China Grass is a modern Indian recipe for classic vegetarian dessert of milk flavoured with cinnamon and sweetened with sugar that's boiled to reduce, set with agar-agar and served as squares or slices. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: China Grass.
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Strands of agar-agar are often called 'China grass' in India and this is an example of the new wave of Indian cuisine. These sweet milky squares can be served as they are or nuts (including chironji) can be set in the top. These can also be served as sweetmeats for Diwali.
Ingredients:
1.5l milk
10g agar-agar
5 tsp sugar (add more if desired)
250ml water
4 cardamom pods, crushed
toasted chironji (charoli) nuts, split in half, to garnish
Method:
If the agar-agar comes in strands, chop these into 2cm long pieces. Place in a small bowl, just cover with water and set aside to soak for 15 minutes.
Pour the milk into a heavy-based pan, add the cardamom pods, bring to a simmer and allow to reduce, stirring frequently, until the volume has reduce to 900ml.
Drain the agar-agar and squeeze out the excess liquid. Add the agar-agar to the milk and simmer gently until the agar-agar has all dissolved. Add the sugar at this point and stir until dissolved. Continue cooking until the mixture is thick then take off the heat.
Allow to cool then divide the mixture between 4 ramekins or moulds and scatter over the halved chironji (or other nuts) and set aside to cool completely and set. You can also allow to set in a square dish before slicing into cubes. Chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours and serve garnished with more toasted chironji nuts.
