straw.
- If you wish you can make 3 servings out of this recipe by serving in shorter/small size glass cups.
- Use thin rice noodles if you cannot find falooda noodles.
- Use soaked chia seeds or boba pearls in place of sweet basil seeds.
- Use strawberry syrup +2 tablespoon of rose water to flavor milk without rose syrup.
- Kulfi Falooda - Instead of Ice cream use pistachio or malai kulfi. Slice or cut kulfi into small pieces and add.
- Mango Falooda - Make Mango Milk using fresh or canned mango pulp and milk. You can use orange or banana flavor jello in that case.
- Chocolate Falooda :- Add chocolate syrup to milk instead of rose syrup.
- Fresh Fruit Falooda - You can add chopped fruits or fresh berries to add freshness.
- Boba Falooda- Add some cooked boba pearls along with the jelly. So So good!
- Custard falooda - Use vanilla custard instead of rabri.
- Caramel Falooda- Use caramel to sweeten the milk.
- Make It Vegan/Dairy free - Use plant based milk and make sure that the syrup you are using is vegan. Use vegan ice cream of choice. Use agar agar based jello.
Nutrition
Calories: 936kcalCarbohydrates: 88gProtein: 32gFat: 53gSaturated Fat: 28gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 142mgSodium: 330mgPotassium: 1043mgFiber: 5gSugar: 77gVitamin A: 1300IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 1086mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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