Lychee Mango Jelly ...

As I turned vegan about 3 years ago, i had no idea that the gelatin in non vegan. and that my all time favorite jelly has animal product in it. To be precise the gelatin that is so readily available in the market is actually derived from the bones of animal.

To quote from Google " Gelatin is a yellowish, odorless, and nearly tasteless substance that is made by prolonged boiling of skin, cartilage, and bones from animals. It's made primarily from the stuff meat industries have left over — we're talking about pork skins, horns, and cattle bones. ".

When i found out about this i was so heartbroken as I realized i probably cant have jelly too. Until very recently i found an alternative and my joy knew no bounds. This magical ingredient is agar agar powder and it's derived from a sea weed. Hence it is vegan and though not very popular it is readily available in the Asian stores and online. And the best part is that this jelly solidifies on room temperature, so you don't have to wait hours upon hours to enjoy this delicious treat. As soon as i found out i figured may be it's time to enjoy some jelly that I couldn't have earlier. The recipe is super simple really and here are the steps to prepare the same.

Preparation

Lychee Jelly

1. Take about 1.5 cups of water and add 2 teaspoons of agar agar powder on the room temperature

2. Take 2 handfuls of peeled lychees and blend it well and extract fresh juice. You can also use lychee juice that may be available in the market. You can't go wrong with the quantity here. Add it according to the strength of the flavor you like.

3. Add about 4 -6 teaspoon of sugar in the pot

4. Now put the pan on medium heat and bring the mix to a boils while continuously stirring it. This will ensure that the agar powder does not clump together.

5. Boil this mix for 7 mins (till the color of the liquid turn slightly opapue)

6. Pour it in a pan of your choice. I used a few silicon molds . If you are using a metal pan, just oil the pan slightly by slightly rubbing the oil on the mold to ensure it's easy to extract out later.

Set it aside to cool down and repeat all the steps for mango jelly. We have to move fast so that the lychee jelly does not become solid. The consistency that we are looking for is a layer just beginning to set on the surface.

Mango Jelly

Take a ripe mango which is really sweet and has no fibers in it. That's the only condition for this jelly really. Blend it well and use the paste for making the jelly. If you don't have a fresh mango available you can use packed mango juice instead. You know the drill from here.

1. To a pot add 1.5 cups of water , 2 teaspoons or agar agar powder, mango paste and suger (may be less since mango is already sweet) at room temperature .

2. Bring this mix to boil on medium heat till the color of turns slightly darker shade of yellow and turns slightly translucent.

3. Pour this liquid gently in the mold/pan with the lychee jelly. You can test the lychee jelly is ready to take on the mango jelly if you can touch and feel a delicate layer on the top just starting to form. Don't let the mango jelly cool down in the pot. If the lychee jelly is too delicate gently pour the mango jelly on top over a spoon.

All we got to do now is wait till this jelly sets. Wait time is 60-80 mins. If you like to have it chilled you can put this in the fridge but agar agar jelly can set on the room temperature.

Here is what my final version of the jelly looked like. Enjoy this recipe with your family.

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