Life is so busy for everyone nowadays isn’t it? Always on a tight schedule, we rarely get a chance sit down and breath. Most people who can’t handle such stressful lifestyles end up an unhealthy mess by binge eating on sweets and calorie rich fast food.
Well, it’s time to tantalise your sweet tooth with a healthy dessert so exotic that it will immediately transport you to the coastal splendour of Kerala. Not only is it glutenfree, it’s grain free, egg-less, paleo friendly and vegan too, so all in all, the ultimate guilt-free pudding, also known as Elaneer Pudding.
Elaneer is actually tender coconut water. Tender coconut water has several health benefits and is an instant energiser. Folks in the tropics drink coconut water to beat the heat and refresh themselves. Hope you like my innovative version of this dessert, please do give it a try.
Ingredients
Coconut Milk Layer
1 cup tender coconut water
1.5 cups coconut milk (freshly squeezed or coconut milk powder)
5 tbsp sugar (adjust this amount depending on the sweetness of the coconut water and your taste)
A small pinch of salt
1 ½ tsp agar agar powder or 2 tbsp china grass flakes
Coconut Water Layer
2 cups of tender coconut water
3 tbsp sugar (adjust this amount depending on the sweetness of the coconut water and your taste)
1 ½ tsp agar agar powder or 2 tbsp china grass flakes
Coconut Milk Layer: Add tender coconut water to a small container, then sprinkle the agar agar powder and stir to mix. If it’s china grass flakes then soak it in the tender coconut water for 10 mins. Add coconut milk, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Once it comes to a full boil, the agar powder or flakes should be completely dissolved, but you can double check by spooning some liquid into a metal spoon, then pour it off and if there are no tiny grains still stuck to the spoon, then you’re good to go.
Lower the heat to the lowest setting and keep the pot covered while you make the other layer. Make sure it’s just barely simmering and not boiling away! If you have a strong gas stove you might have a hard time getting the heat to stay very low, in that case you can keep it off heat and covered, and reheat it to boiling right before you use it.
Coconut Water Layer: In another small container, add tender coconut water and agar agar powder and stir to break up the powder. If its china grass flakes then soak it in the tender coconut water for 10 mins. Add sugar then bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Once it boils, check to see that there aren’t any tiny little grains of agar powder still floating around. Keep the mixture hot and covered just like the coconut milk layer.
Assembly: Pour the first layer into your dish, spoon off any bubbles, then refrigerate just until the top has set about 8 mins. To ensure the firmness of the pudding, try tapping the surface lightly with your finger. If it’s no longer liquid and doesn’t stick to your finger, it’s ready.
Making sure the second layer is steaming hot, pour it over the back of a spoon, letting it drip VERY GENTLY AND VERY SOFTLY onto the edges of the first layer. If you it pour too quickly or aggressively, it’ll break the first layer and will chip off and mix with the new layer. Refrigerate again just until the top is set 10 mins.
Repeat with the remaining mixture, where one layer is clear and the other layer is creamy white so you have 2 different alternate layers. Make sure that you keep both mixtures hot and covered while you wait for it to set. If for whatever reason it has gone cold, just reheat when you’re ready to pour.
Once you’re done, refrigerate the pudding overnight so it sets well. Once set, take it out and flip the bowl slowly into a flat tray so that the pudding falls into the tray without breaking. For a more fun version for the kids, use a ginger bread man cookie cutter and a circle shaped cutter to cut out the desired shapes. Slowly and carefully place them on dessert plates and enjoy!
Tip- Since this is a very delicate dessert, for best results just assemble it in dessert bowls as individual servings. That way you can serve it without worrying if the layers will stick together or not while cutting and serving. If not, try using a rectangular glass dish (6”x8”) or any other glass dish so you can see the thickness of the layers. When using agar agar flakes, use the conversion ratio of 1 tsp powder to 1 tbsp flakes.
Meetu is a passionate architect by profession, based in India. Her hobbies include cooking, painting, reading, listening to music and drawing. She also dabbles in party planning and had the time of her life putting together her darling son’s super hero themed party!
Follow the link below to check out her inspiring architectural work
