Remixed Falooda
I had never cared about remixed songs of bollywood from 60s and 80s.
The graceful poetry sounds all out of its whack in hoofs and beats of mordern
music. My distaste for unoriginality isnt just limited to indian music afterall.
The ludicrous attempts of American desi chefs to ""adjust the spiceness"" of
our lavish mughalai dishes is just as outrageous to me. However, over the years of
following my passion for food, I have discovered that elevating a dish, unlike
manipulating it for profit, is a serious enterprise. And such an art
continues to baffles me.
The ""original falooda"" from Aghas is a perfect example of how
a traditional desi dessert can be redefined with all its authenticity intact.
Be it the unusual mix of condinments or the high fat content derived ice cream,
this thing is divine to its core. The traditional falooda is served with a scope
of each rose and malai ice cream floating in glass of sweetened milk and rose syrup
with a handful of glass noodles (saviyan) gravitated at the bottom of the serving
cup. Aghas puts a touch
of genius to falooda so that the original flavours are suprisingly enhanced. The malai
ice cream is made with dense curdled milk permeated with cardomom.
The texture of ice cream is so velvety that a slight piercing of it
with the spoon will disintegrate it. The whole falooda is topped with nuts
jello and fresh fruits, the taste of which is so subtle that the rose
is still the star of the dessert. Within a minute of indulgence, everything is
in the form of fluid. The sipping of melted falooda
has a delicate crunch to it, thanks to the tapioca in the milk!
The interplay of various textures essentially makes Aghas falooda a
glorification of the classic
falooda. The ambiance does not pull back on portraying the culture. The ironic
idioms in Urdu, antique pieces of arts and crafts and the CD playing oldies(no remixes!)
welcomes the customers into this one aisle store. Your experience would be complete
only if you pull out the chair from a stack outside and enjoy your falooda right on the
patio of the store. You can still listen the oldies on the patio.
I have become more open minded about the modifications to the classics these days
given that I can see the respect for originality in it. I am
sure most of the non-Indians and non-Pakistanies would welcome that extra punch of
chillies in their dishes as coup du culture. Why throb them away from this
privlege? And if heartburn is still a nagging issue then all you
have to do is go down to Aghas and get some falooda to
cool of that reminsenct heat.
letusindulge.blogspot dot com
-Ambreen Zaver
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