This Agar Agar Pudding made with rose milk and china grass is the perfect dessert to make for Valentine's day or any special occasion. If you are planning to surprise someone in the last minute, absolutely make this rose milk pudding. It takes just about 10 minutes of active time and then leave it aside to set.
Being vegetarian, agar agar is a great alternate when making puddings. Store bought puddings often is made with gelatin and I recreate most of them using agar agar.
Table of contents
This time, to match the theme for my this weeks Valentine's day special recipe, I made this Rose Milk Agar Agar Pudding. We love rose milk at home and it is one of our favorite drinks to make in summer.
I buy the readymade rose milk syrup from Indian or Middle Eastern grocery stores and that comes in very handy. On the other hand, I do have memories of my mom making rose milk syrup at home every summer.
What is Agar Agar?
Agar agar is a vegetarian alternate to gelatin. It is also known by the name China grass as it is derived from a red algae seen predominantly in the Asian continent. Agar agar is used to set / solidify desserts like pudding and jelly. It is derived from algae and hence is plant based as compared to gelatin.
China grass or agar agar is found as powder or as thin strips. I have used both kinds and favor the powder kind more as it is easy to work with and handle. Agar agar can be easily found in Asian markets or specialty stores or online.
I love using agar agar to make no bake cheese cake like this Mango cheesecake. It sets the cheesecake beautifully and the agar agar works the same in this rose milk pudding.
Why Rose Milk Pudding?
- We love rose milk at home, so I wanted to try something a little fun and playful with it. This china grass pudding with rose milk is just the perfect.
- This being the season of love, I thought they will make very cute pink colored pudding.
- Pink is my husband's favorite color, so without saying it was my first color to experiment.
- And the best part is the agar agar pudding takes just 10 minutes to make. So it is a wonderful last minute dessert to make for any special day.
Ingredients and substitutes
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable recipe.
Milk - I used whole milk for the recipe. 2 % milk would also work, just make sure to cook it down a little more.
Rose milk syrup - It can be easily found in Indian grocery stores or Middle Eastern markets.
Sugar - I add a little extra sugar to make the agar agar pudding little sweeter. If you want medium sweetness, then skip the sugar.
Agar agar - Powder or strands, both kind of agar agar would work. Powder is a little easier to measure and work.
Step by step process
- Measure and boil milk in a saucepan. Let it come to boil and then simmer until it thickens a little. I started with 1 ¼ cup of milk and let it boil down to 1 cup.
- Add the sugar when the milk is simmering.
- Once the milk is simmered, add the rose milk essence. Mix well. At this point we could taste it and adjust the sweetness.
- In a other sauce pan, mix water and agar agar. If using agar agar strands, before cooking it, soak it in water for about 20 minutes. Then start cooking it. I used agar agar powder and that does not need soaking.
- Let the agar agar cook in low heat. Keep stirring constantly. In couple of minutes, the mixture will start thickening.
- Once the agar agar cooks and becomes a thick gooey mixture, add it to the rose milk.
- Immediately stir well to avoid any lumps. Place the milk mixture on heat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. You will notice that the milk will slightly thicken. Do not cook too long or the pudding will become too hard when it sets.
- Immediately pour the china grass pudding mixture in a try or individual serving bowls. If making it into a burfi / fudge kind, pour it in a flat tray.
- Let it sit in room temperature for about 10 minutes and then place it in the refrigerator to set. It takes about an hour for the rose milk pudding to set completely.
Expert tips
- Start cooking the milk first and then work with the agar agar. Agar agar cooks very quickly and will harden if not added into milk right away.
- Prepare the serving dish or tray before starting the pudding process. Once we start cooking it, the pudding comes together very quickly.
- You could set the rose milk pudding in individual molds or serving dish.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, if you are not looking for a vegetarian option, then gelatin can be used.
It could be couple of reasons if the pudding is not setting. It could be less agar agar for the amount of liquid. Or the agar agar would not have cooked enough.
If the pudding is very liquid, we could transfer it back to a sauce pan and cook it down a bit. If it does not thicken upon cooking down, add a little more agar agar solution.
Rose milk agar agar pudding can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days
More dessert recipes
Recipe card
Rose Milk Agar Agar Pudding
Equipment
- Sauce pan
- serving dish
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ Cup Milk Full fat
- 5 gm Agar agar powder Around 2 teaspoon
- 2 teaspoon Sugar
- 2 Tablespoon Rose milk syrup
Instructions
- Measure and boil milk in a saucepan. Let it come to boil and then simmer until it thickens a little. I started with 1 ¼ cup of milk and let it boil down to 1 cup.
- Add the sugar when the milk is simmering.
- Once the milk is simmered, add the rose milk essence. Mix well. At this point we could taste it and adjust the sweetness.
- In a other sauce pan, mix water and agar agar. If using agar agar strands, before cooking it, soak it in water for about 20 minutes. Then start cooking it. I used agar agar powder and that does not need soaking.
- Let the agar agar cook in low heat. Keep stirring constantly. In couple of minutes, the mixture will start thickening.
- Once the agar agar cooks and becomes a thick gooey mixture, add it to the rose milk.
- Immediately stir well to avoid any lumps. Place the milk mixture on heat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. You will notice that the milk will slightly thicken. Do not cook too long or the pudding will become too hard when it sets.
- Immediately pour the china grass pudding mixture in a try or individual serving bowls. If making it into a burfi / fudge kind, pour it in a flat tray.
- Let it sit in room temperature for about 10 minutes and then place it in the refrigerator to set. It takes about an hour for the rose milk pudding to set completely.
Notes
- Start cooking the milk first and then work with the agar agar.
- Agar agar cooks very quickly and will harden if not added into milk right away.
- Prepare the serving dish or tray before starting the pudding process. Once we start cooking it, the pudding comes together very quickly.
- You could set the rose milk pudding in individual molds or serving dish.
Nutrition
Srivalli
Wow such a pretty colour to the pudding Sandhya, I have made with other flavours, mostly with chocolate and my kids simply love them. Must try with rose milk flavour soon.
Radha
Gorgeous dessert! Love the color and flavor! easy and tasty one to make anytime. YUM!
Harini
Looks perfect. It is really handy to keep this dessert recipe for a party make ahead dessert.
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth
My girls love rose syrup in their milk and this agar agar dessert is one of their favorite. Absolutely stunning clicks too...