Fresh Strawberry Pudding with Strawberry Crush.

“Fresh Strawberry Pudding with Strawberry Crush” … the strawberries I bought in bulk never seem to be ending and I am enjoying churning out dishes using them ... here is a simple dessert prepared using fresh strawberries and china grass … It had really been a very long time since I prepared sweet pudding as dessert from scratch as in the recent years I always used ready to prepare packs available in stores … fresh ones always turn out tastier and sure to try more options soon, till then enjoy this one ... it's simply Yummilicious ....

** A simple pudding prepared by almost everyone easily through decades during weekends. We always used easily available packets that had flavored ingredients and I personally never bothered much with fresh fruits except for a few times. I had purchased lots of strawberries from my fruit vendor and was searching out ways to finish them off when all google would show up in most searches were pudding. It reminded me that it had been a very long time since I prepared them from scratch and so thought of giving it a try as I also had china grass at home.

** Well, here it is a simple strawberry pudding with fresh fruits and the strawberry crush I added at the bottom is readily available once though I could have prepared it at home, but then that was another item I wanted to finish off that was lying in fridge. In all a simple delicious pudding to be relished with family and friends on weekends while you catch up on long chats as this can be prepared and allowed to settle in fridge way ahead of the needed time which means you get ample time to be ready for a lovely time to be spent without having to hurry about.

** Here is my simple method of preparing “Fresh Strawberry Pudding with Strawberry Crush” … My style ….

** Ingredients :

China Grass/Agar Agar : 25 strips approximately.

Full fat Milk/ Malai Doodh : ½ liter.

Fresh Strawberries : 25-30

Sugar/ Shakkar/ Sakkara : ¾ cup approximately

Strawberry Crush : 3-4 tblsp (I used store bought)

** Cut china grass into small pieces and rinse under water. Add it into a vessel along with one cup of boiling water. Cover and keep it aside for a few minutes to soften.

** Wash and remove stem of strawberries and cut them into pieces leaving aside a few for topping. Add cut strawberries into a mixer and grind to a smooth paste without water.

** In 3-4 glasses add in the strawberry crush dividing equally and let it spread well into a layer at the bottom. Keep the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes so that the crush is set well and is not disturbed while pouring the pudding over it.

** Bring the milk to a boil, lower the heat, add in strawberry paste, sugar and let cook on medium heat stirring often. Once the sugar melts, lower the heat and let it simmer while you go ahead with china grass preparation.

** Bring the china grass with water to a boil while you keep stirring until the china grass melts. It takes around 12-15 minutes approximately. On melting it turns into slightly thicker consistency sort of jelly/ syrup like, remove from fire and add to simmering strawberry milk and mix well.

** Cook the above on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes and then remove from fire and keep it aside to get cooled down a little bit. Keep stirring in between, this helps it cool down faster and also does not form cream on top.

** Once the pudding is moderately cool, remove the glasses from the freezer and quickly pour in the mixture into them leaving a little bit gap on top and then put it back in fridge section and allow it to set and get chilled for 2-3 hours.

** “Fresh Strawberry Pudding with Strawberry Crush” is done and ready to be served. Just before serving top it with a few freshly chopped or sliced fresh strawberries. Always serve it chilled for best taste. Enjoy the dessert with your family and friends.

** Note : 

** Addition of sugar depends upon individual taste, so you can increase or decrease the same.

** Addition of strawberry crush at the bottom in glass is also an option and can be left out if not desired.

** If adding in the crush, keep in mind that it is very sweet and if you make the pudding also sweet It may turn out too sweet so bear that in mind.

** The pudding has to be chilled for minimum 2 hours, however you can always prepare it a few hours or before day too and avoid pressure if short of time. However best consumed within 2 days after keeping it in fridge.