Watermelon Jelly

-Submitted by Dahlia

(Watermelon Gelatin, Allergy Free and Low fat Watermelon Juice Jelly, Tarpusani / தர்பூசணி)

Jelly or Fruit Gelatin is a popular dessert among kids. It is a great choice too since it keeps them hydrated during summers. Moms often find it difficult to make toddlers drink enough liquid when they are sick or during hot days. This is a great way to get some liquid content into them. When my daughter was one, she once refused to eat or drink anything when she was down with fever. My doctor said that the fever will eventually come down but if she doesn't take any liquid she would get dehydrated which is risky. We were tired of trying all the tricks to make her drink some liquid, we tried fruit juice, aerated drinks, glucose, fresh fruits etc etc. Finally the nurse suggested to try fruit gelatin. Guess what? It worked!! She couldn't have a whole lot but those little nibbles on colorful fruit jelly's really worked. Ever since I always have some flavored fruit gelatin packets as well as some unflavored gelatin packets at home.

If you have unflavored gelatin, you can make fruit jelly's, panna cotta, mousse and other desserts in short notice. For pure vegetarians, you can use agar agar powder or agar sheets. The ratio of gelatin to any liquid is 1 tbsp for 2 cups for a firm set. You can use a little more or less. When I use agar powder, it is 1 tsp for 1 cup of liquid. So for 2 cups of liquid, we need little less than 1 tbsp. Just follow this proportion and you can make any jello with fresh fruit juice. I have tried making strawberry jelly, tender coconut jelly, mango jelly and this watermelon jelly. It's very easy to extract watermelon juice and hence making jelly is a breeze. Just follow these quick steps below and enjoy your cool summer snack.

Recipe For Making Watermelon Jelly

Preparation time: 3-6 hours (including setting time)
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Serves : 4

Ingredients

• Watermelon - 4 cups (chopped)
• Gelatin - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 1/2 cup (add more if you like it sweeter)
• Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
• Hot water - 1 cup
• Cold water - 1/2 cup

Method

1. Take the gelatin in a sauce pan and add the cold water over it. Let it rest for couple of minutes till the gelatin gets fully soaked.
2. Add the hot water to this and keep stirring till the gelatin fully dissolves in the water.
3. Add the sugar and stir it again till the sugar dissolves. If needed heat the mix over low flame to dissolve everything faster.
4. Strain the mix into a large mixing bowl to remove any undissolved particles (if any).
5. Take big chunks of watermelon and blend it to a smooth puree. Strain this also into the same mixing bowl.
6. Add the lemon juice to this and mix everything together. Taste and add more sugar if needed i.e if the watermelon is not sweet enough.
7. You can refrigerate this as such in the bowl till it thicken to a jelly. If you refrigerate the entire bowl, you may need to wait overnight until it is fully set. If you pour it into smaller bowls as mentioned below, the jelly may set in 3-4 hours.
8. Once set, you can cut this into small cubes and serve.

Alternative Presentation & Serving

1. Another option is to pour this into individual cups or bowl and then refrigerate. Serve as such with a spoon or de-mold into a serving plate. To de-mold easily, place the bowls into a larger bowl filled with warm water for about 20 seconds. Now gently invert over the serving plate and serve.
2. I like to make an interesting presentation by making the jelly in watermelon bowls. I cut the watermelon into half and scoop out all the flesh to make the juice. Using a knife scrape off all the flesh as close to the rind as possible so that you are left with watermelon bowls. Now pour the mixture into the watermelon bowls and refrigerate. When it gels up, you just have to cut into slices just like you cut a watermelon and serve. 

Presented as Cubes and in Bowl

Presented as Watermelon Shell

More Watermelon Recipes

Watermelon Kheer	Watermelon Dosa	Watermelon Halwa
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