When I came across the recipe of Panna Cotta few years back, I was instantly on my feet to run to the kitchen. Then I realized how I will make it as I do not use gelatine. But I did not want to give up because I loved the simplicity and delicacy of the dessert. And then after few searches I came across the use of agar powder in desserts instead of gelatine. I knew what agar powder is because I have used a lot in micro biology lab during my studies. But never knew that one day I will use it in my kitchen to make desserts. So this Panna Cotta is vegetarian, gelatin free and made with agar powder.
Rose Yogurt Panna Cotta:
Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert and it literally means “cooked cream”. So generally it is made with very few ingredients, mostly cream, sugar and gelatin (Agar powder in our recipe). But this time I have decided to add yogurt along with cream. I actually made Rose Lassi (Lassi is a famous Indian yogurt smoothie), last week and then suddenly idea struck to my mind, what if I make Panna Cotta with the same idea. And that is how I ended up making this Rose yogurt Panna Cotta. We loved it and I made it again to share on my blog.
Agar Powder:
Agar powder is a vegetarian gelatine substitute from seaweed. It is also known as china grass. Agar powder is available in powder and flake forms. It is useful in making vegetarian and vegan desserts as a thickening and stabilizing agent. If you are going to use agar powder first time, I would suggest dividing recipe in half to start with small. It is not difficult to use agar powder at all but it is also necessary to understand first, how it is working.
Tips for Making Panna Cotta:
While heating cream and sugar, make sure not to boil the mixture. Once sugar is dissolved, add agar and whisk it continuously until mixture starts to simmer. Once you will add agar within a minute mixture will start to thicken, so make sure as soon as agar dissolved and well combined turn off the heat. Again mixture should not come to boiling, it should be just simmering. After chilling if you cannot remove Panna Cotta on the plate from ramekin, just run the knife through the edges and tap gently on the bottom of the ramekin.
Hope you will like this simple and delicate dessert recipe as much as I do. If you try in your kitchen, please leave your comment.
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