DESSERTS

LIME YOGURT PANNA COTTA…GUILT-FREE INDULGENCE!

“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder
IMG 6652

Yogurt Panna Cotta…the healthier Option!

My love for panna cotta knows no bounds. This is one versatile dessert & absolutely sublime. The regular panna cotta is indulgent, creamy & quite the best thing that happened to my list of desserts recently. You can find my previous panna cotta posts here (Coffee) & here (Strawberry). Who can resist a panna cotta…& with a fruity, tangy lime sauce? YUM!!

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Nutmeg flavouring the sauce…

This time I made it healthier too…by substituting a part of the cream with yogurt. It’s adapted from a recipe I chanced by while at Baking Bites & was sold on the idea. This recipe is one that can make an appearance more often, without me feeling guilty of so many calories. ( I have to add that DH loves the ‘authentic’ Italian one…he says that’s the real thing! Hmmmph, so much for my healthy attempt…but he lapped this one up nevertheless.)

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This is a lovely healthy option of panna cotta…& is on its way to a delightful event…A Tasty Tools Blogging event! Every foodie is passionate about kitchen tools; adding taste to passion is Joelen @ Joelen’s Culinary Adventures. The focus this month is on the kitchen grater and microplane”. These tools do a fine job grating spices, cheeses, various vegetables, etc.

IMG 6526Microplaner…my dream come true

I love it…the microplaner has taken precedence over all tools in my kitchen & is currently holding 1st place. I used it here for the lime rind, & used the nutmeg grater to grate some fresh nutmeg for the lime sauce ( recipe from All Recipes) ! Great fun for a GRATE event!!

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Spice Grater…

Onto the ‘grate‘ recipe then…using my tasty tools!!

For the Yogurt Panna Cotta
Ingredients:

Greek Yogurt – 2 cups (I used hung nonfat curd)
Cream – 1/2 cup (low fat)
Buttermilk – 1/2 cup (or half cup milk with 1 tsp vinegar; left to stand for 10 minutes)
Gelatin – 3 tsp
Water – 2 tbsp
Sugar – 4- 5 tbsp
Lemon extract – 1/2 tsp
Rind of 2 limescollage
Method:
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt + cream + buttermilk.
  • In a small bowl, combine gelatin and water. Microwave gelatin and water for about 30-45 seconds, until gelatin is melted.
  • Stir in sugar, lemon extract & zest.
  • Whisk gelatin mixture thoroughly into yogurt mix.
  • Divide into 6-8 very lightly greased ramekins and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.
  • To unmould, dip ramekins in very hot water for a few seconds and invert on to plates.

collage2

For the lime dessert sauce:

White sugar – 1/2 cup
Cornstarch – 1 tbsp
Salt – 1/8 tsp
Freshly grated nutmeg – 1/4 tsp
Boiling water – 1 cup
Butter – 1tbsp
Zest of 1-2 limes
Juice of 1-2 limes (as tangy as you want it)
Yellow food colour

Method:

  • In large saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and nutmeg.
  • Gradually stir in boiling water, then simmer over low heat until thick, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove from heat; stir in butter, lemon zest, lemon juice & colour, if desired, and cool.
  • Drizzle the cold sauce over the unmoulded panna cotta, garnish with a sprig of fresh mint

IMG 6675…Sit back & indulge without guilt!

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

26 Comments

  • familiabencomo

    Deeba, dear, you make everything look so delightful, delicious & so darn easy! How do you do it all?!?! I just planted mint in my garden & seeing you use it as a garnish makes me impatient for it to grow.

    Tanti baci, Amy

  • Susan from Food Blogga

    I would be very suspicious if someone resisted panna cotta. Especially yours.

  • Manggy

    Beautiful! I totally thought that was a mango sauce, haha 🙂 I wanna try this! Once I actually find *Greek* yogurt 🙂

  • Ben

    I love that a lot of blogs that I visit are posting healthier food. That will help me with my “diet” Hehehe

    This looks just amazingly delicious!

  • Cham

    The panna cotta makes me feel guilty everytime with the calories, i love this guilt free version and the lime sauce wonderful

  • arundati

    oh!! thank god you came up with a low (er) fat version…..my body was going to disown me!! tangy lemon sauce….with nutmeg…sounds so good….

  • AnuZi

    You have such an awesome blog here! I am nervous to even comment since baking is absolutely not my forte. But I gotta say I love the recipes and pics. Oooozing with talent :o) will be back for more.

  • Saswati

    gr8 low calorie recipe Deeba ..already bookmarked to try and as usual lovely presentation.How come the dessert sauce looks so bright yellow..there isn’t any mention of food colour in your recipe ?

  • Cakespy

    It looks so, so delicious–refreshing and perfect for spring…but sweet and rich enough to satisfy!!

  • Sia

    did u say guiltfree indulgance???? count me in 😉 i just made shrikhand using greek yogurt and loving it… next its ur recipe’s turn 🙂

  • vegeyum

    Beautiful! I could eat it off the page. So very tempting, I think I will make it this weekend.

  • Sig

    I am totally nuts about panna cottas… and I am sooo loving this sauce… that color is totally yummy!

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