Thandai Yogurt Panna Cotta with Rose syrup....Holi Special

With the most major and vibrant festival of India round  the corner the Indian blogosphere is buzzing with delicacies.Yes ,I am talking about the festival of colours Holi, the festival of sharing love, the festival of fun and frolic.The use of colours symbolises the prosperous and colourful spring after the winter. Its a joyous celebration of the rejuvenation of nature, of happiness and peaceful coexistence.

This festival overcomes the barrier of language, caste and creed and portrays love and brotherhood. Smearing of colours on each other's faces, throwing water filled balloons, dousing buckets of coloured water on each other, music, dance, loads of sweets and of course the Holi special Bhaang and Thandai is what this festival is all about.

Thandai is a very popular drink of North India served during Mahashivratri and Holi. Its a cold drink prepared from a mixture of almonds, watermelon seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom, pepper, vetiver seeds, rose petals, saffron, milk and sugar. Its taken in chilled form and is terrific when the temperatures soar and cools you down, as the name suggests. Thandai is available off the shelves in the form of powder or paste or else can be prepared at home and stored.

The 31st Foodie Monday Bloghop Theme is Thandai special and Fusion. I love the racking of my brains when the word fusion crops up in the food world. And after quite a bit of nerve wrecking thinking about what our guests would love to gorge on after playing Holi in the piercing, scorching

 heat of Goa, I finally zeroed down on a chilled Yogurt Panna Cotta flavoured with Thandai with a rose syrup drizzle on top.Yogurt, Thandai and Rose, all have cooling properties  and I am sure this platter of chilled dessert is going to soothe their system as well as give a stylish fusion touch to my Holi buffet table.

Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert prepared by cooking cream, sugar and gelatine. I have used Greek yogurt in the recipe with a little cream which gives a nice creamy texture to it and the addition of Thandai gives a spicy edge to it because of the pepper present in the Thandai and the cooling rose syrup imparts the desired amount of sweetness.The garnish of pistachios, almonds and saffron with fresh rose petals gives the Italian Panna Cotta a gorgeous Indian look. I have used store brought Thandai paste but for making at home, the best Thandai powder recipe is available in my talented friend Alka's Blog Culinary Xpress.

Ingredients
 ( serves 4,in small ramekins)
For the Panna Cotta
7 fl oz Cream
10 oz Greek Yogurt/ Hung Yogurt
3 Tbsp  Fine Sugar
1 Tbsp  Gelatine
1/4 C hot water
1/4 C Thandai Paste,store brought
For the Garnish
4 tbsp Rose Syrup ,store brought
A handful almonds and pistachios,chopped
A few strands of saffron
A few Fresh rose petals or dehydrated rose petals

Method

• For the Panna Cotta mix the gelatin with the hot water properly till no lumps remain and keep aside.
• In a heavy bottomed saucepan gently heat the cream with sugar over low flame just enough for the sugar to dissolve, stirring all the time.
• Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture and mix till incorporated, set aside for cooling for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile loosen the thick yogurt with a whisk in a bowl.
• Once cool add the cream mixture and the Thandai paste to the yogurt and whisk gently together.
• Now pour the cool creamy yogurt mix in ramekins evenly filling them up,cover them with cling film and refrigerate for 5-6 hours to set properly.
• For plating the Panna  Cotta, dip each ramekin in warm water for a minute and invert it onto a serving plate .
• Add a few drops of water to the rose syrup if you feel it's very thick and drizzle on the Panna cotta.
• Serve garnished  with slivered almonds,pistachios,saffron strands and rose petals.

This version of Panna Cotta can also be made in individual glasses, garnished and served.
Other than this fusion Panna Cotta I have Pomegranate Jelly and vanilla Yogurt Panna Cotta and Poached Peach and vanilla Panna Cotta recipes in my blog.

Enjoy the heavenly fusion dessert and a happy vibrant Holi to you all!

Valentine special...Gajar halwa cheesecake pie/ Indian style carrot pudding cheesecake pie

Last one month has been hectic, like a roller coaster ride with loads of housework, looking after the kids, my voluntary work, social commitments and so on.Sometimes blogging does take a backseat with priorities coming my way.

I am just back from the city of Destiny,Vizag after attending the International Fleet Review where my better half performed for the air show and I sat there in the enthralled audience mesmerised and proud as he and his fly boys roared in the Vizag skies in their fighter jets defying gravity with their heart flipping manoeuvres.

Like many people I also knew what the words duty, loyalty, respect, selfless service, honour, integrity and courage meant.But how often do we see someone living upto those values. In the defence services I see the soldiers living them everyday, every moment and in everything they do whether on duty or off duty.

With the hubby embarked on the aircraft carrier as usual, this Valentines Day is also a lonely one with

the kids to give me company. Well, after eighteen long years I am used to the embarkations and deployments and there's no use cribbing and complaining about something that's not in our hands. Myself and the kids have reconciled to the fact that he is for our country and that's what gives him satisfaction. My heart cries for my kids when they feel sad and miss the father's presence on their birthdays, school annual day, sports day and important days in their lives.

 

On occasions like these I cook his favourite dishes and we miss him a little less.Gajar ka halwa being one of his favourite desserts and with the bright red carrots thronging the veggie market I decided to make a fusion dish with the carrots.After my cheesecake classes I had some cream cheese lying in the refrigerator and the idea of this unique cheesecake struck me.I made them in small tart moulds and  a pie dish to give a different look to the no bake eggless cheesecake.The cheesecake pie turned out to be perfect and mind blowing with the unique flavour of gajar ka halwa ,a perfect fusion of the East and West and a keeper for sure .A little different from the usual chocolates and strawberries dominating the Valentines Day menu and that's what makes it distinct from the rest. 

Ingredients

For the Gajar ka halwa/ Indian style carrot pudding
1/2 kg Fresh Red Carrots,grated
1 lt full fat milk
1/2 tin Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
Chopped dry fruits

For the Pie Crust
1 C biscuit crumbs,powdered in the grinder
A little less than
1/3 C melted butter

For the Cheesecake

 3 oz Whipping Cream
4 1/2 oz  Cream cheese
1/2 C Gajar ka halwa
2 tbsp powdered sugar
A pinch cardamom powder
For the garnish
1 tbsp Pistachios,chopped
2 tbsp Gajar ka halwa

Method
For the Gajar ka Halwa

• Cook the grated carrots with the milk  in a wok in medium flame, stirring in between till the milk dries up,takes around 30-40 minutes.
• Add the condensed milk and sugar and cook till it dries up again,for nearly 20 minutes.
• Add the Ghee ,dry fruits and cardamom powder and fry the halwa for 10-15 mins stirring constantly till the colour changes to a bright red colour .Fry till the consistency you want,I like mine a little dry.
• Switch off the flame.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

For the pie crust

• Add the melted butter to the ground biscuits and mix till well combined ,I use digestive
•  biscuits.
• Press into the bottom and sides of a 8 inch pie dish with a removable base uniformly.
• Refrigerate for 15 minutes while you prepare the cheesecake.

For the Cheesecake

• Whip the whipping cream in a hand mixer for 3 minutes till it stands in soft peaks.Make sure the whipping cream is cold.
• Add the cream cheese and sugar ( if needed)and mix with the cream with the mixer in low speed till incorporated.
• Add the gajar ka halwa( room temperature)and  cardamom powder and combine all with a spatula in the cut and fold method gently.
• Pour the mixture into the pie dish and garnish with gajar ka halwa and chopped pistachios.
• Return the dish back to the fridge and let it set overnight or for 5-6 hours.
• Unmould from the pie dish and serve cut into slices.

A happy Valentine's Day to all!!
Do take a look in my friend Parinaaz ' s blog A dollop of that!whats cooking for Valentines.She has a beautiful blog with mindblowing pics and mouthwatering recipes .

Red velvet trifles

And Sweta's blog  Oriyarasoi- a cosmopolitan Odiyas kitchen has lip smacking  recipes of different cuisines from around the world but she specialises in authentic Odiya recipes.Do have a peep what's special for her Valentine.
No bake strawberry delight