Rose Milk Popsicle

Popsicle is made by freezing any flavored liquid around a stick. With summer around the corner, this aromatic and exotic rose flavored popsicle will be perfect to cool you down. Rose milk is one of my childhood favorite and i can't have enough of it. You can find rose milk in a few Indian restaurants menu here in the US. Freezing the rose milk in the molds is a fun way to eat with your family. Hope you will have fun making'em and slurping'em. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 cups 2% Milk 

4 tbsp Rose syrup

1 tsp Rose water

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

2 tbsp Sugar or to taste

How to:

• Heat the milk and let it boil for 3-5 mins. Keep stirring to avoid the skin formation.

• Switch off and immediately add the cardamom powder, sugar syrup and sugar to taste. 

•  Add the rose water and let it come to room temperature.

• Now pour the rose milk into Popsicle molds and freeze them for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.

• To loosen and remove the popsicle out, slowly run warm water on the outside of the mold.

• Serve and enjoy it on a hot day.

Tips:

• If you like milky popsicle, boil the milk for few more mins until it thickens up before adding the syrup.
• You can also add finely chopped nuts or cooked vermicelli for more texture.

Falooda Drink

Falooda is a dessert drink infused with rose flavor that is refreshing with sweet surprises in every sip. The drink is prepared by layering and it looks like a floating ice-cream sundae. I have used vanilla ice-cream here, alternatively you can use kulfi or kesar ice-cream for a richer tasting falooda. You can find all the ingredients at the Indian store.

When you crave something icy-cold to beat the heat, this is the drink for you. This summer perfect rose scented drink is hard to resist, so go ahead make yourself one and stay cool. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 cups Milk

5 tbsp Rose Syrup

2-4 tsp Sugar (to taste)

1/2 tsp Basil seeds (Takmaria)

1 pinch Cardamom powder

1/2 cup Vanilla Ice cream

2 cups Water

1 handful Falooda sev

For garnish:

2 tsp chopped Pistachios

2 scoops Vanilla Ice cream (divided)

How to:

• Soak the basil seeds in water for a minimum of 1 hr. (I soaked for 6 hrs)

• Heat the water in a sauce pan and let it boil. 

• Cook the falooda sev for 3-5 mins and strain the liquid.

• Boil the 2 cups of milk at medium heat. 

• Switch off and add cardamom powder, sugar and rose syrup.

• Now add the strained falooda sev to the milk and refrigerate the milk mixture for 3 hrs.

• Add the soaked basil seeds to the chilled milk mixture along with 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream and mix well.

 

To serve:

• In a tall glass, place 1 scoop vanilla ice cream and pour the chilled milk mixture.

• Garnish with the chopped pistachios and serve.

Pistachio Custard/Pudding

This is a dessert i have been wanting to make at home for quite sometime. Whenever i think of custard, i remember my PG hostel days, wherein we get a small fruit custard bowl as dessert for lunch every Wednesday. Who could resist eating just one? So, we (me n friends) sneak and take away (decent way to say 'steal', hehe) 3 or 4 bowls, when the person at the hostel food counter turns her back. The custard tastes even better this way. It will be super sweet and totally irresistible. Here, when i get to taste Crème brûlée at first, i felt the same spongy custard that just melts in my mouth. I can never have enough of it. I didn't know custard is that easy to prepare until i landed vahrehvah's Caramel Custard recipe. It turned out so delicate with mild sweetness and soft texture thats simply yummylicious. Here goes the recipe for you to try it out,

Ingredients:

2 cups Milk

3 Eggs

1/4 cup + 3tsp Sugar

1/4tsp Vanilla Extract

1tbsp Water

1tbsp Pistachios (chopped), for sprinkling

Food color (optional)

How to:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Set a small baking pan inside a big baking dish half filled with water.

• Heat the 3tsp sugar in a pan along with water and let it caramelize in a medium-low flame. (I tried twice and didn't get the caramelization, instead the sugar dried up and became hard, hehe. So i just spread the lumps inside the small baking pan and kept aside.)

• Break the eggs in a bowl and whisk'em along with the 1/4cup of sugar.

• Then pour the vanilla extract and milk, and continue whisking until everything blends.

• Now pour the milk mixture over the sugar that has been spread and bake for 45 mins. 

• Remove and let sit for 20 mins. With a knife or spoon run the sides and separate the custard sticking to the sides.

• With a plate placed upside down on the baking pan, carefully transfer the custard onto the plate.

• The sugar would have melted and runs over the custard. Refrigerate it, sprinkle the chopped pistachios and serve chill.

Sending the treat to Lisa's Sweet as Sugar Cookies event.

Vermicelli-Sabudana Payasam

Today is my 2nd wedding anniversary and I made this Sabudana-Vermicelli payasam.

Ingredients:

1 cup Sabudana or Tapioca

1 cup Vermicelli

3 cups Sugar

4-5 Cardamom pods or 1tsp cardamom extract

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)

12 Cashews (broken)

2tbsp raisins

3tbsp ghee

1 1/2 cups Milk (pasteurized)

5-6 cups water

How to:

• Heat a pan, add 1tbsp of ghee and slow roast the vermicelli and keep it aside.
• In the same pan, add 1tbsp ghee and roast the cashews, raisins and cardamom, and keep it aside.

• Now, cook the sabudana with 4 cups of water till the pearls become transparent. (Stir more often when water is reduced, as to prevent sticking at the bottom. More water may require depending on the quality of sabudana.)

• Now add the roasted vermicelli along with remaining water and cook until its soft and dissolves in your mouth.

• Then slowly add the sugar and mix well. You can increase or decrease the amount of sugar for your taste.

• Add the milk, mix well and switch off the flame.

• Now add the roasted cashews, raisins and cardamom. (You can add the cardamom and vanilla extract at this time)

• Mix well and serve the dessert warm or even cold. 

Adding sweetness to our taste buds and Life.