Rose and Saffron Yogurt Mousse

Happy Valentine's Day

   What is Valentine's Day without roses, chocolates and all things cute? Hope hubby is reading this and gets a hint;). People could be selling Valentine's paraphernalia right under his nose and he'd still not get the hint. Sighhhh! Perhaps I should treat myself to roses. 

   Getting down to today's theme for FoodieMonday/Bloghop group, we unanimously decided on Valentine Rose as our 131st theme. For this theme one could either prepare something that has rose flavor or which is in the shape of a rose. I really love rose flavor so I chose to make a healthy but romantic dessert. Though I served to hubby dear a few days before Valentine's, he thoroughly enjoyed the early treat. That means I will either make something else for Valentine's Day, repeat this recipe, or perhaps like him just pretend that Valentine's Day does not exist. 

   Roses and other edible flowers have been used for centuries in cooking. Many Indian sweet dishes make use of rose water, rose jam or gulkhand, fresh rose petals or dried petals.The Indian Sub Continent, Iran,Turkey, Afghanistan, Middle East use roses in everything from soups to desserts.In Persian Golab means rose water. Gul is flower and Ab is water. Rose petals are edible as they belong to the same plant family as strawberries and apples. Its best to clip off the whitish part of the petal before using it as garnish or in food as its a bit bitter. Not all roses have a strong fragrance. The best roses with a strong scent are the damascenas variety but they bloom only once a year. The next best options are pink, yellow or occasionally white roses which have more fragrance than some red ones. I always find that the variety of roses sold at every street corner in India for puja, smell really good. 

   When I was growing up, I always wondered why my aunt would want to add rose petals to shrikhand or gulab jamuns before serving it. At that time, I'd screw up my nose thinking "why is she spoiling a sweet dish with flowers?" Back then little did I know that she's adding more flavor to the sweet dish. 

   Keeping in mind the challenge(challenging myself to steer away from refined sugar) not to use refined sugar, I decided to make a yogurt mousse using honey. Honey, rose, saffron and cardamom combined is a rich, luxurious, divine and refreshing flavor. Go on try out this dessert and treat your loved ones to something more than just chocolates.

ROSE AND SAFFRON YOGURT MOUSSE 

Serves 2

1 cup thick plain yogurt (hung or greek yogurt)

a generous pinch of saffron

½ tsp cardamom powder

2-3 tbsp honey

1 tsp agar agar powder or gelatin

1 tbsp water

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp rose water

1 tbsp chopped fresh rose petals

a few rose petals for garnishing

Some extra honey to drizzle on top (optional)

1. I used homemade yogurt so I had to remove the water from it to make it thick. Check the tip section.
2. Add cardamom and saffron to the thick yogurt. Whisk it till its smooth. Leave it in the fridge for 4-6 hours so that the flavors infuse into it.
3. Take the yogurt out of the fridge and leave it outside till it reaches room temperature. Mine took less than 30 minutes as its pretty hot in Mombasa.
4. Add honey, rose water and chopped rose petals and mix well.
5. Soak agar agar or gelatin in water for 10 minutes.
6. Heat the milk till its hot. Add the agar agar or gelatin mixture into and mix well.
7. Add a bit of the yogurt mixture to the milk mixture. Stir well.
8. Pour it into the rest of the yogurt mixture and whisk.
9. Line the serving bowl or glass with a petal or two if you wish.
10. Spoon the yogurt mixture into the bowl or glass.
11. Cover with cling film and leave it in the fridge to set. I left mine overnight.
12. Drizzle a bit of honey over the mousse. Serve it chilled.

Tips:

• To make hung yogurt at home, line a colander with a thin cotton or muslin cloth. Put the colander over a plate, big bowl or tray..something that will catch the water. Spoon the yogurt into it. Cover the yogurt with the edges of the cloth. For faster result, add a wad of paper over the covered yogurt. Put a small plate or lid over it. Place a heavy stone or pestle and mortar as weight. This will help the water to drain out of the yogurt faster.  To get I cup of yogurt you may need 1½ - 2 cups of yogurt. It depends on the quality of milk.
• You may add stevia, maple syrup or any other natural sweetener of your choice.
• I used agar agar.
• Make sure the rose petals are organic and not sprayed with pesticides.

You may want to check out my other rose recipes:

paneer kundan kaliya

rose and cardamom cookies

gulkhand phirni

pistachio and rose cake

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