The Saffron TouchapricotWorld cuisine with an Indian touch...

This is where my Master Chef journey began. A very close friend really pushed me to sign up for Master Chef Auditions. The auditions were on Saturday and Friday evening at 7:00 PM I had not idea what I would bring for the auditions. I decided to make this recipe which has been my family favorite. I walked into the auditions with the Panna cotta and heart beating fast.

Star Anise Panna cotta

pannacotta-day-1

Panncotta is an italian word that translates to ‘ Cooked Cream’. It is such an easy to make dish and yet it is very easily customizable. You can change flavors, pair it with different things and the best part, it looks super fancy.

I tried quite a few recipes till I settled on this one. It tastes just like the panna cotta served at Italian restaurants. I like to serve it with fruits or even chocolate sauce, or stewed fruits.

Today I have flavored it with one of my favorite spices, Star Anise & served with stewed apricots. In Hyderabad ( India) there is a sweet, Khubani ka Meetha, and my inspiration for today’s dessert comes from that.

Panna Cotta

Ingredients

1/2cup milk
1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin ( I used Knox powder today)
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup white sugar
6-8 Star anise
5-6 Whole black pepper

Method

Blooming the gelatin: Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.This will help gelatin absorb the milk and mix well
Pound the spices in a mortar and pestle. Keep them coarse
In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat until it is lukewarm, and set it aside for 1 hour or so. Longer the better.
Setting aside the cream helps the flavors of spices seep into the cream beautifully.
Bring to a full boil, don’t let it over flow. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved.
Cook for one minute, stir so the gelatin does not form a lump.
Remove from heat, strain and pour into individual ramekin dishes.
Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature.
When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight before serving.

Stewed Apricots

Ingredients

10-12 Dried Apricot
1/4 cup white sugar
2-3 Star anise
2-3Whole black pepper
1/2 cup water

Method

Chop the apricots fine
Add sugar, water, spices and apricots in a small sauce pan
On a low flame cook till the apricots are softened and the water gets nice and syrupy.
Remove the spices before serving

Pistachio Rose caramel

Will Update the recipe soon.

To serve

Demold the pannacotta and serve with the stewed apricot. I also love to use candied Pistachio while serving.

Apricot-almond cake

My daughter is always looking for something to eat after school, she is picky… But in a good way..the snack have to be healthy, no soda, no chips, not processed food, should be easy to eat…

I am happy because she is making smart and wise choices and I want to support that anyway I can. So I ensure that there are good snack options available, nuts, fruits, dehydrated vegetables, dehydrated fruits etc.

Todays post is one such recipe which is very healthy and yet tasty. Today I added a touch of cardamom to this cake and I feel it complimented the almond flavor so well. Made from whole wheat flour, no butter, no sugar and no eggs…I don’t mind if she eats an extra piece

Apricot Almond cake

It has very delicate flavor and goes well as a desert with a dollop of whipped cream. It can be easily made vegan which I like, I can make it when I have friends who eat dairy-free, or don’t eat processed sugars.

Ingredients:

Apricot cake ingredients

18-20 Dried apricots
1 1/4 cups milk ( you can also use Almond milk to make a Vegan version)

Note: You may need to adjust the milk qty based on how dry the apricots are. The batter should be not runny but not overly clumpy or sticky either.

2-3 tsp sugar( optional, I do not add since the apricots here are sweet)
1 cup flour( I take 1/2 atta & 1/2 un bleached flour, all atta recipe makes it dense)
1/2 cup oil
1 tea spn baking soda
1 tbl spn almonds(or more if you are crazy about nuts like me)

1/8 tsp cardamom powder

Method:
Soak the apricots(save 2-3 to be chopped &added to the batter) in warm milk (3-4 hours is enough for the dates we get here)

Remove the seeds if not using seedless. Blend them to a smooth paste along with the milk in which it is soaked in.

Add oil and mix.

Add cardamom powder
Sieve together flour and baking soda. Add the flour one spoon at a time and mix slowly.

Taste and if needed add sugar. Add the nuts and mix.

Preheat the oven at 350F. Bake the cake in a greased oven dish for 35-40min

You are ready to dive into guilt free treat

Depending on the color of the apricots your cake might be orange or brown, so dont worry so much about the color as long as the cake tastes good. As you can see, two different colors I got since the apricots were of different colors.

Dark apricots:

Light Apricots

Apricot cake

Note:

I also make a Date-Walnut cake with similar recipe and it tastes just as yummy