📍 Where this dish comes from: Varanasi · Ghats of the Ganges
Discover the history of this region →
Discover the history of this region →
This dessert sits at the crossroads of Italian and Indian cuisine — the clean, silky technique of panna cotta meeting the opulent aromatics of Indian sweets. Tremble the bowl and watch this ivory-gold cream quiver with a silkiness that promises everything: saffron and cardamom perfume each spoonful, rose petals scatter the surface, and the delicate, yielding give as the spoon breaks through is a moment of pure, unhurried pleasure. The saffron turns the cream a warm gold that suggests Indian mithai, while the rose water and cardamom complete the transformation.
What You’ll Need
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 310kcal
Ingredients
- 400 ml full-fat cream
- 200 ml full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp erythritol
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- Generous pinch saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp warm water
- 2 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
- 3 tbsp cold water for blooming gelatin
- Dried rose petals and pistachios to serve
Instructions
- Bloom gelatin in cold water 5 minutes.
- Heat cream and coconut milk with sweetener and cardamom.
- Add saffron water; simmer 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat; dissolve bloomed gelatin into warm cream.
- Pour into serving glasses or molds.
- Refrigerate minimum 4 hours until set.
- Garnish with rose petals and pistachios.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 310kcal | Protein: 30g | Fat: 4g
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Health Benefits
- Gelatin provides glycine, an amino acid studied for its potential role in sleep quality and inflammation.
- Saffron’s crocin and picrocrocin are compounds that have been the subject of considerable mood-related research.
- The MCTs in the coconut milk portion of this panna cotta support the body’s ketone production.

