Pandan Haluvidhaa

Pandan is sometimes referred to as the vanilla of the east. Its aroma is sweet and sort of delicate, while it tastes grassy and slightly floral.

This recipe is a twist on the local agar agar dessert ‘haluvidhaa’ and those who love pandan will surely love this.

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups chopped pandan (2cm pieces)
• ½ cup water (for making the pandan extract)
• 20 grams agar agar strands
• 2 cups water (for soaking agar agar)
• 5 cups water (for cooking the agar agar)
• 1 ½ cans condensed milk (570g)

Instructions:

1. Add the pandan and water to a juice blender and process until the leaves are completely crushed and you get a sort of a paste.
2. Strain the mixture into a bowl and set aside.
3. Using a clean pair of scissors, cut the agar agar into small pieces; 2-3 cm in length.
4. Add the agar agar and 2 cups of water to a bowl and let the agar agar soak.
5. Add 5 cups of water to a large pot and bring it to a boil.
6. When the water boils, take out the agar agar from the soaking water and add it to the boiling water. Do not add in the soaking water.
7. Keep stirring continuously until the agar agar fully dissolves. Keep the heat on medium while you do this. And here’s how you check whether it’s dissolved: take a slotted spoon or anything else with a hole in it, dip it into the mixture, take it out, and if the mixture covers the hole, like a film, this means it’s all good. If this doesn’t happen, just cook for a little bit longer and test again.
8. When the agar agar has dissolved, turn off the stove. Add the condensed milk and the pandan extract. Mix it well.
9. Sieve the mixture in to a tray or container. (You’ll need something around 15 inches in length for this quantity. Or you could just set it in a couple of smaller trays. Aim for a thickness of an inch.)
10. After you’ve sieved it, use a spoon to scoop the little bubbles on top.
11. Allow the haluvidhaa to set. We kept it in the fridge for around one and a half hours. Slice it into squares or diamonds before serving. You can also decorate it with slivered sea almonds if you’d like that.

* If you want the haluvidhaa to be really soft, you can use around 17 grams of agar agar instead of 20 grams. It'll be around 1 & 2/3 cups when cut.