Granita is a frozen fruit based dessert made using fresh fruit juice and a sweetening agent like honey or sugar and then freezing it . Granita has its origin somewhere in Italy and is popular all over Italy and relished in various flavors .
Granita is also known as Granita Sciciliana as it was originally made in Sicily .
To me this Granita personally reminded of the Indian ice slush delicacy "Gola" ,"Chuski" or "Ice Gola" where flavored syrup is poured over slushed /crushed ice and topped with some spices like chat masala. When I took a bite of this Orange Granita , I was transported to my childhood where we would occassionally get to indulge into a Gola and my favorite was Kala Khatta or Orange Gola.
I donot mind calling Granita as "Desi Gola Videshi Andaaaz mein"
If you are wondering, why am I posting this Italian Dessert out of the blue especially when it is chill and raining in many cities in India , well you guessed it right ! It is Monday and time for our weekly post on Foodie Monday bloghop . This week it was Archana's turn to suggest and majority of us opted for Fruit Based Dessert and that is how Orange Granita was born in my kitchen. Archana has some delectable recipes on her blog "The Mad Scientist's kitchen" and true to the name she definitely experiments a lot like a Scientist with her ingredients and recipes. Some of her recipes on my To Do list are Ice Cream Loaf Cake , Samosa Chat . Do check out her space for some really delicious bakes and desserts.
How does a Granita look like ?
Granita has a crystalline texture and resembles more like crushed ice .
How do we achieve the texture ?
We must not let the fruit juice freeze completely. In intervals of 30 to 45 mins we must take it out of the freezer and scrape off the slushy mixture and this must be done till the entire mixture appears like crushed ice .
How long does it take to set the granita?
Minimum setting is around 3 hrs. It may take longer depending on the freezer's temperature control.
What is the shelf life ?
Granita stays fresh upto a week when kept properly stored in the freezer.
What are the main ingredients in a Granita?
There are just 3 main ingredients fruit juice , water and sweetener . Sweetener can either be sugar or honey . Any kind of fresh fruit juice or even flavored fruit juice can be used . The quantity of sugar or honey to be used depends on the sweetness of the fruit juice. We can adjust the level of sweetness accordingly.
How is granita served ?
It is served more like a slush based drink in either small cups or little bowls with a spoon or straw. Keep the granita frozen until you serve.
Ingredients
300ml fresh orange juice.
**you can also used canned orange juice if you donot have fresh oranges.
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 to 3 tbsp sugar
Method
Melt the sugar in 1/2 cup water and boil until it melts. Let the sugar syrup cool for a while.
Now stir in the orange juice and lemon juice into the sugar syrup and mix it well.
Transfer it to a freezer safe container , cover it with a lid or cling film and place it in the freezer.
After 45 mins, take it out of the freezer and you can see that it has set partly and appears semi frozen. Take a fork or spoon and break all the semi frozen crystals and put it back into the freezer. The mixture will appear like a slush now. Donot worry about it.
After the next 45 mins take it out again and break the crystals . This time it would have frozen a little more than the last time.
Repeat this process of breaking the crystals until the entire juice now appears like crushed ice and has a granular teaxture . Keep it frozen until you serve.
To serve, take a scoop and scrape out a mixture of the granita and place it a dessert bowl or small cups and serve. You can drizzle some honey for extra sweetness or garnish with some cherries or mint as well.
Wow I am now craving for some granita! Its pouring here and we have sore throats but still will love to make this delicious granita. Something we all love.
ReplyDeleteAww so sweet... granita name sounds fancy but for me it is like that chuski which we would get for 50ps or ice gola.. simply love the flavor of fruit in crushed ice.
DeleteWonderful and right on time for me... It is hot and humid in Delhi and I am badly craving some chilled desserts.. Orange is one of my favourite flavour when it comes to fruit, desserts or drinks.. love these beautifully shot granita shots.
ReplyDeletehow I wish I could serve you some chilled granita :-)
DeleteI love granitas as they are so simple to make and a refreshing dessert to enjoy. I love the idea of making it with fresh orange juice. Looks so tempting, wish I could have one.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot . It means a lot to get such a lovely comment from an expert like you
DeleteThe Granita looks super refreshing and lovely! It's cold in Bangalore now, but I wouldn't mind a bite of this. :)
ReplyDeletehehe..ya.. people at home saw me with wide eyes when I was freezing a dessert when people were freezing at home in cold weather..but it was totally delectable...
DeleteGranita looks so refreshing and lipsmackingly delicious. Loved your click. I wish I could grab a glass from picture.
ReplyDeleteyou must come home next time you are in town
DeleteI would love to treat you to a chilled granita shot
I have not tried making granita yet..but this orange granita sounds so refreshing and flavorful ! Would love trying it sometime.
ReplyDeleteI always thought this would be difficult and time consuming but once I made it and found it super easy.only challenge is wait patiently and keep scraping the partly set ice every 40 mins.
Deletewith the little one at the house who happens to like citrus flavours a lot, I will make a small portion with Tang perhaps. lovely clicks, esp the first one against the dark background
ReplyDeleteThank you very much . I would suggest using Tropicana instead of tang. Tang gives a synthetic flavor which I dint relish much but Tropicana was close to original fruit flavor :-)
DeleteThis looks so refreshing and tempting Priya. I love granita and perfect dessert to enjoy during summer. Using fresh fruits to best way to enjoy them
ReplyDelete