Chocolate Panna Cotta

Today is going to be a really exciting day for Anushka. She has a school picnic and will be taking the Bart to a park with all her classmates. I know she is going to be so happy and excited, she just loves the 'choo choo train'. With all this excitement I couldn't sleep and was up so early, its just 7.00 and I'm done with all my work. A good one hour before Anushka wakes up and just enough time to finish this post.

I borrowed this amazing all chocolate book from the library last week and have been drooling at the pictures and reading about chocolate every free minute. Yesterday I got super tempted and got all the ingredients ready for a chocolate mousse. But over whipped cream happened and I had to drop the plan. Then I remembered this recipe that I had bookmarked a couple of days before that called for just the amount of cream I had left.

The panna cotta is super chocolaty and makes an amazing quick dessert. What I loved about it is that it uses whole milk instead of cream and it has pure chocolate flavor, so use the best one that you can get. The original recipe does not call for any additional sugar but I thought it needed some more and the amount of gelatin can definitely be reduced. I have made the changes below to the recipe that I adapted from here.

Chocolate Panna Cotta

Ingredients:

3/4 cups whole milk

2 tbs sugar

1tsp vanilla extact

pinch of salt

1 1/4 tsps powdered unflavored gelatin

2 tbs water for the gelatin

4.5 oz dark chocolate (I used semi-sweet)

2 tbs cream

Method:

Take the water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin evenly over it. Let stand for about 5 mins until softened. Melt the gelatin in the microwave or over a double boiler.

Heat the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.

Stir in the melted gelatin and salt. 

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler making sure no water or steam mixes with the chocolate. Strain and pour the hot milk mixture over the chocolate. Add the vanilla and carefully emulsify with a hand blender (I added the milk in three batches and just mixed it really well with a spatula). Add the cream and stir just to incorporate. 

Let cool to room temperature and pour into 4 small serving glasses and refrigerate for atleast 4 hours.

Baked Mava Coconut Potli

     

Hope you all had a wonderful Diwali. I wanted to post this earlier, but got busy with other things and found no time to edit the pictures. Besides Diwali was a little different this year, we were unable to meet any friends or go to the temple. It was a hectic week for Manoj at work and I had a class that evening. Yesss....I have finally enrolled for the Wilton Cake Decorating Course (I've been soooo eager to go )!! I made Rava Laddoos to take along with me to class and everyone loved it. All the discussions that day were centered around Diwali, Indian food and our traditions. Everyone wanted to taste some Biryani and I've promised to make some for the last class. 

Well today is Halloween and Anushka will be a "Pink Leopard". I can't wait to take her for 'Trick or Treat' around the block. She is too young to understand any of it, but she sure will be excited seeing all the colorful candy!!

                             

Back to the recipe, I made these Mava Potli's on the morning of Diwali. It's adapted from a recipe from the Femina Book of Anytime Treats. The original recipe calls for steaming the potlis, but I baked them because I wanted them to be crisp on the outside. I used AP Flour, but I'm sure it will be great to substitute some of it with wheat flour. Make sure to roll the dough as thin as possible. They taste best when hot, just like samosas.

Baked Mava Coconut Potli

Ingredients:

For the shell:

250 gms all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

30 gms sugar

1 tbs ghee

For the filling:

150 gms mava (milk reduced to a granular consistency)

75 gms icing sugar

100 gms fresh coconut, grated fine

2 tbs cashew nuts, chopped fine

Method:

For the shell:

Mix all the ingredients for the shell. Add enough water to make a smooth dough. Knead well. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for about 30 mins.

For the filling:

Roast the coconut on medium flame till it dries out a little, do not brown it.

Add the ghee, mava and sugar to the pan. Keep stirring on low heat till the mixture comes together and leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped cashew nuts. Keep aside to cool.

Divide the dough and the filling into 16 portions. Roll into thin discs and keep a portion of the filling in the middle. Pull up the edges to form a dough and seal securely.

Bake at 350 F/ 180 C for about 20 - 25, turning once till browned.

Serve hot.

P.S.  I thought my potlis looked more like one-eyed monsters with their head blown out!! Perfect for Haloween too, don't you think :)

 -

Sending this to 

Only Sweets & Desserts guest hosted by Gayathri, event by Pari 
Anu's Diwali Event
Khushi's My Diwali My Way

Chocolate Ice Cream...In Memory of Jayasree

Earlier this month, a fellow blogger, Jayasree of Experiments in Kailas Kitchen, passed away suddenly. I did not know her personally, but having read about her in various blogs, it is obvious that she was a warm, loving and talented person who will be missed dearly. I really regret not knowing her. I hope her family and friends find the strength to deal with their loss. Rest in peace Jayasree, you will be loved always. 

Tribute to Jayasree is an effort to honor her memory, by cooking recipes from her blog. Jayasree has an amazing collection of traditional recipes and I had plans to make a rice dish when I saw this Ice cream recipe. I had all the required ingredients in my pantry and started immediately. I made the ice cream in the ice cream maker and ice cream was already set when I remembered the chocolate chips. The ice cream was chocolaty enough even without them.

Triple Chocolate Ice Cream

                           

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped chocolate

1 tbs cocoa powder

2 tsp corn flour

2 tbs chocolate chips

Method:

Melt the chopped chocolate in a microwave or in a double boiler. Add the cream and mix well. Keep aside.

Dissolve the cornflour in a little milk. Bring the remaining milk and then add the cornflour paste and cocoa powder. Mix well to remove lumps. Add the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved completely, remove from heat. Stir in the chocolate cream mixture and keep aside to cool. 

Freeze according to your ice cream makers instructions. To freeze without one, pour the mixture into a shallow dish and freeze till it begins to set. Brake the ice crystals with a fork, cover and freeze again. Repeat the process 2 more times. When leaving it for the final setting, stir in the chocolate chips and freeze till completely set.