For Breakfast or Dessert -- Yogurt with Sweet Spices and Rose Petals

Food is art and magic; it evokes emotion and colors memory, and in skilled hands, meals become greater than the sum of their ingredients. – Anthony Beal

Sweet spices like cardamom and fennel, rose petals and rose water, pistachios and golden raisins!

I am loving it already.

Flavors and scents I can taste and sense!   They are very close to my heart.  I grew up around them, or I can say they were often around me.

Cardamom and fennel used in sweet and savory dishes perfumed our kitchen with their intoxicating aroma.  Rice pudding, pilaf, spiced tea, rich sauces, and several sweets are just a few to name.  Rose petals and rose water to greet guests on special occasions, or simply to flavor sweets and drinks, made every experience memorable.  Nuts and dried fruits in creamy sauces or in decadent desserts made food taste delicious.

I cherish these scents and flavors.

We all do, whatever is close to our hearts.

This recipe has the flavors and scents of all these ingredients combined with yogurt.  It is light and healthy with all the goodness of taste and texture.  Enjoy it for breakfast or dessert.  It is an absolute fragrant delight.  If you are using Greek yogurt, it is just a matter of combining all the ingredients and letting the flavors infuse a little.  Cardamom, fennel, and rose water are sweet flavors, but a little goes a long way.  Too much can be overpowering.

Recipe

1 cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular)

1 green cardamom seeds, crushed fine

Pinch of fennel seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon organic rose petals, crushed plus for garnish

1/2 teaspoon rose water

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon pistachios, coarsely chopped plus for garnish

Few golden raisins

 

If using regular yogurt, set it in a colander lined with coffee filter or muslin cloth to drain excess water for about 30 minutes.

Mix yogurt, cardamom, fennel, rose petals, rose water, honey gently.  Set aside in the fridge for 25-30 minutes for flavors to infuse.

When ready to serve, transfer in serving bowls and garnish with reserved pistachios and rose petals.  Finish with golden raisins.

Take small spoonfuls and relish.  Not easy when your taste buds are experiencing such fragrant notes.  But as we say, “All good things come to an end.”  

I hope you enjoy it like I did.

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