Pina-Falooda | Coconut-Pineapple Falooda | A Tropical Fusion Surprise
A special occasion demands for a special creation! Occasion? Yes! My dear readers, today is a time for celebration, Wondering why? Well, it is a special occasion because this post you are reading is – “My 100th Recipe Post“. A “100” plateful of adventures @ home and beyond! Picture that! Feels incredible to have reached here well within a year since I started One Plate Please. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you for your love and support. So, in celebration of this milestone, I bring to you, a new One Plate Please creation – The Pina-Falooda!
It is summer time in Germany, but the unseasonal rains have been a dampener. Sitting in my balcony, my memories drift back to the summer time back home – the golden sand beaches, the summer coolers and thirst quenchers. When the Summer Vibes and Tropical dreams hit – time and again one pictures themselves, relaxing on the golden sands of a Hawaiian beach sipping on a tropical cocktail. Bliss indeed! With Covid-19 still wreaking havoc across the globe, not everyone is lucky enough to experience the joy of relaxing at the beach while sipping their favourite cocktail. But then, one can try and recreate this atmosphere at home, maybe not in its entirety, but for sure can make their favourite summer refresher.
This thought got me thinking about elevating a tropical cocktail. Talking of tropical cocktails, could there be any better than the Rum based Pinacolada, the creamy, sweet cocktail meets dessert combo of Pineapple and Coconut? I asked myself, why not do something different based on this tropical delight? The occasion demands for it! Also, I wanted to make something the whole family can enjoy together and not just the adults. So it had to be something based on the Virgin Pinacolada mocktail.
The Pinacolada is a homogeneous mix of predominantly pineapple and coconut. What if we could separate these two flavours into multiple textures and elements? This thought led me to the one summer dessert/ drink wich packs multiple elements and textures in it – the Falooda! The falooda originated in Iran and made its way into the Indian sub-continent through the Parsis who migrated here. I decided to make a Falooda version of the Pinacolada. Thus was born the Pina-Falooda!
The Pina-Falooda
Generally any basic falooda consists of a layer of jelly, followed by a layer of bloomed basil seeds, topped with vermicelli, the milk base, ice-cream and syrup. The most basic flavours are that of strawberry jelly, Vanilla/ rose milk, vanilla ice-cream and rose syrup.
My Pina-falooda consists of the following elements:
- Pineapple Jelly
- Coconut Jelly
- Bloomed Basil/ Chia seeds
- Vermicelli/ Falooda Sev
- Virgin Pinacolada
- Coconut Ice-cream
- Pineapple Syrup
- Pineapple Wedges and Cherries (for Garnish)
Sounds exciting, isn’t it?
Assembling the Pina-Falooda
One can always use store bought elements like the Jelly and the Pinacolada or even the syrup, but it is a breeze to make them at home too and takes almost the same time it takes to prepare the store bought ones too. You make these components before-hand and store it in the refrigerator, the falooda can be assembled together in a jiffy.
I made the Jellys using Pineapple juice and Coconut water combined with sugar and gelatin sheets. Vegetarians can substitute the gelatin with Agar Agar. Just follow the proportions mentioned on the packet. Basil seeds bloom in water in a short period of time. Soak them in water and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. Cook the vermicelli as per the packet instructions, drain and place in the refrigerator. Prepare the virgin Pinacolada and refrigerate. The Pineapple syrup is basically a pineapple juice (extracted from the peel and core) and sugar reduction. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Use a tall glass and make the base layer with a couple of spoonfuls of pineapple jelly. Follow this with the coconut jelly. Next, layer the bloomed basil seeds and top them with a layer of Vermicelli. Add two scoops of Coconut Icecream (Initially i thought of using a combo of coconut icecream and pineapple icecream. But, since I’m using pineapple syrup, I decided to stick to just one flavour of ice-cream and not let the pineapple flavour to dominate).
Top up the glass with the Virgin Pinacolada. Drizzle the ice-cream scoop with Pineapple Syrup. Insert a longspoon and a straw (for the sake of our environment, please use reusable straws – I use Glass straws). Garnish with Pineapple wedge and a Cherry. Sip a little, eat a little and enjoy this chilled tropical surprise to the fullest.
Pina-Falooda
Equipment
- Tall Glasses (650ml)
- Straws
- Long Spoons
Ingredients
to Bloom the Basil Seeds:
- ⅓ Cup Basil seeds (alternately use Chia seeds)
- 1 Cup Water
for cooking the Vermicelli:
- ¾ Cup Vermicelli / Folooda Sev
- Water (freshly boiled)
for the Virgin Pinacolada: (makes about a litre in volume)
- 300 ml Pineapple Juice
- 120 ml Cream of Coconut
- 2½ cups Ice
other Ingredients:
- ¾ Cup Pineapple Jelly, divided
- ¾ Cup Coconut Jelly, divided
- 6 Scoops Coconut Ice-cream, divided
- ½ Cup Pineapple Syrup, divided
for Garnish (optional):
- 3 pc Pineapple Wedges
- 3 pc Fresh Cherries
Instructions
Soaking the Basil seeds:
- Place the seeds in a fine strainer and rinse them under running water
- Transfer to a big enough bowl. Add a cup of water and let them soak for atleast 20 minutes and upto about 3 hours
- Just before assembling the falooda, strain the excess water from the seeds and set aside
Preparing the Vermicelli:
- Follow the packet instructions.
- As instructed on the packet I bought, I soaked the vermicelli in hot water for 5 minutes
- Drain the excess water and let the vermicelli cool to room temperature
- Transfer to an air-tight container and refrigerate until you start assembling the falooda
Preparing the Virgin pinacolada:
- Take the pineapple juice and cream of coconut in a blender and blend for a few seconds until combined
- Add the ice cubes and blend for about a minute until the mixture is smooth and creamy
- Refrigerate until ready to assemble
Assembling the Pina-falooda:
- Before assembling, keep all the ingredients, garnishes, straws and spoons ready at hand.
- In a tall glass, first add a couple of spoonfuls of Pineapple Jelly followed by a couple of spoonfuls of the Coconut Jelly
- Add couple of spoonfuls of the bloomed Basil seeds
- Follow this with a layer of the Vermicelli
- Add two scoops of the Coconut Icecream
- Top up with the Virgin Pinacolada
- Drizzle the icecream scoop with the Pineapple Syrup
- Insert the straw and Long-Spoon into the Glass
- Garnish with Pineapple wedges and fresh Cherries
If you tried my recipe, leaving a comment below the post along with a star rating, will enable more readers and cooking enthusiasts to discover these recipes! Also, if you are on Instagram, do share a picture of the dish and tag @one_plate_please to be featured in my stories!
Do follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Reach me by email at contact@oneplateplease.com