It was in a TV reality show, called Masterchef Australia, that I first saw a dessert called panna cotta. Then later at an Italian restaurant, here in Bangalore, is when I tasted it. It looked so simple and pretty....and it tasted heavenly. And from then on, panna cotta has been my all time favourite dessert. A spoonful of panna cotta is remarkably creamy, melting in the mouth without a trace of grittiness or lumps. Panna cotta is a very basic pudding that is made of dairy thickened with gelatin. It originated in Italy and its name literally means "cooked cream". You can eat it straight out of a cup, but it's often unmolded onto a plate and drizzled with sweet sauce and garnished with fruit. It is not known exactly how or when this dessert came to be, but some theories suggest that cream, for which mountainous Northern Italy is famous, was historically eaten plain or sweetened with fruit or hazelnuts. The earliest recipes mention simmering the cream with fish