Chocolate Soufflé is a very dear dish that I used to make previous to marriage. My brother, Sree used to love this so much. And since I used to make it with gelatin, I never tasted it. But I knew it must've been rich and so delicious. There were many happy days spent making this for him. Well, not just him, but Amma used to like it a lot too. I used to buy all those raw things needed and have made these in late nights or early mornings. I really don't remember how many times, I must've made these.
But after marriage, I found hubby dear wasn't very keen on this. And marriage brought in so many things, that we don't have enough time to indulge in those good old memories. These took the backseat and I haven't made these in a long time. Of course, now hubby dear likes whatever I make. And also seeing that Konda loves chocolate of any type, I thought I should try it once again and relive those wonderful times spent in parents' home. With this came the want of tasting it. And I remembered China Grass or Agar Agar.
Agar or agar agar is a gelatinous substance chiefly used as a culture medium for microbial work. It is an unbranched polysaccharide obtained from the cell membrane of some species of red algae or seaweed. It can be used as a laxative, a vegetarian gelatin substitute, a thickener for soups, injellies, ice-cream and Japanese desserts such as anmitsu, as a clarifying agent in brewing, and for paper sizing fabrics. The word agar comes from the Malay word agar-agar (meaning jelly). It is also known as kanten, agal-agal (Ceylon agar), or China grass. Chemically, agar is a polymer made up of subunits of the sugar galactose. Agar polysaccharides serve as the primary structural support for the algae's cell walls.
Agar-Agar is the sea's natural gelatin. White and semi-translucent, it is sold in packages as washed and dried strips or in powdered form. It can be used to make jellies, puddings, and custards. For making jelly, it is boiled in water until the solids dissolve. One then adds sweetener, flavouring, colouring, fruit or vegetables, and pours the liquid into molds to be served as desserts and vegetable aspics, or incorporated with other desserts, such as a jelly layer on a cake. Agar-agar is approximately 80% fiber, so it can serve as a great intestinal regulator. Its bulk quality is behind one of the latest fad diets in Asia, a Kanten diet. Once ingested, kanten triples in size and absorbs water. This results in the consumer feeling more full. Recently this diet has received some press coverage in the United States as well. The diet has shown promise in obesity studies.
In Indian cuisine, agar agar is known as "China Grass" and is used for making desserts.
Source- Wikipedia
So having these in mind, got all the things needed and finally out with the delicious Chocolate Soufflé
Ingredients Needed
Condensed Milk - 400 gms
Coco powder - 3 tsp
Milk - 2 cups
Fresh Cream - 1 cup
China Grass - 4 tsp (Gelatin - 2 tsp)
Chocolate chips or just chocolates - 50 gms
Mixed nuts - 50 gms ( I used walnuts, almonds, cashew nuts, raisins)
Method to prepare
Dissolve china grass in 1/2 cup water over a pan of hot water.
Add cocoa to 1 cup of milk. Heat over a pan of hot water and make a smooth paste.
Add dissolved china grass, cocoa paste, rest of milk, chopped nuts, and chocolate pieces to condensed milk. Mix well.
Whisk the cream till stiff. Fold into the mixture. Pour the mixture into a soufflé dish and chill.
Serve decorated with stiffly beaten cream and chocolate curls.
Dissolve gelatin in 1/2 cup water over a pan of hot water.
For the first time in my life, I tasted this delicious dessert that I have been making for over 10 years and it was worth all the wait. All because of china grass. Wish I have known about this long ago, I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
kamala says
I like anything with chocolate.The Dessert looks so coool delicious
ANJALI J. says
looks great.. very refreshing.. yum! i can imagine the taste..uhmmmm..
Dhivya says
wow!great entry!!!love those pictures
Kalai says
Awesome dessert, Valli! 🙂
Rachel says
that looks sinfully delcious!
Divya Vikram says
Lov chocolate..SO i should love these..Thanks for sharing..
Lavi says
lovely drink..beautifull pictures..
Medhaa says
we used to always make china grass but without the chocolate. Love this recipe.
Just curious, how come you cannot eat gelatin.
Mandira says
looks light and delicious... thanks for the info on agar agar 🙂
Happy cook says
I love chocolate and with all these delicious ingridients, i am sure i will love them.
Love the picture too.
It is funny how our hubbies tend to love all our cooking now, than the time we were just married 🙂
Uma says
that really is a must-try dessert. looks fantabulous. great entry.
Vanamala says
Looks tasty yummy smoothie. Nice Dessert sri
Namratha says
Nice idea to use Agar Agar instead of Gelatin, I recently came to know about Gelatin, and have been hesitant to use it since then. Agar Agar is a good bet, the souffle looks very inviting!
DK says
I have been meaning to make souffles for a long while now. Your post reminded me of the same..
This pudding/dessert luks simply awesome. I have china grass - of course ..so will make it pronto. Bookmarked 🙂
Nalini says
Hi
Your recipe look delicous, but I think it is more like a pudding. As far as I know a soufflé is a light, fluffy, baked dish made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert.
Arundathi says
Valli - that looks decadent. Is China Grass available in most supermarkets?
Mansi Desai says
that sure looks sinful Srivalli!:) btw, I'm gonna post a dosa for you tonight before you kill me!:)
Veda Murthy says
oh wow....looks delish!!!!!!!!
Swapna says
your Chocolate Souffe looks delicious Srivalli.....you can see another version in my place....
Srivalli says
kamala, thank you...me too..thats why it was so nice finally tasting this
Anjali, yes it was yummy!
Happy cook, thank you!...yes its so very funny right..even I always think about it and laugh..
Swapna, Veda, Mansi, Mandira, Rachel, Kalai, Dhivya, Vanamala, Divya, Lavi, Uma, Thank you all for your lovely comments!
Medhaa, thats nice to know!...I am a vegetrain though not a vagen..thats why
Nalini, yeah technically right...maybe because this uses the vegetrain part of it..its called so
Namratha, yeah its good when you dont'use gelatin!
DK, thanks..do make yours
Arundathi, thank you..I got it from nilagris..so it should be easy for you to get
Susan says
I still have two packages of agar agar in my closet (one of the strands, and the other flakes). I always worry that I will use too much, and my recipe will come out like a bouncing rubber ball! Now I see that there is a vegetarian chocolate soufflé in my future!
Thanks for joining WHB, Srivalli!
Kalyn says
Looks very tasty. This is the first time I've heard of agar agar being called China Grass.
Srivalli says
Susan, glad you can make a good use of that...do make sure you take the correct measurement...it at times come out wobbly as you said!
Kalyn, yep its called so as it was first grown over there...thanks
Ranjani says
This looks really good! Got me craving some chocolate now:)