Plucked from the sea

Did you know where the agar-agar in your favourite dessert comes from? The answer lies in Rameswaram, where we join women divers on their quest for seaweed collecting seaweed. Used for making agar-agar, the marikolundhuvariety is sought after, and the women of Rameswaram go to great lengths to collect a sackful, which will probably end up in a bowl of payasam hundreds of kilometres away. Agar-agar or kadal paasi, as it is known in Tamil, is ironically not part of the local cuisine. “I rarely use it; it’s too expensive,” says Devi, removing her gloves. “But when I do get a packet, I make halwa with coconut milk as the base. It’s delicious.”  A kilogram of dried seaweed fetches them Rs 50. “We give it to the dealer in Chinnapalam,”

Tender coconut pudding with agar-agar (OPOS technique)

Ingredients

7 grams Agar-agar strands

1 cup Tender coconut water

1/2 cup Condensed milk

1 cup Thick milk

1/4 cup Fresh cream

1/2 cup Tender coconut flesh

Method

In a two-litre cooker, layer soaked and drained agar-agar strands, tender coconut water and close. Cook on high for two whistles for three minutes. Release pressure, and open. Add the condensed milk, milk, fresh cream, tender coconut flesh and mix. Pour into a mould and allow to set in room temperature. Serve chilled.

Recipe and photo: Tazin Faiz, co-author of e-book Non-Veg Delicacies: OPOS Cookbook