A gift from Canada

Well, I had asked for a bottle of Pernod Absinthe, which my friend did get, but it was accompanied by another bottle - yes, it was maple syrup. I hadn't asked for it but my friend had come from CANADA. And that's what you get when someone comes from Canada. So I thought, you know, whatever, I’ll use it as a topping. For waffles, for vanilla ice cream, for whatever needs a topping. And that's what I did for a while.
But experimenting with ingredients is a part of me and my cooking and it was just a matter of time before the bottle of maple got a piece of the action.
I was in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon when I saw some basil seeds in a cup and decided to make falooda. Now I had apna desi Kesar and Khus syrup for the flavoring but I decided to test the maple syrup for its use other than as a topping. The end product did pass the test as far as I was concerned and also got thumbs up from mom n dad - the guinea pigs for all my culinary experiments.
Not long after that, Mr. Maple was tested again - this time in an original recipe that I had come up with in my free time. In this one, Mr. Maple had fruits, butter, rum and his old friend Vanilla ice cream for company. And this time, he passed with flying colors, winning a place on the topmost tray of my refrigerator (a place reserved for special ingredients) in the process.
For the benefit of foodies and amateur cooks, both the recipes have been included in the post. Bonapetit!!!

****Maple Falooda****

Ingredients
Sweetened Milk - 2 glasses
Basil seeds (sabja/takmariya) - 6 tbsps
Boiled Vermicelli - 6 tbsps
Maple Syrup
Vanilla Ice cream

Preparation
Soak the basil seeds in water overnight. Take two glasses. Add 3 tbsps boiled vermicelli in each glass. Add 3 tbsps soaked basil seeds. Fill each glass with sweetened milk. Add maple syrup to taste (about 3 tbsps). Top with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.


****Fire & Ice****

Ingredients
Bananas - 2 nos.
Alphonso Mango - 1 no.
Litchis - 8 to 10 nos.
Castor sugar
Butter
Old Monk Rum
Maple Syrup
Vanilla Ice Cream

Preparation
Slice the bananas lengthwise. Dice the mango and deseed the litchis.
Add 2 tbsps butter to a pan on medium heat. Add the fruits to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes. Add castor sugar to taste and sauté for 5 more minutes. Add 4 tbsps of maple syrup and sauté for 2 more minutes. Flambé with Old monk Rum.
Serve in two bowls and top with Vanilla ice cream.