Love flowers? Try these food and dessert varieties that incorporate floral ingredients

Floral ingredients to make food and desserts? Experts share some fun varieties for food lovers to indulge in the trend

Rhododendron posset

Ingredients

17 gm - Lemon zest

Marigold and Mixed Sprouts Salad, Rhododendron posset and Mogra and Green Grape Gateaux

50 ml - Lemon juice

120 gm – Sugar (superfine)

200 gm – Double cream or heavy cream

10 gm - Rhododendron flower concoction

Method

In a pot, bring double cream to a boil over low heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Make sure to cook the cream slowly, as a fast boil will spoil the cream and split it.

Slowly whisk the rhododendron flower concoction, lemon juice sugar and lemon juice into the hot cream. Strain the mixture into a clean measuring cup.

Let the posset cool and pour into molds of your choice. Chill in the refrigerator for at least four 4 hours and up to overnight. The cream will become silky and thick.

Remove from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for at least 5 minutes before serving. Decorate it with fruits and edible flowers of your choice.

By Chef Varad Kotnala, Executive Sous Chef, The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore

Beetroot Carpaccio with Goat Cheese and flower Petals

Ingredients:

2 medium beetroots (boiled or roasted, peeled)

50g goat cheese (crumbled)

Edible flower petals (viola or nasturtium)

Arugula or microgreens (optional)

Olive oil and balsamic glaze

Salt and pepper

Method

Thinly slice beetroot using a mandoline or sharp knife.

Arrange slices in a circular pattern on a plate.

Sprinkle goat cheese, flower petals, and greens over the top.

Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

By Chef Anshul Dhyani, Executive Chef ITC Grand Central, Mumbai

Hibiscus Rasmalai

Ingredients

1 ½ litre - Full-fat milk

2–3 tbsp - Lemon juice or vinegar

3-4 cups - Water (for syrup)

1 ¼ cups - Sugar

8 - Hibiscus petals (dried)

3-4 - Green cardamom pods (crushed)

Method

Boil 1 litre milk in a pan. Once it boils, reduce heat and add lemon juice. When the milk curdles, switch off heat. Strain it through muslin cloth. Rinse under cold water. Hang it for 30 minutes to drain.

Knead the chenna for 10 minutes. Make rasgulla-like balls. Boil 3–4 cups water with 1 cup sugar. Drop patties into the syrup. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Gently squeeze extra syrup from the patties.

In a saucepan, heat 500 ml milk. Add sugar, cardamom, and saffron. Simmer for 10–15 minutes. Steep hibiscus petals in ¼ cup hot water for 10 minutes. Strain and stir the deep pink hibiscus infusion into the milk. Let it cool and then refrigerate.

Add cooled patties to the hibiscus milk. Chill for 2 hours. Top with pistachios, dried rose petals or hibiscus petals.

By Chef Sukesh, Executive Chef, Gateway Bekal, Kerala

Marigold and Mixed Sprouts Salad

Ingredients

¼ cup - Fresh marigold petals (edible)

¼ cup - Green gram (sprouted)

¼ cup - Turkish gram (sprouted)

¼ cup - Black chickpeas (sprouted)

¼ cup - Pomegranate pearls

¼ cup - Tomatoes (quartered)

1 - Green chilli (deseeded and chopped)

¼ bunch - Cilantro (finely chopped)

For the salad dressing:

1 tbsp - Orange juice

¼ tbsp - Lemon juice

2 tsp - Organic honey

¼ tbsp - Olive oil

¼ tsp - Chaat masala

Salt and white pepper (to taste)

Method

Wash the marigold petals thoroughly, pat dry with a paper towel and set aside.

In a pan, boil water and wash the sprouts and blanch them 4 minutes. Wash them under cold water. Place the drained sprouts on a fine mesh to remove excess water.

In a glass bowl, mix all the ingredients mentioned from sprouted moong to fresh cilantro. Place in the refrigerator to chill in an airtight container.

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients mentioned for the dressing. Just before service, add the dressing to the salad.

Serve chilled.

By Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji

Mogra and Green Grape Gateaux

Ingredients

1 ½ cups – Maida

1 ½ tsp - Baking powder

1 tsp - Baking soda

A pinch of salt

¾ cup - Sugar

1 cup - Milk

¼ cup - Yogurt

1 tsp - Vanilla essence

½ cup - Oil

2 tbsp - Mogra (jasmine) syrup

3 tbsp - Mogra syrup (store bought)

3 tbsp - Water

175 gm - Whipping cream

44 gm - Icing sugar

Green grapes (sliced and whole)

Fresh Mogra flowers

Method

Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt and vanilla. Stir in the milk and oil, and mogra syrup. Grease and line an 8-inch cake tin.

Preheat the oven and bake the batter at 170°C for around 35 minutes. Slice the cool cake horizontally into two layers. Mix mogra syrup with water and brush over both layers for added moisture. Whip the cream with icing sugar.

Spread a layer of whipped cream on the bottom half, add sliced grapes. Place a layer on top, brush with syrup, frost and whipped cream.

Decorate with swirls of cream, whole grapes, and jasmine flowers. Chill the cake overnight in the fridge. Slice and enjoy!

By Swheta Aggarwal, Chef and Founder, Kookie Cake Crumble

Dianthus and Blueberry Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 cup – Full-fat milk

¼ cup - Heavy cream

1 cup - Dianthus flower petals (washed)

½ cup - Blueberries (washed and dry)

¼ cup - Sugar

4 tbsp - Water

12 - Dianthus flowers (for garnish)

Method

In a heavy-bottomed pan, combine blueberries, sugar, and water. Simmer until the blueberries soften and mash. Keep mashing with a spoon and simmer until the mixture thickens. The consistency should be that of a sauce.

When lukewarm, add the dianthus flower petals and let them steep for 10 minutes. Cool it down.

In a glass bowl, add chilled milk and cream. Stir in the cooled down dianthus flower and blueberry sauce. Refrigerate for two hours. Churn the refrigerated mixture until it’s smooth, in an ice-cream maker, for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Scoop out the ice cream and garnish with the flowers.

By Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji

Golden Fried Prawn Dipping in Fig’s Karabu Sauce

Ingredients

6 pieces - Prawns

50 gm - Golden flour

100 gm - Bread crumbs

150 gm - Karabu sauce

1 - Egg

1 piece - Bamboo leaf

5 gm - Spring onions

2 gm - Edible flowers

1 - Thai chilli

1 - Green apple

1 - Tomato

1 - Fig

Salt to taste

Method

Prepare a batter with flour and bread crumbs.

Dip it in egg wash and fry till crispy, golden brown. Add salt to taste.

For the dipping sauce mix all the ingredients (including the edible flowers) and add finely chopped Thai chilli, green apple, tomato and fig.

Add salt to taste.

Serve hot.

By Chef Raymond, Hakkasan, Mumbai

Buransh Ki Chuski

To make this ice cream, use buransh flower petals (rhododendron). It’s a summer flower that is widely used for making refreshing and flavourful drinks, dishes and chutney. Take 200 gm of buransh petals, wash and boil them using 500 ml water and grind the same extract to gain full flavour and then strain it from the fine cloth. Sweeten it with sugar syrup and add a bit of pahadi masala for a great taste. Pour in the mould, and let it set it in refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours. Enjoy the refreshing chuski!

By Chef Rohit Dubey, Executive Chef, Pilibhit House, Haridwar - IHCL SeleQtions

Rosy Nora

Rosy Nora

Ingredients

• 45ml - Roku gin

• 20 ml - Lemon juice

• 15 ml - Rose syrup

• Ice cubes

• Rose petal or edible flower (for garnish)

Method

• Fill a shaker with ice.
• Add Roku gin, lemon juice, and rose syrup.
• Shake well until chilled.
• Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
• Garnish with a rose petal or edible flower

By Mamata Chowdhury, Assistant Restaurant Manager, Novotel Goa Panjim