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)
- I used homemade yogurt so I had to remove the water from it to make it thick. Check the tip section.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add honey, rose water and chopped rose petals and mix well.
- Soak agar agar or gelatin in water for 10 minutes.
- Heat the milk till its hot. Add the agar agar or gelatin mixture into and mix well.
- Add a bit of the yogurt mixture to the milk mixture. Stir well.
- Pour it into the rest of the yogurt mixture and whisk.
- Line the serving bowl or glass with a petal or two if you wish.
- Spoon the yogurt mixture into the bowl or glass.
- Cover with cling film and leave it in the fridge to set. I left mine overnight.
- 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:
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| paneer kundan kaliya |
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| pistachio and rose cake |
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32 Comments
Priya Iyer
February 12, 2018 at 3:21 pm
This looks so good. I'm sure it tasted amazing too! 🙂
Poonam Bachhav
February 12, 2018 at 3:30 pm
The rose and saffron yogurt mousse looks so inviting di…flavorful dessert with easy to follow recipe..lovely share for the theme !
THE FOOD SAMARITAN.
February 12, 2018 at 4:32 pm
This mousse looks so very awesome!Yummy VDay treat!
Sujata Roy
February 12, 2018 at 4:35 pm
I am drooling Mayuri. Mousse looks yummy and flavourful. Lovely share.
Mallika Bhandary
February 12, 2018 at 7:14 pm
Firstly, the color combo is just wow! The mousse looks stunning and sounds absolutely delicous! Yummy!
Nayna Kanabar
February 12, 2018 at 9:24 pm
Wow these look droolworthy, I love your styling and photos.
Mayuri Patel
February 13, 2018 at 7:45 pm
Thanks Priya, it tastes really good.
Mayuri Patel
February 13, 2018 at 7:46 pm
It certainly is easy to make Poonam. Thanks.
Mayuri Patel
February 13, 2018 at 7:46 pm
Thanks Amrita and it has no refined sugar. Loved it
Mayuri Patel
February 13, 2018 at 7:47 pm
Thanks Sujata. Try it am sure your family will love it.
Mayuri Patel
February 13, 2018 at 7:47 pm
Thanks Mallika, I too love the color combination.
Mayuri Patel
February 13, 2018 at 7:48 pm
Thank you so much Nayna…still working on the styling and photos.
Jagruti Dhanecha
February 13, 2018 at 8:43 pm
Rose and saffron both are my favourite ingredients! I bet this mousse tasted amazing.
Shobha
February 13, 2018 at 9:38 pm
OMG .. this looks so gorgeous.. the taste must be equally good. absolutely Divine!
priya satheesh
February 14, 2018 at 5:08 am
What a lovely combo… Roses and yogurt ! Droolworthy !
Nivedita Thadani
February 14, 2018 at 9:21 am
Perfect for the valentine's day. Yoghurt and honey with red rose petals. Lovely combination.
Sapana Behl
February 14, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Rose and saffron are the combination made in heaven. The mousse must have tasted amazing with these flavors.
Sharmila- The Happie Friends Potpourri corner
February 14, 2018 at 7:24 pm
Rose and Saffron ,perfect Valentne's day treat.. Such a pleasing drink i would say..
Sonal Gupta
February 14, 2018 at 8:22 pm
Such a pretty sight Mayuri. The flavors are so exotic and perfect to celebrate love ROYALLY!
jayashree
February 15, 2018 at 7:31 am
Mousse looks delicious. Do need to try it sometime Mayuri, shrikhand did come to my mind while reading it.
firsttimercook
February 16, 2018 at 11:07 am
Such a healthy valentine share di, looks so so pretty as well !!
Swati Goyal
February 20, 2018 at 3:59 am
What an aromatic dish, rose and saffron two royal flavors blended in one, Would love to try this recipe.
Kriti Singhal
February 26, 2018 at 3:09 pm
This looks fantastic…adorable share! 🙂
shobhakeshwani
September 23, 2019 at 11:47 am
Looks Divine.. Loved the presentation
Renu Agrawal Dongre
September 23, 2019 at 1:10 pm
I am drooling here imagining the flavors in this yogurt mousse and reading your description of the recipe. Sounds fantastic. Let me see if I can get my hands on edible rose flowers.
mayurisjikoni
September 23, 2019 at 8:06 pm
Thanks Renu, an organic farm or home grown roses is the best bet.
shobhakeshwani
September 24, 2019 at 12:52 am
The mousse with saffron and rose flavours combined together must be tasting so flavourful and delicious. What a lovely presentation. Sp appealing to the eyes.
mayurisjikoni
September 25, 2019 at 8:47 pm
Thank you so much Shobha.
FoodTrails
September 24, 2019 at 10:47 pm
Rose flavoured mousse looks so inviting and royal treat. I can imagine the aroma of rose petals and the refreshing taste in mousse
mayurisjikoni
September 25, 2019 at 8:44 pm
Thanks Swaty, the rose petals added a good flavour.
Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille)
September 25, 2019 at 3:58 am
I’m going to see where I can find edible fresh rose petals. I have never had them before and would love to try!
mayurisjikoni
September 25, 2019 at 8:43 pm
Try to get some Mireille. I remember my aunts always use to put fresh rose petals on the shrikhand and we use to love it.