Pink Diamonds- Agar-Agar jelly
Some recipes are so simple. They way they look, the way their texture leaves you amazed, you wouldn’t think that they took like something like 5-10 minutes to prepare would you? But then this one does indeed. In India, Agar-Agar is known as China grass. It is also known as kanten and Japanese isinglass. These jellies are made with Agar- Agar which is nothing but vegetarian gelatin. More about Agar here. These are great for entertaining, esp. with respect to kids who would love it for how it looks. You can make them into any shapes you desire using molds. I have kept it very simple here and cut them into diamonds. I got this recipe from my mom who saw them in some cooking show in India.
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
  • 4 tbsp Agar-Agar flakes/powder
  • 4 cups milk
  • few drops of any food coloring. I used pink
  • sugar to taste
  • 1/2-1tsp Rose essence (optional)
Method
1. Stir the agar-agar flakes into the milk and stir. Bring the milk to a boil. Keep stirring to avoid the agar from sticking to the bottom.Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the agar has completely dissolved. Then add sugar and dissolve.
2. Cool and then add the essence, if using along with the coloring.
3. Pour it into either molds or into a flat dish.
4. Refrigerate about 2-3 hrs or until set.
5. Before serving cut it into shapes of your liking or unmould if using molds.

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By shruti on Jun 3, 2010

i read the pink diamond recipe and when i looked for agar agar in the local store i cud not find it other than flavoured pudding form.. the instructions for pudding are using the one on packet  so they can vary from product to product

since it is mango season i used mango flavour and combined it with my cheesecake recipe. one can use any other flavour.. the result was yummy.. and use fruits to go with it

u need

1 packet flavoured china grass

500 ml milk ( as required by the recipe on pack)

2 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoon white butter

10-12 digestive/ marie biscuits

chopped fruit

method

 in a blender ( chutney maker  or kitchen mate whatever for coarse grinding) mix biscuits with butter and 1 teaspoon sugar and make a coarse crumble .. take an 8 " loose bottom tin and pat the mix gently on base..

sprinkle a little sugar on fruit ( will depend on fruit sweet or sour) and arrange it over biscuit base..

make the pudding using  chef in you recipe  or as on the packet.. mine needed mixing it in cold milk and giving a gentle boil for a minute. take off the burner and  after a minute or so pour it over the fruit.

let it set it sets automatically in about 10-15 minutes .. u can chill it in refrigerater before serving..

take out the set pudding by removing loose bottom sides

serve..:)

71 Comments

By M.kaz on Jun 3, 2020

I have been having faloodas for the last 50 years and this recipe where it says 4 tablespoons agar agar powder is resulting in a very hard end product. Is four tablespoons the right amount? If so, is it supposed to be hard?

By shyamala on Dec 1, 2016

I tried this recipe. I was basically trying to find a vegan marshmaloow recipe as I m a vegan. When I came across this recipe, was really excited to finally find what I wanted.I was very disappointed with the end resukt as it was nothing like marshmallow, but a jelly. This is milk pudding or jelly like consistency, not chewy at all. Although, it was not marshmallow, I liked the recipe, but at same time was disappointed that it was not like marshmallow.

By Tsints on Jun 4, 2015

I believe the issue people may be having with this recipe is that 1 tbsp of agar-agar flakes DOES NOT equal 1 tbsp of agar-agar powder, though the recipe makes it sound as if either could be used without amounts being changed. 1 tbsp of flakes equals 1 tsp of powder.

By kathya on Oct 28, 2014

Hi DK I made this dish longago, its nice. Now iam vegiterian, I come know a very good information about chaina grass, thank u very much for sharing a valuable information.

By azeeza on Jul 11, 2014

Is this meant to have 4tsp (teaspoon) Agar Agar???? Just followed recipe as above stating 4tbs ( tablespoons) and mixture was very thick....please correct as the error above has ruined my dessert!

It is indeed 4 tbsp powder. The mixture is supposed to be thick enough to cut into slices. I am not sure what you mean by very thick! --DK

By horia on Apr 18, 2014

what Agar-Agar flakes/powder

Another name for China Grass. Its a vegetarian equivalent of Gelatin. --DK

By horia on Apr 18, 2014

:wink:

By youngisthan on Nov 4, 2013

very nice receipe..... colorful food. i will try to make this weak

By Mar on Oct 28, 2013

Made this today with blue coloring instead and added fresh blue berries into it. Also added 3 tablespoon of condensed milk together with sugar to make it more milky. Wonderful! Thanks for the recipe.

By ganiya arif on Apr 24, 2013

can we use either beetroot extract for food colouring??? :roll:

By Maria on Apr 21, 2013

Thank you! I made some last Friday - in the office pantry. And treated my colleagues to a nice surprise! So easy to make. Will also be tryiing Anney's suggestion soon!

By Rachael on Jan 24, 2013

unbelievably it's so simple to prepare, will definitely try making some of this! :)

By Jaya Rani on Jan 18, 2013

Its really amazing, we never thought that its this easy to make ice cold sweets. Thank you, Thank you and Thank you.

By Anney on Jan 4, 2013

This recipe can also be used with slight alterations to accomplish different flavoured desserts. When I was in Japan a friend made a "milk & coffee" dessert. Using the exact recipe above make one batch completely plain milk with no sugar or colouring but use the slightest few drops of vanilla essence. It is just for the merest hint of vanilla so do not use a vanilla pod leave plain if you cannot get vanilla essence.Cool and cut as directed above. Make a second batch using this recipe but add some instant coffee to your tasting but not too strong though , along with the sugar.Cool & cut as above. The third batch use water instead of milk and add instant coffee a lot more strongly than in the milk-coffee, along with just a little sugar to take the edge off the bitterness. Cool and cut again as in the above recipe. You now have a tri flavoured dessert that is refreshingly cool on a hot day to serve for friends. Serve an equal amount of all 3 flavours in dessert bowls or on little dishes or on clean washed banana leaves cut into diamonds. Someone asked also about the consistency, it's like "crunchy" jelly, that is to say firmer than jelly so that you leave bite marks or slice marks which you generally do not get using regular gelatine. You can also set fruit juice desserts using agar agar and add fresh or canned berries or fruit to it when you place in molds or large pan before cooling & cutting. Diamond cutting is the most preferred way of serving these forms of desserts when not in a mold.

By SaritaAgerman on Dec 11, 2012

Looks deliciously simple. Looking forward to trying this out!

By Cope loa on Dec 9, 2012

Hi Di, don't be a wet blanket, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.

By Cope loa on Dec 9, 2012

Hi Di, don't be a wet blanket, if you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all :evil:

By vasuki on Nov 21, 2012

very nice recipe, sounds good, children really will like it a lot.

By sherienee on Nov 20, 2012

hi am from guyana and i want to no wat is dis agra how do i find it in guyana :cry:

By d. on Nov 4, 2012

:roll: Hey!!! You did not provide any info about the calories or carbohydrates per gram for this recipe...any answers?

By Crnkić on Nov 2, 2012

You can also find agar agar flakes at health food stores like Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Trader Joe's, etc....

By dcisfun on Oct 25, 2012

fyi, anyone who went to a science lab in high school knows that agar is what every scientist uses to grow and feed bacteria in a petri dish, you can order AGAR from any scientific supply store. agar in the veggie equivalent of gelatin which is made from boiling bones

By Mathangi Devi on Apr 21, 2012

Ma'am, do we have to keep the moulds in the freezer or it's enough to refrigerate it?

By pink recipes | blueroses and stardust on Apr 21, 2012

[...] pink diamonds jelly [...]

By AikoVenus on Jul 20, 2011

You just made me realize something amazing that I've been at a loss for in my bentos all of this time! Thank you! ^^

By Cooking Rookie on Apr 14, 2011

What a beautiful dessert! Lovely texture.

By Liji on Mar 6, 2011

Hii...it looks lovely...i live in mauritius...how do i find china grass flakes here?what am i supposed to ask for? would they call it by any other name??? Liji

The link I have provided in the first para will throw more light to your question

By xinyu on Oct 28, 2010

very beutiful>>> :-P :-P

By namy on May 14, 2010

Hi when to add sugar dear..it is missing in your method

Thanks for the pointer namy. I have updated the post with this. Its in the first step :) --DK

By Naksha on Feb 12, 2010

Thanks DK, Will try for V day.... :-P

By Naksha on Feb 11, 2010

Hi Dhivya, do we get the flakes in the Indian stores?

Oh yes Naksha! I am sure. You might get either in a powder form or in this flaky form. Both work :) --DK

By Susan on Feb 10, 2010

Sweetly romantic - fantastic, actually. Thanks for posting an agar agar recipe. I haven't gotten the trick of working w/ it yet, but am encouraged by your success. :idea:

By Radhika Vasanth on Feb 10, 2010

Lovely squares.. They come at the right time when Valentines day is just around the corner...

By vanamala on Jun 10, 2009

Good one...love the color pinky pinky diamonds

By Curry Leaf on Apr 15, 2009

We surely think alike DK.I too had made a dessert using agar agar.I got flakes from Indian store (green colour) and in Blore also got colorless flakes and instant powder.I tried flakes and yet to try the pdr.

By Namratha on Apr 14, 2009

We usually make this using only water and call it china grass halwa :P Using milk sounds good, will try. And these pink diamonds are too good!

By Aparna on Apr 13, 2009

I just answered my own question by making them today.:)
They are not like marshmallows (which are chewy) but more like a custrad-like pudding. At least, mine were.
Your pink diamonds were quite nice. Thanks.

By ARUNA on Apr 12, 2009

these diamonds look gorgeous too!

By DK on Apr 12, 2009

Thank you girls :) I love this recipe..its so simple

@Aparna - I havent had marshmallows aparna..so I really dont know if it tastes such...the closest I can even say this jelly that we eat in India..you know the ones which look like a dome..the texture is the same...I hope this helps..I will go the marshmallow route and update if it matches :)

By Aparna on Apr 12, 2009

This is something very unusual. Do these have texture like marshmallows?

By Srivalli on Apr 10, 2009

oh my that looks so cute dhivi..

By Anonymous on Apr 10, 2009

Cool blog... I would rate this blog a 9.9 personally...

Kodiak

By Raaga on Apr 10, 2009

these are very cute. :)

By bindiya on Apr 10, 2009

these are pretty lovely, must be delicious too!

By The Food Librarian on Apr 9, 2009

I just picked up some kanten from the Japanese store. These look lovely. And I love how your mom is involved in helping you!

By anna on Apr 9, 2009

Very pretty! I love marshmallows and rose flavor, but haven't tried using agar-agar yet. I'll have to give these a try sometime.

By Priya on Apr 9, 2009

Cute n pretty squares DK, wat a beautiful clicks:)

By Cham on Apr 9, 2009

One of cutest and simplest jello!

By Madhumathi on Apr 9, 2009

These look so cute..Its very easy too..im gonna try this :)

By Gopi Shah on Apr 9, 2009

This is one more recipe using agar agar on same day...now have to try this.

By mona on Apr 9, 2009

We make this quite often. And we call it as Falooda/China Grass.
Looks so cute!

By Madhuram on Apr 9, 2009

The jellies look so cute DK. I too bought agar for the first time for the pink event but the recipe I tried did not come out well. I pureed strawberries to get the pink color. Later only I came to know that while adding agar with citric things, the quantity should be increased for them to set properly.

By Akal's Saappadu on Apr 9, 2009

loks attracting for kids :)

nice name for these delicious jellies. I've tried this using rose milk syrup :)

By Kitchen Flavours on Apr 8, 2009

Wow awesome color......Looks like color added cashew burfi. Yum!

By Suparna on Apr 8, 2009

Hi DK,
I fell for those diamond shaped awsome looking jellies ...before starting to read ur write up I thought it's something complicated...reading on I was elated to know the simplicity of the recipe :) thanks a lot dear am glad I read this one. Am bookmarking it. Lovely snaps.
TC

By Purnima on Apr 8, 2009

DK ..looks super drooler! Lovely pink!

By rekhas kitchen on Apr 8, 2009

oohh they look so beautiful

By Cynthia on Apr 8, 2009

I wish I could just reach out and get 2 of these.

By Uma on Apr 8, 2009

Wow, those diamonds are so pretty! Nice pink color! If my daughter sees these she would definitely ask me to make for her :)

By Le @HC on Apr 8, 2009

agar agar is so friendly, isn't it.. Coincidence to come to ur blog , right after posting a dessert with agar agar :)

By myspicykitchen on Apr 8, 2009

love the pink diamonds... :)

By Pavani on Apr 8, 2009

I bought flavored China grass from India and makes killer jelly when combined with some condensed & regular milk. Your pink jellies look delish.

By Sunshinemom on Apr 8, 2009

They looks so pretty!! So tasty too:)

By Ramya Vijaykumar on Apr 8, 2009

Nice pink squares... Back in India Agar-Agar came home fresh as my uncle runs a unit manufacturing it we used all kinda colors your post brings back those memories...

By Gita's Kitchen on Apr 8, 2009

Easy and yummy with a lovely color, love it :)

By VineelaSiva on Apr 8, 2009

The pink daimonds looks yummy.i will try this.wr we would find the agar agar.first time to ur site nice recipes.in free time visit my blog also .

By Indhu on Apr 8, 2009

almost no effort and a delicious end product :)

By Trupti on Apr 8, 2009

those pink diamonds looks lovely DK

By Madhu on Apr 8, 2009

My little one would love to eat this, never tried agar-agar before..looks so good.

By Sathya Sankar on Apr 8, 2009

The diamonds looks very delicious..
Kids would love it :)

By veggie belly on Apr 8, 2009

these are like almost instant marshmallows! great idea!