Saffron panna cotta

A panna cotta with Indian flavours

• CuisineItalian
• CategoryDessert
• CourseDessert

Ingredients

• 1.2 LCream
• 500 mlMilk
• 8Gelatine sheets (Titanium grade)
• 300 gmsSugar
• 10Cardamom
• 2 pinchesSaffron

Preparation

1. Soak gelatine leaves in cold water
2. Place cream and milk in a pan and heat
3. Break cardamom pods and crush seeds to powder and add to milk
4. Add saffron to milk
5. Heat mixture just below boiling and add sugar and stir
6. Lower heat, squeeze water from gelatin and add
7. Stir to dissolve and take off heat
8. Pour into large dish and chill for 4 hours or overnight till firm

Nowadays, when it is for a party and there are a large number of people to be fed, I always make panna cotta in a large dish. Once I got over not making individually moulded panna cotta, it is liberating to make and serve it as a barely square lump. I have used this shortcut before and I used it again this time.

This time around, I wanted Indian flavours. I chose cardamom. In Western dishes, cinnamon is the spice of choice when it comes to dessert. But in Indian cooking, cardamom is the spice for all sweet dishes. I also added saffron. A lot of it. I dumped the entire box of 7g of saffron. I added it at a late stage so that it it settles at the bottom. When you serve it inverted, you get a top layer that is more coloured and has the saffron strands in it. Unfortunately, I did not do it for the main photo so it is not that obvious in it.