Thandai Panna Cotta with Strawberry, Ginger and Hibiscus Tea Jello

Simple yet Elegant- Panna Cotta

I hardly ever make Panna Cotta; it’s crazy but true. Come to think of it I have no reason why I don’t. It’s the simplest, most elegant and also a scrumptious dessert. You might agree, that we keep baking and cooking complex things and forget about the simple things in life. Panna cotta is one of those simple desserts that is pure elegance. Now, to give an Indian delicate twist to this Italian dessert, I made Thandai Panna Cotta with hibiscus tea, strawberry and ginger jello. One word, Yum!

Finally its spring- the real Spring!

I have been venting about spring for the past two months and finally the weather guy up there heard me. Yes, we welcomed spring a few days ago. We’ve been waiting for long enough, but hey, better late than never right? My heart is literally dancing with joy. I hope it stays for as long as winter did, just to balance it out. Wouldn’t that be totally awesome? Wishful thinking! It’s going to be super busy for the next few weeks: multiple trips to the nurseries, getting the house fixed after all the snow we had, planning the garden and just generally getting ready for the season.

Oh, and how can I forget that this is also the patio season. All my free time will be spent on the patio with lots of tea and a good read. I love cooking, but I seriously want to spend less time in the kitchen this season and just spend time by the river or lake reading or to just entertaining guests on my patio. I mean we did have the longest winter ever, don’t you think I deserve it? Less time in kitchen means, coming up with quick and simple yet elegant desserts. Panna Cotta will be at the top of my list of spring and summer desserts this year.

Last year was a galette season for me which are super delicious by the way, totally rustic too. I won’t say Panna Cotta is very rustic, even though you could make it with some rustic flavors, like I did mine with thandai. It still looks very elegant. Does that mean I am quitting on galette this year? Heck no! Just adding a quicker dessert to the list, so I could be out on the patio or by the river quickly. 

Spring Gardening

What’s your favorite thing to do during spring? Do you plant your own garden, fresh herbs and vegetables ? Any favorite bloom or plant? I am all ears for any recommendations on gardening that you might have. Different kinds of herbs, different varieties of tomatoes, chili peppers, eggplants, and also some greens like kale, spinach and lettuce have been my go to plants during this time of the year. Last year I did blueberries too but it didn’t fruit, I think the freezing weather made it dormant.  However, I am hoping to see some fresh blueberries this year. I have always had bad luck with strawberries, I don’t know why. Do you guys have any tips or recommendations for growing strawberries? I am kind of hazy this year, weather to plant strawberries again and try my luck! We’ll see. 

Do you ever get restless and anxious when starting the garden or when planting fresh plants, or is it just me? When I am starting out I keep staring at them as if my stare gives them nutrition or something. Lol. It would be cool to have such powers though. Gardening requires a lot of patience, I know that, but I can’t help it. I know most of you do that too, so be patient and stop staring at them. Lol! It gives you so much joy to see them bloom and fruit though, doesn’t it? Okay, so all these gardening stuff might not be relevant with the dessert recipe, but the spring season is. May be I am just getting overly excited over this change in seasons, that I am all over the place. There is another reason though for my excitement levels and also part of the reason why I want to get the garden started soon. Any guesses? 

It’s family time!

Okay, let me give you a hint! It all has to do with spending time on the patio and enjoying desserts with lots of tea. To spend the time on the patio, I do have to make it look prettier and more colorful, so sipping tea along with desserts can give us a glorious experience. If you can’t guess it yet,  then the reason for all my crazy excitement levels is because my parents will be here soon. I’ll  be seeing them after a whole year. Woohoo! How awesome is that! I am totally over the moon right now. I can hardly wait for them to get here. This is what I have been waiting for- having a good time with family. Just in case you don’t hear from me for a few weeks or for the whole of June and July, just know I’m sipping teas with my mom and dad, catching up on the entire year and eating tons and tons of dessert. In short, making some beautiful and happy memories all on my patio!

Mother’s day dessert.

My mom loves desserts (I am sure most moms do) and she is totally a tea person. You give her anything sweet with a good cup of herbal tea, and she will be the happiest lady on the planet. Well since mothers’ day is upon us, I decided to try out few different desserts before then. This Panna Cotta would sure make her smile and I can guarantee that it will make your mom happy too.

I also made a tropical cake from my last post and froze it for them. If you are looking for a rich flavorful and elegant dessert for your mom, mum in law, sister, wife or any one special, this is the dessert to make. Since this Panna Cotta was made thinking about my mom, I wanted to give it an Indian touch so I made it with the Thandai milk. The nutty, sweet and spicy flavored milk was to make it extra special.

I did the jello with hibiscus tea which I blended with strawberries and ginger. So this is like having tea with a rich velvety dessert in just one glass. The Thandai milk makes this a royal dessert for sure. It is a combination of whole spices, nuts and saffron, which makes it so heavenly. The hibiscus tea gives it a very pleasant tartness, while strawberries add such a summery flavor and the ginger gives a sharp chai flavor. Imagine the bright red color you would get from berries and hibiscus, that compliments the whitish Panna cotta on one side. This dessert glass screams spring for sure.

For the Thandai recipe click here. 

Panna Cotta Mothers day to you

I hope that you have the most amazing and wonderful Mothers Day and that you get to spend time with your loved ones. Having a good family time is essential and it does give a lot of happiness. My mothers day will be in a few more weeks when my parents finally visit me but it’s definitely going to be worth the wait. It’s not the particular day that really matters but the people right? Moms are extra special and they deserve special things like nice desserts. Knowing my mom, she will love this Indianised version of Panna Cotta and I know your mom would love it too. Writing this alone makes me smile because I can seriously picture her making that yummy sound with a smirk on her face at every single bite. Yup that’s how she enjoys all her dessert and it’s always fun to see her enjoying it. Mom and dad if you are reading this, the tropical cake and panna cotta along with few other bakes are waiting for you at the tea table. Can’t wait to make some tealicious and sweet memories this spring and summer <3 

Wishing you all a beautiful spring. Let me know what special thing you want to make for your mom! I would love to see your creations! If you try this dessert then I would love to hear your thoughts about it. Happy mothers day. 

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Thandai Panna Cotta with Strawberry, Hibiscus tea and ginger Jello

An elegant and velvety dessert with a perfect blend of sweetness and tartness

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian, Indian

Keyword: panna cotta, thandhai

Servings: 5 to 6 people

Author: Esha

Ingredients

• 300 ml thandai milk strained (The recipe for this has been posted previously. check the recipe index)
• 75 ml heavy cream
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp gelatin
• 1 tsp water room temperature
• 1 cup hibiscus tea
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 170 grams strawberries I used frozen
• 15 grams ginger
• 1.5 tsp gelatin powder
• 1 tsp water room temperature

Instructions

1. Bloom 1.5 tsp gelatin in 1 tsp water and let sit for 3-4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile in a blender, add hibiscus tea, berries, ginger and maple syrup. Blend to get very smooth liquid. You could strain it if you want.
3. Warm the bloomed gelatin mix for 4-5 seconds in microwave until it melts. Do not over heat it.
4. Mix this melted gelatin into the above tea blend.
5. Set your glasses in an angle over a muffin tin. If the base of the glass is straight then the glass might slide. In that case, set them on a small bowl or muffin tin and rest a spoon or a tea towel to support and stabilize the glass.
6. Pour the tea mix into the tilted glasses and chill in refrigerator in the tilted position for at least 3-4 hours or until fully set. This might take a bit longer too depending on your refrigerator. The tea has to set fully in order to support the pan cotta on top.

For Panna Cotta

1. Bloom 2 tsp gelatin in 1 tbsp water for 3-4 minutes. Warm it in microwave to melt.
2. Strain the Thandai milk if you want the creamiest texture. Add cream, half of the maple syrup and check for sweetness. Pour all of it more if it needs more sweetness and you could even add more.
3. Add the melted gelatin in the panna cotta mix. Pour this into the glasses enough to cover the set tea jello.
4. Put the glasses back in refrigerator and the glasses have to be standing staring at this time.
5. Let it set for 4-5 hours.
6. Top it off with fresh fruit, or whipped cream. Serve and enjoy this elegant Panna Cotta.