Watermelon Popsicle's / Ice Candy.

“Watermelon Popsicle's / Ice Candy” .... for all of you …. Oh those childhood summer days that were never complete without sipping on some Ice Candies …. That voice still rings in my mind of candy man yelling iiiiicccceeee caaaandeeee …. Tring Tring …. We kids lingering on the large gate swinging on it in and out and peeping until the end of the road to check why candy man is late …. Nostalgic …. But now things are different …. We can prepare them at home easily with more choices and different flavours ….. Go ahead and ….. Enjoy these watermelon candies before they melt. .....

Popsicle / Ice Candy / Ice Pops / Frozen Candies need no introduction. All of us have enjoyed and relished them with our friends during childhood. Now though a candy man is a rare sight, specially in a metro city like Mumbai, these are available in packets at every store almost everywhere. There are many types of variations and flavors available in Ice Candies. You can prepare them with flavours or real juices too. Ice cream candies like chocobar are famous in Mumbai for over 30 years. Molds are something that are available in different patterns throughout the world. Even if you don’t have them, no worries, you can always use small glasses the way I used to do. Summer time candies are a must in my home as we enjoy sipping on them at mid mornings when the heat level is at its peak. These molds were brought and given to me by my sister (Gayathri Kudva) when she had visited her daughter (Anvitha Pai) in Australia. Thanks to both of them, now I can have another style of Popsicle. Also now that it’s summer time, I am sure to use them a lot with different combinations and flavours. So keep a watch on my Blog for more flavour’s of Popsicle’s.

** For Watermelon Popsicle's. : Cut the juicy red part of the watermelon into small pieces. Put them in a mixer grinder and whip them for a few seconds 3 to 4 times with intervals. Remove and sieve the juice through a fine sieve. Do not add in any water. There is plenty of water content in the watermelon and addition of water will unnecessarily thin out the juice. Add in sugar to taste if needed after checking the sweetness level of the juice. If the juice is sweet enough there is no need to add in sugar. Once again the sweetness depends upon individual taste and the watermelon. Some watermelon’s are sweet while some are absolutely bland. Also use only the red portion to get good colour and sweetness. Here I would like to add that the sweetness content should be a little above the level of juices we consume. Frozen juice while sipping on tend to loose out on sweetness. So just keep the level of sweetness 10% above that of your normal juice. 

Pour the watermelon juice carefully into any molds that are available to you. If you do not have any molds, as mentioned earlier, you can pour them into small glasses or tumblers too. I used to prepare them in glasses since childhood as those days we did not have any molds. I used to put all sorts of juices into a small tumbler and add a stick and put it in the freezer. Now if you have molds, you are sure to know the method. Pour them into molds, add on the stick with cover and put them in freezer overnight. When you want to sip on just remove and hold the mold under running water for a few seconds. Do not immerse it under water, but just hold it slantingly so that the bottom frozen part of the mold is under running water, say for 30 seconds. This is done to loosen up the frozen candies within. Gently remove and serve …… Yumz. I am off to enjoy these as the summer heat has already begun in Mumbai. What are you waiting for if its hot, just go ahead and enjoy these Popsicle's.