Woon mamuang

DSC_0200 These symmetrically gorgeous yellow and white pieces of soft squares are the stuff of dreams most soothing and calm. As lovely and mysterious as these are to look at, they taste almost as tranquil and smooth.

‘Woon mamuang’ as these are called in Thai are really mango mousse made with agar-agar, a sort of vegan gelatine so to say, that’s made of seaweed and thus vegan, vegetarian friendly. I first had them in Thailand and couldn’t get over the almost enigmatic texture of these tender squares. They’re not too wobbly, as one would expect regular jellies made of gelatine, yet softly yielding with a fresh fruity taste that almost feels like eating mangoes in a different form. There’s a sort of gentleness to their aspect that works really well as a light dessert, for it doesn’t fill you up, not to mention that their primary ingredients or rather the only ingredients are pureed mangoes and coconut milk, both of which form a kind of ethereal bond of mellow pleasantness.

I made these for the first time and learnt after a few errors the exact workings of agar agar, and will explain them in this post so you don’t make the same mistakes.


DSC_0146 copythe ingredients are mangoes, sugar, lime, strawberries, coconut milk, water and agar agar.



peel the mangoes



and chop/cube them to be made into a puree.



add in a squirt of lime juice to add just another dimension of flavours



and blend to form a puree, making sure there are no lumps.




water in a pot, don’t turn on the heat yet, because unlike gelatine agar agar will turn into something of a mess if dumped into hot water.



add in agar agar and slowly start heating the water.



stir water constantly or else the agar agar might settle at the bottom and clump together.


keep stirring until agar agar is completely dissolved.



once that is done, add in the sugar and let is dissolve



add in mango puree



and whisk until it’s mixed well and there are no lumps



there are various ways to go about making woon mamuang. You can either make individual pieces in moulds or one big piece in a tray. I went with the latter option.



Now the the thing with agar agar is that it begins to set soon after it starts cooling down and can set at room temperature as well, so we have to be a bit quick about things, but don’t get yourself in a frenzy as I did. Pour half the mango mixture to form the bottom layer.



Add in chopped strawberries. you can even add mango cubes or coconut meat or nothing. I love the reds of strawberries with the yellows of mango.



they look like rose petals.



while that sets, we can get on with making the coconut milk layer. Start heating a pot of water with agar agar until it completely dissolves



add sugar and coconut milk



and pour the hot coconut milk mixture over the now set layer of mango layer and pop all the air bubbles or rather most of them using a toothpick.

Error: here’s the mistake I made. I checked the mango layer in corners of the pan and thought it to be set, whereas the middle part of the layer had not set at all, which is why some part of the coconut milk layer has floating strawberries on it. Therefore check that the bottom layer has almost completely set. It should be a little tacky, but shouldn’t stick to your fingers.



once the coconut layer has set pour over the remaining mango mixture and let set completely and refrigerate for at least a few hours before serving.

Note: keep the remaining mango mixture warm while the coconut milk layer sets, because once it cools down it will begin to congeal.


DSC_0195cut into squares and serve chilled.


For the mango layer

Mangoes: 430g (about 2 cups)

Water: 350 mls (1.5 cups)

Sugar: 100g (1/2 cup)

Agar agar: 2tsp

Lime juice: 1tsp

Strawberries: 80g (1/2 cup)

For the coconut milk layer

Coconut milk: 200mls (1 cup)

Water: 200 mls (3/4 cup)

Sugar: 4-5 tbsp

Agar agar: 1 tsp

Recipe instructions: Puree mangoes with lime juice, chop strawberries and keep aside.

Add agar agar to a pot of cold water and gently bring up to heat, stirring constantly until agar agar dissolves. Add sugar and pureed mangoes and whisk until sugar has dissolved and no lumps remain.

Gently pour half the mixture into moulds, making sure that no air bubbles are formed. Strew in chopped strawberries and allow this layer to set, while keeping the remaining mango mixture warm.

Make the coconut milk mixture by adding agar agar to water and slowly bringing to heat, stirring constantly until agar agar is completely dissolved. Add in coconut milk and sugar and once sugar is dissolved as well, pour the coconut milk mixture very gently over the now set mango mixture. To ensure that no air bubbles are formed you can even spoon this mixture.

In case any bubbles do get formed, pop them with a toothpick.

Once the coconut milk mixture had set gently pour the remaining mango puree over it and let it set completely and refrigerate before serving.

Few things to remember:  Do not let agar agar settle at the bottom of the pan while dissolving in water. Keep stirring constantly.

Check if the layers have set by gently tapping the middle area, it should be tacky to the touch but shouldn’t stick.

Do not let remainder mixture to cool down because it begins to set. Keep over low heat in case the temperatures are cool.





Mango honey lemonade


OK, you could keep staring at it all you want, or you could just march into your kitchen and make yourself a serving of this molten sunshine. Even though it looks like a pool of liquid gold, it tastes of aqueous angels, and they do sing a bit of harp filled melody each time you sip into this divine potion of dulcet daylight.

Well, it’s the summers and you need something that looks like sun and tastes like ice, only this is delightfully citrusy, lyrically sweet and fused with the plump golden pulp of voluptuous heat soaked mangoes…and it takes five minutes to conjure up this baby.


DSC_0001 copy

all you really need is love..a couple of fat mangoes, honey, lemon and water. nothing too tedious



you gotta commit act of loving violence however and disrobe your mangoes ever so tactfully, or not..really it’s up to you how you want to gouge out the flesh.



then put into a blender of choice



along with honey, and blend



to get a pulp of midas proportions



this is totally optional, but it adds an extra note of citrus. Carefully remove only the yellow part of the lemon. You can zest it if you want, or you can take a sharp knife and slowly peel just the outer yellow skin.



like so.. and squeeze the lemon into a separate glass. There isn’t a picture for it..sorry folks



plonk in the lemon rind, and it will slowly keep infusing.



Now for the grand assembly. This is the complicated part where you can make mistakes, because magically a glass bearing the juice of squeezed lemon has appeared.



now..lemon juice into the water



followed by mango pulp into the water



et voila, a lava lamp!



mix well, twirl it around with all your might, form a whirlpool if you must.



stare at it, stagger over speechless and renounce the world.



pour over crushed ice



and drink!



Mangoes- 2 large

Lemon juice- 60mls (1/4 cup) you could use 3-4 small lemons or 1 really large one

Honey- 60mls (1/4 cup)

water- 1 litre (4 cups)



make sweetened mango pulp by blending together mango flesh and honey and set aside. Peel the lemon rind (optional step) and add to water. Squeeze out the lemon juice and keep aside.

Add sweetened mango pulp and lemon juice to water and mix well.

Serve over crushed ice.

This is easy..


I  couldn’t resist this top shot