Almond panna cotta

This is an exotic Italian dessert that I came across in 101 diet recipes book by Nita Mehta. You can wonder how can a dessert be featured in a diet recipe book. Yes thats true because it has only about a Tsp of sugar per serving. You could add more if you wish to. It has a creamy texture as that of an ice-cream but is absolutely a healthier version. It came out so well but by the time I could take a good picture, it started melting. So please forgive me for the bad capture. I shall try updating this post with a better picture when I try panna cotta the next time. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Crumbled paneer - 1/2 cup
• Yogurt - 1 cup
• Gelatine - 2 Tsp (You can use agar agar powder if you do not wish to include gelatine)
• Almonds - 4-5 soaked in warm water, peeled and finely chopped
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 4-5 Tsp
• Almond essence - 1/4 Tsp

METHOD:

1. Hang the curd/yogurt in a muslin cloth for 20-30 minutes
2. Blend together hung curd, milk and paneer into a smooth paste. Keep aside
3. Sprinkle gelatine on 1/4 cup water. Heat it gently. Do not let it to boil. Remove from fire once the gelatine dissolves
4. Add sugar to gelatine and mix well
5. Pour the hot gelatine solution to the yogurt mixture, stirring continuously. Allow it to cool to room temperature
6. Add essence and blanched almonds. Check sweetness and add more sugar if required
7. Rinse small glass bowls with water. Do not wipe. Pour the prepared mixture into each bowl and refrigerate it for 3-4 hours
8. Serve it with the bowls itself or demould them and garnish with toasted almonds and serve :)
9. If you find it difficult to demould them, gently cut through with a knife and demould it