“Cookies are made of butter and love.” Norwegian Proverb
Amaranth Oat Walnut Ginger Cookies were an experiment, yet another happy one!. Strangely enough, ever since I claimed I hardly ever bake cookies, that’s just what I have been doing of late. Eggless Honey Almond Cookies … then Coffee Shortbread which still has to see light of day on my blog. We’ve got some happy cookie monsters on the prowl this end!!
Did you notice something? They’re all eggless cookies, or lacto vegetarian as they call them. Like the ‘Not Quite Anzac Cookie Pops’ below. I woke up early one morning and had fun making on Anzac Day last week. I did a Not Quite Anzac Cookie Cake too! On this eggless trail, I also recently stirred up Dark Chocolate Nutella Kumquat Pudding … sinfully addictive! Hmmmm … maybe it’s a trend? Certainly feels like one! Then the other day Ruchira & I popped by at Sangeeta’s and were treated to these fab GF Ginger & Jaggery Energy Bars. The taste of the bars lingered on for long, flavours dancing in my head. That they were just 5 ingredient bars and had amaranth flour and oats was intriguing enough!
I had to come home and recreate ‘something‘. Her recipe inspired me. I’d do cookies. Nice plump whole grain bites. Cookies are always handy to have at home, gluten free more so for Mr PAB. I didn’t have jaggery on hand, so changes happened. Many changes.
Eventually ended up with these and they packed a nice punch. The subtle undertones on ginger and honey teased the palette. The walnut taste didn’t come through, but upped the ante on the ‘healthy nuts’ factor. I ran the Amaranth Oat Walnut Ginger Cookies past the ‘inspirer‘ at the Food Freak Awards Gurgaon later that evening. She gave them a huge thumbs up, so here you are.
These possibly aren’t going to be huge kiddie favourite cookies as they aren’t very sweet. Slightly crumbly, reminiscent of the quintessential Indian nan khatai that we used to bake in our childhood, I found the Amaranth Oat Walnut Ginger Cookies quite addictive. They grow on you. For eggless, gluten free cookies, they are fabulous! I shall experiment some more with the recipe, maybe crack an egg or two in the days to come. Until then, these eggless cookies might please you like they did Sangeeta and me!
[print_this]Recipe: Amaranth Oat Walnut Ginger Cookies
Summary: For eggless, gluten free baking, these Amaranth Oat Walnut Ginger Cookies are fabulous! Slightly crumbly, reminiscent of the quintessential Indian nan khatai that we used to bake in our childhood, I found them quite addictive.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
100g + 50g oats
50g amaranth flour
50g walnuts
100g butter, chilled, cubed
1″ piece ginger, grated
1/2 tsp baking soda
50g brown sugar
50g honey
1-2 tbsp brown sugar for sprinkling
Method:
Place 100g oats, amaranth flour, walnuts, chilled butter and ginger in bowl of food processor and blend to a fine meal.
Add the baking soda, brown sugar and remaining oats and pulse al low speed to mix.
With the motor running on slow, pour in the honey until mixed and the cookie dough comes together.
Heat oven to 150C.
Scoop out walnut sized bits of cookie dough and place on a parchment lined cookie tray. Gently press down with the tines of a fork. Sprinkle over with brown sugar.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until light golden brown and firm to touch.
“I like rice. Rice is great if you’re hungry and want 2000 of something. ”
Mich Ehrenborg
Tropical Coconut Milk Rice Pudding … with dragon fruit & rambutans, a welcome and wonderful change from the rice pudding I usually serve. As much as we love the Indian version, with saffron and pistachios, this version topped with Thai fruit was a riot of colours. Pretty … and pretty yummy too! The idea of serving it came from a Phirni Custard I had done while reviewing Everyone Can Cook by Vikas Khanna, the inspiration for the skewered fruit from a BBC recipe I had seen somwehere.
Mr PAB was on an official trip to Bangkok and enjoyed a whole slew of Thai fruit at the hotel there. I love Thai fruit, so bright and colourful, and full of flavour. It costs an arm and a leg to buy them here, so I was pleasantly surprised when he arrived laden with bags of fruit.
Enjoy them as is was pretty much how the plan was going. Some shots later, the daughter looked aghast that I ‘wasn’t doing anything’ with them! “Aren’t you going to make ‘something’ with them? How can we just eat them all?” I had no plans at the time, but soon after the head was buzzing!Baking wasn’t in my line of thought but something more fun certainly was. One of my most pinned images from the Vanilla & Strawberry Macaron Trifle was a contender. Yet we needed dessert the same night! The jelly would have to wait since it needed an overnight set. Rice pudding seemed plenty more tangible.
SUCH FUN! In line with Thai fruit, I added some coconut milk to the rice pudding, and lemongrass and ginger juice for flavours. Beautiful undertones of a tropical rice pudding teased the palette in every spoonful … mild, gentle, addictive!
If you love the gentle flavours of coconut milk, this creamy make ahead rice pudding is for you. If you have time, then maybe infuse the milk with lemon grass and ginger the night before. Strain and use. Or if you haven’t had time to think and plan like me, make a tight little bundle of lemon grass, grate and squeeze out the ginger juice…The Indian rice pudding is traditionally a vegetarian, eggless dessert option. It’s creamy with beautiful texture. Gluten free too. This version, the Tropical Coconut Milk Rice Pudding is a wonderful make ahead dessert option. Can be set in pudding bowls or serving glasses a day or two in advance. Top it with fruit the same day else the fruit tends to lose its shine and appeal!
The basic recipe is pretty generic. For Indian flavours, you could skip the lemongrass and ginger. Use cardamom powder and saffron instead. The latter reminds me of a stunning Saffron Caramel Panna Cotta I made a while ago. That’s another great make ahead dessert option.
Rambutans are similar to the Indian litchi, just a little firmer. The outer covering of course grabs your eyeballs. Amazing colours! The dragon fruit is another story altogether. I could stare at it all day long. The fruit of a cactus plant, in many ways it seems unreal!
If the outer appearance is mesmerising, just cut through the fruit and be ready for magic! For me, it was a trip back to 101 Dalmatians! I fell in love with the black and white interiors, and the pretty pink contrasting inner membrane. An explosion of colours, nature that mesmerises, black and white that pleases! Wow!!
Summary: The Indian rice pudding is traditionally a vegetarian, eggless dessert option. It’s creamy with beautiful texture. Gluten free too. This version, the Tropical Coconut Milk Rice Pudding is a wonderful make ahead dessert option. Can be set in pudding bowls or serving glasses a day or two in advance.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Rice pudding
1 bunch lemongrass, bruised
2-3 kaffir lime leaves
200ml low fat cream
100g basmati rice, washed, drained
150ml 2% milk
1tin sweetened condensed milk {approx 400g}
1 tin coconut milk {400g}
Fruit topping
1 dragon fruit, diced with pink membrane
200g rambutans
Simple sugar & lime syrup
Method:
Gently heat the low fat cream, add the lemongrass and lime leaves and leave to infuse covered in the fridge overnight.
Place the rice on a microwave safe platter, and microwave for a minute, stir, and repeat. The rice should be dry by now. Grind , stir into 150ml cold milk and reserve.
Bring the coconut milk to a simmering boil & add the condensed milk, stirring constantly while adding it.
Add the cream & mix in well.
Now mix the ground rice with the reserved cold milk. Take the pan off the heat source, mix in the rice mixture thoroughly, & put back on simmer.
Cook uncovered, on low heat, for 30-45 minutes until it becomes thick the rice grains are cooked. Stir often to avoid getting the rice into lumps.
Cool to room temperature, then ladle into serving dishes to set. It will become thicker as it sets. Chill covered for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Toss the fruit in a simple sugar and lime syrup {1/8 cup water + 1/4 cup sugar simmered until the sugar is dissolved}. Serve over the pudding if desired.
“You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world.”
Oprah Winfrey
Moong Dal Halwa, Dark Chocolate Nut Clusters, Baklava from scratch … how can we not go sweet on Diwali, the festival of lights? The halwa is special. The recipe is from the very sweet, talented and humble Chef Kunal Kapur, of Indian Master Chef fame. Masterchef Kunal Kapur judged a charity cook-off between a few chosen ones from the canola India Facebook contest and a couple of food bloggers. The chosen contestants came together to cook some healthy Diwali treats, in canola oil, for the underprivileged children from the NGO – Katha.
With an attempt to “Lighten up Diwali” for underprivileged children, Canolainfo joined hands with Masterchef India Judge Kunal Kapur to put together an inspiring afternoon and some delectable Diwali treats.
Phase I was online: inviting all food enthusiasts to upload a recipe of an interesting Diwali treat in order to participate in the “Light Up This Diwali With Canola Oil” contest sponsored by Canolainfo. Top 3 contestants were selected/invited to attend a charity cook-off, along with a few bloggers, at Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology wherein Masterchef Kunal Kapur judged the cook-off and interacted with the contestants. All the contestants were given recipes to make, in canola oil. The best out of all – Ms. Deeba Rajpal, chosen by Chef Kapur was given a hamper from Canolainfo. This was phase II of the event.
For the last and final phase, the Diwali treats made by contestants of the cook-off, was served to children of Katha, a non-profit that promotes children’s literacy. The event concluded with the children enjoying a healthy meal cooked in canola oil, put together for them along with an interactive session with Chef Kapur.
The spirit of the season took over. My first competitive cooking competition, which initially had me on the edge. Once we got talking, time really flew by. The entire experience was amazing. From weighing ingredients, working in a very very basic kitchen with just a bunch of utensils, shared space and basic ingredients, one simple dessert recipe bought us all together. It was a sense of community. That we had the timer on for 40 minutes was challenging is a small way. None of us had ever made a moong dal halwa before, let alone in oil. This was Chef Kunals recipe. It was cooked in oil versus clarified butter, then the oil was drained off. The texture was very interesting as there was a small portion of semolina in it that added texture to the halwa.
Otherwise a pretty straightforward recipe, the only important thing while cooking a halwa is to give it some TLC. Patience while roasting halwa is a virtue you need to develop. Hurry it up and you might not get the prefect end result! Kunal was a gem. Interacting with everyone, dropping pearls of wisdom when needed, the key was to keep your ears and eyes open! Suddenly, there was a twist. We had to incorporate any one of each the available fruits and spices in the halwa.
On offer were cheekus, bananas, oranges and limes. The spice box offered nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, mace, cardamom etc. I opted for orange and nutmeg, and infused the sugar syrup with a whole orange, chopped up, peels bruised and grated nutmeg. It was a beautiful halwa in the end. I loved doing it. I won first place for mine too. Happiness!!
Time really flew by. Before we knew it , we headed for Katha, an amazing and beautifully done up school. Seeing Chef Kunal interact with the bright eyed, eager enthusiastic kids was an emotional and satisfying experience. He has a gift, a special gift. Within 10 minutes he had broken ice and had all the kids literally eating out of his hands.It was time well spent!
It was a nice launch of the festive season. With sweet cravings arising with Diwali, it wasn’t long before I hit the sugar on fast track. It’s just once in a while that I go on a sugar overdrive. Mr PAB and the lad had been on my case for moong dal halwa.
So that had to be made on priority. Dark chocolate nut clusters was what I made as gifts to a few folk that I like gifting over Diwali. I enjoyed doing them a lot, packing them onto pretty white platters, finished with a hand made card from the daughter. Coco was right in the middle of everything as usual!
Then of course, I got bitten by a terrible bug. I had some home made phyllo left over form the Daring Baker challenge {for savoury pot pies which I still have to post}. I made the pies using homemade phyllo as the base pastry. I doubled the pastry because I have wanted to make that baklava once again.
The first time I had made it was for the Daring Bakers two years ago. That was a beautiful challenge, and still evokes great memories. ’twas was only when I began rolling the phyllo, that I realised I was a glutton for punishment. WHY??? It was a rather long drawn exercise, with me cursing myself all along. Yet, I DID IT!Once you pop the layered and cut baklava into the oven, you feel like you’ve conquered the world. Once you take it out an hour later, pour the infused honey syrup all over it, you begin to smell sweet success! Just looking at the tin the next morning, and you realise it’s been so worth every bit of heartache and hard work! You can find the baklava recipe here, though I used a slightly different phyllo pastry recipe.
The dark chocolate nut clusters are easy. They are just tempered dark couverture chocolate with nuts mixed in, then dropped in spoonfuls on butter paper and allowed to set in the fridge.
Hope you have a safe and bright diwali. Eat a lot of sweets, light up some lamps, share loads, laugh lots!
[print_this]Recipe: Chef Kunal Kapoors Moong Dal Halwa
Summary: This simple and very rustic dessert is a die hard Indian Classic. We may not ask for it specially but if it is served especially in winters then it is difficult to resist. Often this halwa is laden with desi ghee making it a difficult for many to savour. But this recipe uses canola oil that is very light and healthy. Initially the recipe uses good quantity of canola oil but later in the recipe you will find that most of the oil is strained and what remains is perfectly cooked Halwa, which is with the goodness of canola oil. Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Moong dal— 150 gms
Sooji – 25gms
Canola oil – 200 ml
Sugar – 150 gms
Water – 150ml
Green cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Pista sliced – 2 tbsp
Method:
Soak the moong dal in sufficient water overnight. Drain all the water completely and grind it to a fine paste.
In a karahi heat canola oil and sooji. On slow flame cook soji till it browns. Now add the moong dal paste. On medium heat cook the paste till it is thick and finally oozes out the oil {should get to a light brown, the colour of wood}
Remove from fire and transfer to a metallic fine strainer/sieve. Let the oil drain out. Wait for a couple of minutes. During this time mix water, sugar and cardamom powder and bring it to a boil and remove. { I infused the syrup with the rind and pieces of 2 oranges, saving a few cross slices for garnish}
Place the paste back in a karahi and start the fire. Heat it and add the sugar syrup carefully. Now cook till all the water is absorbed and there are no lumps. If you see any lumps just add little water and reduce it again.
“There are only three things in life that matter – good friends, good chocolate and…
… oh dear, what was that other one?”
Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecake … does sound like quite a mouthful, but believe me it is A M A Z I N G! Orange and chocolate were made to walk hand in hand, side by side. Baked into a cheesecake, they are even happier! Yesterday I thought of the white, orange and green in my pictures … time to post this special cheesecake!
I was thrilled with the earlier success of the Cherry Yogurt Tart I blogged about not so long ago. Surprisingly enough, it turned out in colours that fitted into the 4th of July, the day I baked it. So, it was posted then. Then a few days later I ventured out in the same direction, now a little more confident.
I added flavours to the recipe, changing it to make it better. A dash of this, a layer of that. Yesterday I noticed that the Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecake has colours of the Indian flag! So this is for our Independence Day, August 15th, that is today!!
I was quite pleased with how it turned out {… out of the pan too, so cleanly}. It was for the hosts at a party to see off the dear friend who is finally leaving town. The ifs and buts have been going on forever, and now suddenly the time is here. It’s been one goodbye after another. Somewhere deep down we hope we can hang on to the wings of time!Possible that is obviously not …and farewell day looms larger than life. It’s just round the corner. To cut a long story short, I took the cheesecake for the wonderful hosts that night. I was happy they loved it, and thought it was ‘exquisite‘. It’s nice when you bake something for someone and they appreciate it.This is one recipe that just keeps getting better and better. Immense possibilities, and infinite combinations. I was tempted into ‘orange‘ thanks to a few last kumquats hanging on my tree shrub. They are difficult to ignore, the one bright spot of fruit & foliage in the hot summer. It wasn’t long before I was stirring a TINY batch of marmalade.
So many jars of bitter kumquat marmalade later, you just know that if you throw in this and that, you will end up with marmalade. From a few precious kumquats to kilos of them, I have endlessly enjoyed this tart citrus fruit. You would find several recipes with them on PAB.
That ten minutes of baking two ingredients can result in something like this, is quite amazing. This time around I added a layer of dark chocolate ganache between the biscuit crust and yogurt filling. I remember from last time that the yogurt had made the base slightly moist. I baked the base minimally too. It worked quite well. Ten minutes into the oven, cooled and then chilled, these are great make ahead desserts. Whether you like eggs, or you don’t, this is a wonderful fast track and economical cheesecake. Tastes scrumptious too. Flavour it as you like. Or don’t. Doesn’t matter. The heart is good and full of flavour. A little ‘sugar high’ thanks to the condensed milk, but then thats happiness! I made one large cheesecake and a few small ones for home {for a taste check}. Left us H A P P Y! Some things are so worth it … these Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecakes were just that! Hope you enjoy the recipe. I’ll be working another version sometime soon. Have a Happy Independence Day India!
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Recipe: Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecake
Summary: This is one recipe that just keeps getting better and better. Immense possibilities, and infinite combinations. Ten minutes into the oven, cooled and then chilled, these are great make ahead desserts. The Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecake is a wonderful fast track and economical cheesecake. Scrumptious too.
Kumquat, white and dark chocolate shavings for garnish
Method:
Biscuit Base
Mix the melted butter and the crushed biscuits. Turn into the bottom of the prepared tin and press to form base. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a rectangular 4″ X 14″loose bottomed tart tin {or a 9″ round loose bottomed tart tin}
Choc ganache
Place chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir well until smooth. Stir in honey and 1 tbsp liqueur {optional}. Leave to cool.
Yogurt filling
Place both yogurts, liqueur and condensed milk in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
Assembling
Spread the ganache over the biscuit base.
Pour the yogurt filling over the ganache and bake in the oven at 180C for 10 minutes only.
Take out of the oven, allow to cool. Then chill in the fridge for a couple of hours, or overnight.
“I heard the bells on Christmas DayTheir old, familiar carols play,And wild and sweetThe words repeatOf peace on earth, good-will to men!” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala ... anticipated, enjoyed, relished. December is never complete without this quintessential favourite, yet it nearly didn’t ‘happen’ this year. Yet for some reason the joy of the season, the light headed feeling, the warmth is missing. The heart feels heavy with the mindless violence that seems to raise its ugly head right across the world … be it New Delhi or New England.
The restlessness was getting overwhelming. Yesterday I needed to get into the kitchen, grab a dose of baking therapy. I have not baked for the past week. The insensitivity of the grotesque attack on the 23 year old girl in New Delhi has completely shattered us. The heart breaks that someone should have been subject to such animal behaviour.
Yet the strength of the human spirit of the victim is unbelievable. She has returned from near dead to prove just how strong a woman can be, still fighting death every passing minute. The tale of this strong young lady will go down in the history of India.
Yesterday I baked with her in my mind. I also gave the teen some ferns and tangerines from the garden to make me a wreath. With a little help from her brother, and none from the dog, she made me a pretty one! She managed to get Coco to wear a Santa hat too …
It’s a simple fruit cake, one which shows up across the globe around this time. Often referred to as Christmas Cake, there are millions of recipes for fruit cake, in some regions every family hanging on to their own traditional recipe. Mine is a twist to our family recipe.
My Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala has evolved from a traditional recipe handed down from my mother. Hers was the Garam Masala Christmas Cake. The one I baked this year follows the same basics of garam masala and orange juice to soak the fruit {overnight or for a few days/weeks}, some brandy thrown in if you like. I also continue to use a caramel coffee syrup to lend colour and deep flavour to the cake.
Everything was done in a hurry as usual. No planning other than soaking a bunch of dry fruits and nuts the night before. I had plenty of bright oranges on hand, so decided to make candied orange peel. A recipe on Use Real Butter has stayed in my head forever.
The effect of the colour itself was therapeutic, mood uplifting and before I knew it I was soaking fruit in the orange juice. I threw in 3 tbsps of garam masala. Don’t worry, it doesn’t end up too strong. Nor does it make your cake smell like curry! It is beautiful. If you do have time, make your own.
It adds deep flavours of cinnamon, spice and all things nice; reminds me of gently mulled wine. Ties the season in nicely, warm and comforting in a deeply pacifying sort of a way.
The daughter hates nuts, and the son hates raisins and fruit. Their taste buds always unite for Christmas Cake … right down to the last crumb. She says its all ‘mine‘, while he bitterly complains to me, naive enough to believe her… and life goes on!
Joy, Peace, Warmth, safety this holiday season dear readers.
Thank you for stopping by.
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Recipe: Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala
Summary: Rich, fruity, nutty and deeply flavoured fruit cake for Christmas. The flavours of garam masala lift it to new heights.
Prep Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes {plus soaking the fruit} Ingredients:
1000g dried fruit and nuts {250g tutti frutti, 100g cashewnuts, 200g walnuts, 100g almonds, 3050g raisins, 50g currants}
100g candied orange peel {recipe here}
240ml orange juice
150ml brandy {or orange juice}
3 tbsp garam masala
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp coffee
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g dark brown sugar
5 eggs
250g plain flour
1tbsp vanilla extract
Method:
Fruit & nut mix
Chop the walnuts, cashews, almonds and candied peel. Mix with the rest of the fruit.
Pour the juice and brandy into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the garam masala, followed by the fruits and nuts. Mix well. Cover tightly and leave to soak overnight or for longer. Stir the next morning, and a couple of times more.
Coffee Caramel Sauce
Heat the granulated sugar in a saucepan and cook until it caramelises. Once it turns a golden brown, gently add almost all the water {be careful it will splutter} and continue to mix until it all comes together. If it is still thick, add some more water. ake off heat and stir in the coffee. Cool. {Once cool, the consistency should be like flowing honey. If not, add some more water and heat gently again}.
Cake
Preheat the oven to 150C.
Line a 22cm square tin and 2 mini loaf tins with four layers of baking paper.
In a large bowl, toss the fruit with the plain flour until all fruit well coated.
In a LARGE mixing bowl, beat the butter with brown sugar for a minute or so.
Beat in the eggs one by one, followed by the vanilla essence, and then the coffee caramel.
Now add the dry mix and stir well to combine.
Ladle batter into prepared tins. Drop from a height of 15cms to get rid of any air bubbles.
Bake at 150C for 2 hours {for the small ones} and 2 1/2 to 3 hours for the large one.
Cool completely in tin. Either slice once cool, or wrap in clingwrap until required.
“I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets.”
Hamlin Garland
There’s something about saffron, something exotic, like a caress, light and beautiful! A tiny bit of this beautiful spice catapults a seemingly good dish into an extraordinary one. Pairing it with a panna cotta I learnt that something quite ethereal happened! We have never sat so long over dessert … S L O W L Y is how we ate it, not wanting it to finish. Thats just how sublime the Saffron Caramel Panna Cotta turned out to be.A good panna cotta is one of my favourite Italian desserts, possibly on top of my list. It’s been difficult to get the right consistency as whipping or heavy cream isn’t available here in India. I’ve made panna cotta several times in the past, but have never had much luck with turning them out perfectly, never a 100% satisfied feel!Must have been my lucky day as I experimented with a combination of low fat cream and gelatin and got the most amazing result. Amazing in taste and more importantly amazingly set! I set a few in goblets and the rest in metal molds with a saffron caramel {one in a ramekin too}. I had panna cotta on my mind ever since I received a mail from VAV Life Sciences, Mumbai inquiring if I was willing to review a ‘saffron extract‘ that their company produced. Saffron?Yes please! I’d never heard of saffron extract even though I use the normal dry saffron strands quite often … like here in Saffron, Pistachio & cardamom Kulfi {Indian frozen dessert}, Saffron Pistachio Yogurt Ice Cream, Saffron Rice Pudding, Hyderabadi Katchi Biryani, Yakhni Pulao etc.
Natural Saffron Extract : Saffron is a culinary spice that comes from the stigma of the crocus sativus flowers. Saffron Extract is a specially formulated food grade extract of saffron that has been treated to enhance the natural flavour of saffron, without losing any of its natural properties. There is a reduction in the amount of saffron extract required for imparting the same flavour, as compared to dry saffron. While the saffron leaves quickly stale and dry out, saffron extract does not lose flavour and can be stored upto 24 months. Liquid extract is easier to use and standardized in food preparations compared to dry stamens and can be dosed precisely compared to natural saffron. {For further details you can get in touch with Maitreyee Ghosh – logistics {@} vav {dot} in/ VAV Life Sciences }
With the tag of being the most expensive spice in the world, saffron is precious in many ways, especially its delicate flavour. Gentle and mild yet it elevates taste exotically perhaps like no other spice, saffron is associated with cuisines from India, Persia, Turkey, the Arab World, and even Europe. And I love the way it embraces both sweet and savory recipes so well.This versatile spice goes a long way, and the saffron extract was a pleasant surprise. It imparted the characteristic subtle saffron flavour and colour to perfection. It was easier to use as its already in an extract form so the need to soak it for the obligatory 15 minutes prior use wasn’t necessary. The flavours were deep and pronounced, as was the colour. Just a knife tip amount {about 1/8tsp} was good enough to beautifully flavour the panna cotta and another bit to flavour and colour the caramel.A panna cotta caramel? That morning my path crossed with Raquels who writes a stunning food blog in Spanish, The Tragaldabas. She had the most beautiful panna cotta posted there, and I found my culinary path instantly!! She used Werthers candy in her caramel, and the very idea of a panna cotta with a caramel had me captivated.I went my own caramel way, like how my mother used to make it for caramel custard when we were kids. I remember waiting with bated breadth for the custard to be turned over {always in a green bowl which was reserved for caramel custard}. All three of us sisters would cheer when like magic the well set steamed pudding would ‘plop’ out with this shining crown on top!That was going to be the caramel for my panna cotta, one I decided to flavour with a dash of the saffron extract. Since saffron is such a gentle spice, I kept from letting the caramel turn characteristically dark. Bitter caramel in pudding is yum, but with saffron I turned the heat off the minute the sugar melted and coloured slightly.Perfect Spring dessert, the panna cotta came together like a beautiful dream, lilting, mesmerising, smooth, perfect, like a dream you didn’t want to wake up from. The textures teased the palette and we ate it in silence, everyone enjoying the elegance and caress of this cooked cream. {I made it again yesterday, on request, and to ensure that the magic was for real. It was!!}
[print_this]Recipe: Saffron Caramel Panna Cotta
Summary: Perfect Spring dessert, the panna cotta came together like a beautiful dream, lilting, mesmerising, smooth, perfect, like a dream you didn’t want to wake up from. The textures teased the palette and we ate it in silence, everyone enjoying the elegance and caress of this exquisite Italian dessert.
Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes plus setting time Ingredients:
Saffron caramel
75gm granulated sugar
1-2gm saffron extract {knife tip full}
Saffron Panna Cotta
2tsp gelatin powder
3 tbsp cold water
1ltr low fat cream {18% fat}
110gm vanilla sugar {or plain}
1/8 tsp saffron extract {plus a teeny bit more for topping}
Pistachios, rose petals to garnish
Method:
Saffron caramel
Keep the serving molds/ramekins ready.
Place sugar and 1/8 tsp of saffron extract in heavy bottom pan and melt the sugar to a light caramel. Do not let it burn or it will gte bitter. Swirl the pan often and take off the minute all the sugar has melted. It should be a bright orange colour.
Immediately spoon about a heaping tsp into each mold/ramekin, swirling it about to distribute it.Continue for all the molds. Do this pretty fast as the caramel will harden rapidly. Just in case it hardens before you are place the pan over very low heat to melt again.
Saffron Panna Cotta
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand for five minutes.
Place the cream, saffron and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and gently bring to a simmer, but not a full boil. Stir often.
Take off heat. Add 1-2 tbsp of this hot cream to the dissolved gelatin to loosen it further, and then pour the gelatin mix back into the hot cream through a sieve. Stir well.
Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, reserve about 100ml {optional}, and distribute the rest among your serving bowls/molds/ramekins/goblets.
Leave to set for about 1-2 hours, then add a tbsp of the deeper saffron cream over the tops. Allow to set for another 6-8 hours/preferably overnight.
Demold loosening the sides with a blunt knife and serve with a sprinkling of pistachio nuts and edible dried rose petals if you like.
