glutenfree

Name: SAFFRON ALMOND PANNA COTTA
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 cup almond milk (thick, if possible (see note*)); 1 large pinch saffron strands (soaked in 1/8 cup warm water); 1 1/2 teaspoon agar powder ((see note**)); 1/3 cup water; 1 Tablespoon palm candy powdered (or similar sweetener (to taste)); 2 pods cardamom (lightly crushed (without releasing the seeds))

Baked Okra Crisps

September 23, 2018 By iladori 4 Comments

Crunch crunch crunch crunch.

All gone.

That’s how long they last – these Bhindi crisps….

Saffron Almond Panna cotta

September 13, 2018 By iladori 4 Comments

This desert captures the purest essence of very Indian flavours in a delightfully new, vegan, and very healthy avatar.

“Badam Milk” or almond milk is a very popular beverage that’s enjoyed either steaming hot or chilled in many parts of the country, and especially so in my city of Bengaluru.

In this version, there is no dairy, instead the milk itself is made from soaked almonds, with a subtle hint of cardamom. Because it uses the most basic and minimal ingredients, the clean, fresh notes of saffron, as well as the delicate yet rich flavour of almonds shine through.

SAFFRON ALMOND PANNA COTTA

An easy, delicious and healthy dessert using almond milk with natural flavouring, set using agar.

Course Dessert

Keyword agar, almond milk, dairy free, dessert, easy, healthy, panna cotta, saffron, vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Chilling time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 cup almond milk thick, if possible (see note*)
1 large pinch saffron strands soaked in 1/8 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoon agar powder (see note**)
1/3 cup water
1 Tablespoon palm candy powdered or similar sweetener (to taste)
2 pods cardamom lightly crushed (without releasing the seeds)

Instructions

Heat the water in a small pan, and when boiling, turn down the heat.
Dissolve the agar powder in the water, till completely dissolved.
Mix in a teaspoon of this mixture along with 2 teaspoons of the powdered palm candy (or sweetener of choice) into the saffron water and pour into four dariole moulds, or a small, shallow tray or pan (the dessert can be cut into pieces after unmoulding).
This will actually set even at room temperature, but it could go into the fridge till soft set.
Meanwhile heat the almond milk along with the cardamom pods, and mix in the remaining candy powder and agar. Heat through till well mixed. Remove the cardamom pods and discard them.
Pout this steaming hot mixture gently into the moulds in which the saffron layer should now be set. Use a spoon to soften the impact of the stream pouring in. There will be a slight mixing in of layers which is desirable.
Place this into the fridge to set.
Once set, invert into serving dishes and serve with fresh fruit of choice
(I used custard apple and fig puree)

Recipe Notes

*A half cup of soaked, blanched almonds whizzed with 1 cup of water and strained will yield the thick almond milk. The more usual ratio using 2 cups water instead is also fine.
This is equally delicious without layering (which I did only because I love the flavour and colour of saffron just by itself! Plus, it looks great.). Just add the saffron water into the almond milk, along with the other ingredients agar, powdered sugar etc, and continue with step 4.
** One teaspoon of agar powder would approximately equal a 1/3 cup of agar strands roughly cut into inch long pieces. Or check the manufacturer's insructions. The quantity can be adjusted to personal preference, lesser for a softer set. (With caution, as more would tend to make it too rubbery.)
I've not powdered the cardamom seeds in order to maintain the pure white colour of the almond milk. This is also the reason why i did not use jaggery as a sweetener. Boiling the whole pods in the milk will lend a nice subtle flavour which won't be as intense as the powdered version.
The 10 minutes chilling time is optional because this dessert will actually set even without refrigeration. Or it can be chilled for an hour or two (or even longer) as desired.

Enjoy.

Masala Peanuts

September 1, 2018 By iladori Leave a Comment

Masala peanuts are an easy way to put together a few simple ingredients and end up with a delicious power-snack.

Humble-looking, it belies it’s delicious quotient, packed with crunch, zing and nutritional value, and it really needs to be more mainstream than it usually is (typically a bar snack) because it’s easy, quick, and eminently tweak-able. Include grated carrots, for example.

…

Chocolate Date Truffles

October 3, 2017 By iladori 4 Comments

Healthy, guilt-free, delicious. Also vegan, gluten-free.

Mini figures courtesy Y2. 😀 No, the truffles didn’t need those tools, actually. ;

Luckily, no need to fret while reaching out for that extra one.The other day, I made several of these for a birthday treat. They’re pretty addictive!

So, of course, I had several extra ones. Just like everybody else.

This is fairly quick and simple to make.
For something even quicker and simpler, try these Chocolate Almond Dates.

But when it just has to be a round truffle with a gooey, chocolatey filling, this is a pretty good option.

There are endless permutations and combinations that can go into this sort of thing, – but we can just start from here and go wild with creating more versions! 😀

(Pssst, no one has to know that this treat, sweetened naturally, just with dates, is actually healthy.) 😉