Panna Cotta is one of my favorite dessert to make in any occasion. I love how easy and effortless to make this particular dessert. It is a great blank canvas to add in whatever flavors you like. So this Holi, I made Thandai Yogurt Panna Cotta which was not overly sweet and tastes so refreshing light.
Festival of Holi
Holi is the festival of colors, Hindu Festival of Spring. There are arrays of sweets and snacks prepared during this day. People gather to pay with colors and enjoy the treats.
One of the most common drink or dessert that is enjoyed during Holi Festivites is Thandai.
Thandai is an aromatic nut and spice mix powder that is incredible with milk and used in several desserts too. Thandai Powder Masala is super easy to make and gets ready in 5 minutes.
Click here to get the recipe of Homemade Thandai
The aromatic digestive immune boosting power is then mixed with milk to enjoy Thandai Drink, either slightly warm or cold with ice cubes.
Thandai Yogurt Panna Cotta
I love making Panna Cotta and have shared a few recipes of Panna Cotta in the past.
Thandai Yogurt Panna Cotta has the flavor of aromatic Thandai Powder mixed with hung yogurt and heavy cream.
It's luscious and melts in the mouth! The yogurt added a mild tang, which was so good with the flavor of Thandai powder.
Here are few other Panna Cotta Recipe if you want to try:
Ingredients to make Thandai Yogurt Panna Cotta
Hung Yogurt : You can use thick creamy yogurt too. But hung yogurt makes the texture very smooth.
Hung yogurt is prepared by placing the yogurt on a muslin cloth and squeeze the excess water out. Then wrap the edges of the muslin cloth and leave it in the fridge for a few hours.
Hung Yogurt is similar to Labneh!
Gelatin powder : You can use the gelatin sheets too, but I prefer powder as it is easy to use. You can definitely switch the same with agar agar if you don't like using Gelatin.
Heavy Cream : The gelatin is mixed with heavy cream before adding the hung yogurt to it.
Sugar: I used white granulated sugar, but you can use honey too or jaggery for the rich sweetness. Adding jaggery will definitely change the color, so keep that in mind.
Thandai Powder : Here is the recipe for the Thandai Powder which is extremely easy to make at home.
VIDEO - THANDAI YOGURT PANNA COTTA
KEY NOTES to keep in mind:
Don't add too much gelatin or agar agar, it will make the texture of the panna cotta hard and not smooth to the palate. I did that mistake once.
Blooming the gelatin powder is vert essential. You just mix water with gelatin powder and leave it aside for a few minutes. It will thicken and form like a gel.
Then it needs to be mixed with warm cream and whisked for a while to dissolve the gelatin.
Thandai Yogurt Panna Cotta is a delicious easy fuss free dessert, and you will definitely enjoy it a lot. You can either set in individual small portions or in a big container. Garnish with little more of the thandai powder and enjoy the dessert.
Thandai Yogurt Panna Cotta
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cup plain thick yogurt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon gelatin powder
- 1 and ½ tablespoons Thandai powder
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Place a muslin cloth on a colander and drop the yogurt. Squeeze the excess water out and then leave the yogurt wrapped in the cheese cloth in the freeze. Place a bowl below as it will keep draining water from the yogurt overnight.
- Next day, take the yogurt out of the muslin cloth to a bowl.
- In a small bowl, pour 3 tablespoons water and add the gelatin powder. Mix and leave aside for 3 to 4 minutes for the powder to bloom.
- To a heavy bottom pan, pour the heavy cream and place it on medium low heat. Add the thandai powder and sugar and stir for 2 minutes.
- To the pan now add the bloomed gelatin and whisk to dissolve the gelatin completely. Give 2 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and whisk the hung yogurt to it until it's smooth and creamy.
- Pour in serving glasses or bowls and leave in the fridge for few hours to set.
- Garnish with more thandai powder on top and enjoy the Thandai Yogurt Panna cotta.