Quick Dessert: Chocolate Agar Agar Mousse

A lot of times we have impromptu film screenings or friends pop in and I can never let anyone go without eating something. On one such 45 minute notice period I made a quick dessert for our visitors since they were coming post diner.

This recipe uses agar agar also known as china grass or as I heard someone on Master Chef Australia call it Aey-gaar Aey-gaar. (I bet they must be making fun of our accents. Have you ever wondered if there is ONE true accent?)

Agar Agar calls for some experimentation on your part. Sometimes it's hard to get it right but you will learn from your mistakes. I have previously made a Lime Nutmeg Jelly with Agar Agar which is a bit more work than this recipe. For this recipe, I used the strips of Agar Agar which are available in the grocery stores if you ask for China Grass. Each pack of Agar Agar has one thick strip which is enough for half a litre of milk. 

This is the plain, unflavoured Agar Agar (China Grass) I like to use

Since this wasn't planned with enough time, I used sweetened chocolate flavoured soy milk which I had. But you could do the same with any other non dairy milk if you prefer. You can do it with cashew, almond, coconut or even rice milk.

You need:

1/2 litre (roughly 2 and a half cups) of Chocolate Soy milk at room temperature

1 Strip of Agar Agar (Cut and powdered in a dry mixer)

1/4 cup water

Mix the powdered agar agar flakes with the water and bring it to a boil. Stir frequently and make sure most of the agar agar has disappeared. A few small lumps are okay. Now, little bit at a time, while stirring continuously, add the chocolate soy milk. Keep it on the stove for about 3 minutes more till the soy milk is hot and take it off the stove. Pour into a big glass bowl or small moulds to set. Keep it in the fridge and let it set for at least 45 minutes.

It always has a better texture after about 6 hours, but it's like a perfect mousse after an hour.

Top with some grated/ chopped vegan chocolate (Bournville, Mordes) and serve cold.

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Travelling Vegan- Malaysia

I spent this last week in Malaysia on vacation and thought to dedicate a note about food in Malaysia. The Malays love their sea food and it's a bit disturbing (and smelly) for a family for four vegetarians and one vegan.

En route it's almost impossible to get any vegan food. Most international airlines offer vegan food as an option while booking tickets. I was so excited last year when I got to tick that 'vegan' option. It only resulted in me staying practically hungry on a 16 hour flight with the air hostess telling me "...get your own food next time". They didn't even know what 'vegan' meant, confusing it with Jain food. The low cost airlines don't allow you to eat any other food except the ones they sell you on their flights. But who's going to stop you from eating on a flight if they don't have anything to offer you.

In Malaysia the vegetarian movement is alive and kicking thanks to the Indians and the Chinese Buddhists. If you're Indian and don't really want to go to another country and eat Indian food all over again, then the Chinese vegetarian restaurants can be a breather. They serve u some nice soups, salads, noodles, rice varieties and also lots of mock meat. But if you've been vegetarian and do not fancy the idea of eating even a 'fake chicken' then they are almost always happy to omit what you do not want. One good decision was that we took along some theplas. There are a whole lot of places to get good south Indian food with the huge south indian population there. We tried Annalakshmi which is run by the Temple of Fine Arts and they offer a vegetarian buffet. All the proceeds of this restaurant help them in running their organisation, you eat and pay as you wish and all the food is prepared and served by volunteers. We also sampled some Malay/ Chinese street food and they were nice enough to avoid the MSG, meat and eggs. There are many north Indian restaurants also one of which we tried along the Cenang Beach route. We ended up eating only oil i think at that meal.

It was easier to find food in supermarkets and alter menus in Kuala Lumpur. All the food in the super markets contain MSG (a.k.a Ajinomoto) and Aspartame. You really have to look at the

ingredients and buy. Thankfully in Malaysia I found the food labeling laws have forced the companies to list everything in their products, unlike in India where Lays gets away with 'No added MSG'. It helps that the people are friendly and accommodative to your needs. In Langkawi things got a little more difficult. It's difficult to find food to snack on specially for a vegan. It's best to snack on the awesome range of tropical fruit they offer like the Dragon Fruit (pictured on the right), Durians, Mangosteens, Rambutans (on the left), Papayas, Pineapples, Mangoes. I even found Jicama, a crispy sweet

root that is widely used in the South Americas. They also have lots of dried and preserved fruits and vegetables and also potato and yam chips. Malaysians also use many types of mushrooms, celery, broccolli, corn and many vegetables common to Indian cuisine.

It also helps to do a little bit of research and learn a few key words if you're going to a country that speaks another language and also many foods list their ingredients in Malay in English script. So you can read it but you need to know what it means. For instance Milk is Susu (Really! It was amusing at first to see the different flavours of susu available at the supermarkets) and Egg is Telur. Soy milk is easily available for those who need it, though not in as many flavours. Tofu, also called bean curd is also available though some varieties are called 'egg tofu' and contain eggs.

It's not hard to travel with diet restrictions and it's always nice to try new foods. Most people are rigid and only stick to eating what they know and recognize. I think it's time to change, in so many ways!

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Rejuve... WHAT?!

Rejuvelac is what you get when you add water to whole wheat berries/ grains and let it ferment for 12 to 16 hours. Sometimes it takes longer depending on the season. The warmer it is, the faster it ferments.

What is it used for?

1. As a drink. Many people on raw food diets drink this because it's rich in eight of the B vitamins, E & K vitamins and also a variety of proteins, carbs, phosphates and so on. It also helps in digestion of food and growth of friendly bacteria.

2. As a starter for vegan curds made with soy milk or peanut milk.

3. As a starter for vegan nut cheeses (which I will be putting up soon).

It can be made with other grains like whole rice, barley (jav), oats and millet. I have only tried wheat and been successful using it. Many people with gluten or wheat allergies have tried whole rice though I haven't and I will soon.

For the Rejuvelac you need:

1 glass jar

1/2 cup whole wheat grains (for your first try)

drinking water

Put the wheat in the jar and rinse it once and remove any grains/ bugs that float to the top. Add the drinking water in such a way that when you look at it, if the jar has 1/3rd wheat the rest should be water.

Let it uncovered for 24 hours outside. I usually keep it in a cupboard. The next day it should look like this...

Don't fret if it is all clear after 12 or 16 hrs. Just stir is and watch it bubble. This water can be removed and stored in another bottle while the same wheat can be used to make more rejuvelac in about 10 hours.

It should smell sour and sweet. It should taste like fermented unsweetened grape juice with lemon.

Store this in the fridge and drink it / use it as a starter for curds or vegan cheese.

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What? Where? Why?

After a good friend asked me where do I get the ingredients I use, I realised may be I should explain a bit more and even give brands wherever possible. Also I will try to explain why I use those ingredients.

Margarine: Margarine I use instead of butter for many reasons. It's always better to use plant based products and margarine is one of them. Margarine may not be healthy but it's much more healthier than using butter. Margarine is cholesterol free and anyday better than having butter that's 'fortified' with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and god knows what.

I use margarine that is available at my local grocery. Generally it comes under a brand called Rajvi or from a local dairy. Whatever I use, I always check the ingredients or call the company if I have any doubts. They are happy to answer your questions believe it or not.

Tofu: Also called Soya Paneer, it is coagulated soy milk and made just as paneer is made but without the use of animal ingredients. Tofu is usually made Firm, Medium or Silken but the Indian brand of tofu is available firm and in two flavours one plain and one spicy. This is available any grocery store or super market. There is also a Japanese import available which is much more expensive but availabe in the three consistencies. If you don't find something always ask the grocer or the store in-charge. They generally know where you can get it or will order it for you if you are lucky.

Soy Milk: Available at all grocery stores and super markets now. Always check the flavour of the soy milk you are buying. I use Staetta because it is free of preservatives but you could use the other local brands. There is a brand that is imported from the U.S. but it is way more expensive.

Oils: While baking I either use oil or margarine. It's important to use non smelly oils like rice bran oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil. Also if the oils are organic and cold pressed it's much more better. Cold pressed oils are available at shops that only deal in oil. In Mumbai, for instance it is available in Crawford Market. Why cold pressed? When oil is made by the usual refining process it is heated. When we buy it and use it, we again heat it and this heating releases carcinogens that we can avoid when we use cold pressed oils.

So that's mostly what basic baking requires and you'll see you don't really have to go out of your way or your choices are not limited if you try cooking vegan.

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