cold drink for a hot day

I wish I could drink one of these on a beautiful hot day like today. Falooda is an Indian drink made with milk, basil seeds, rose syrup, vermicelli noodles and ice cream. Because of the hot weather 8 months out of the year in the region, people found alternative ways like this to stay cool. One of the foods the husband and I were both very pleased to have while in India. It was delicious.

When I was young, all the cousins in the family would drive to the falooda shop (yes they're so popular in India, they have shops just for faloodas) and had these for evening snack. They are filling. The baby cousin was, of course, the most demanding; only sharing with cousins that would allow him to eat or drink as he pleased. I vividly remember our last outing to the falooda shop with the cousins before we packed our bags and came to America. He was 6 years old and wanted his own glass of falooda. Mind you, they generally come in a tall beer glass and for a 6 year old, this is more than enough. He demanded his own and indeed got his own. He also had some tricks up his sleeve that were about to unravel. Everyone ordered theirs, and in the first round he ate the ice cream and the vermicelli noodles. The milk and basil seeds were passed off to the rest of us to finish; like he was too good for it. When the rest of us were busy talking, he walked up to the counter and ordered another glass for himself. As for the 3rd round, we learned our lesson and before he ordered thirds we tried to get him to finish the first two. He made faces, got angry and threw a fit for having to finish the milk and basil seeds and declined the offer. He got his way and surely enough he ordered a third glass. Good for us, because some of us rose to the opportunity to have 2nds and 3rds. Our outings were opportunities that would bring us all together to enjoy a good conversation and a tall glass of falooda.

Not only does Falooda remind me of cooling down in hot weather but it also reminds me of home and my cousins. While having it on our last trip to India, it brought back wonderful memories. It would have been lovely to go to the falooda shop with the cousins but unfortunately everyone is dispersed. maybe next time…