Ice Gola or Ice Candy are not unknown to any of us and as we know, Ice Gola is ice-based summer-dessert made by shaving / crushing a block of ice. The Ice Gola can be molded in any shape as desired, however these are best available in conical / cylindrical shape. This universally loved ice dessert known by variety of names, like - Hawaiians call this 'Shave Ice'/'Ice Shave'; Indians most famously call Gola or Chuskis. Though lot of flavors and colors make this Golas very tempting but vital thing is to make sure that the colors are natural. I recommend, the colorful flavored sweet syrups to be made with your choice of flavors depending upon the seasonal availability, such as guava, pineapple, coconut cream, passion fruit, kiwi fruit, Blackberry, rose, mango etc. The tangy and aromatic flavors in the syrups make Ice Gola delicious & lip-smacking in every bite. The Gola or Shaved ice is generally served in a conical paper, plastic cup or sometimes served in mugs / glasses topped-up with multiple flavors, including with milk cream called "malai Gola". The ice block or cubes are crushed (finer the crush is better) and given the mold of choice; later homemade colorful sweet syrups are topped onto it to be absorbed by the ice. In the streets of Mumbai, India, these Golas are topped with the syrup which is prepared with Jamun / blackberry and this particular one is called "Chuskis". It was a challenge for me to get the natural green color for Ice Gola but kudos to my little-one who played a savior by hinting to make natural green color with Spinach leaves. Initially, I was bit susceptible but thought of giving a shot to it and voila! believe me it was really tasty and no one could find that syrup was made of green leafy vegetable, which off-course was the sweet-secret till the last.
The shave ice can be given a personal taste depending upon the individual liking. In India, these Golas are also topped with lemon juice, further topped with colorful syrups and given a desi twish by adding milk cream/malai. In some countries, these Gola / shaved ice is served top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream. There is also another version known as snow-flake ice, which uses shaved frozen milk and other flavors.
Japanese style of shaved ice is prepared with sweetened condensed milk drizzled over the top like a snow cap. Snow ice is popular around the world though its history traces to Japan. Called by different names, this snow ice invites people during the summer because of the heat. In Brazil, its called as Raspadinha, in Costa Rica - Copos, El salvador and Honduras - Minuta, Mauritius - Glacon Rapé, Italy - Granita, Taiwan - Baobing, Japan - Kakigori, Korea - Patbingsu, Mexico and Nicaragua - Raspado, Peru - Raspadilla, Philippines - Halo halo, Puerto Rico - Piragua, Malaysia Singapore and Indonesia its called as Ais/Es Kacang, Panama - Raspao, Suriname - Schaafijs, Thailand - Namkhaeng Sai, Columbia - Raspado or Cholado, USA - Shaved Ice, in India and Pakistan its called as Gola barf, and in French CAribbean islands its called as Snowball. (source - Wikipedia).
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| Spinach Ice Gola (for green color) |
Ingredients:
1. Ice cubes - Required Quantity
2. Natural colored syrup of your choice - Fruit, Flower or any Vegetables, which can produce rich color.
3. Sugar or any sweetener of your choice
4. Lemon Juice
5. Thick milk cream (optional)
Method:
1. Take any fruit juice and add sugar / sweetener and heat it until the sweetener is mixed. Chill it and use it as syrup. For rose syrup, you can refer to the post i blogged previously.
2. For Spinach syrup, place the cleaned spinach leaves with water almost to the height of the spinach. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until water has reduced to about half. Let it cool down.
3. Blend the spinach and water into smooth paste and filter them for the green water. Now add sugar / sweetener equal to the amount of water and heat it until sugar is dissolved. The syrup is ready to use.
2. For Spinach syrup, place the cleaned spinach leaves with water almost to the height of the spinach. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until water has reduced to about half. Let it cool down.
3. Blend the spinach and water into smooth paste and filter them for the green water. Now add sugar / sweetener equal to the amount of water and heat it until sugar is dissolved. The syrup is ready to use.
4. Finally, take the ice cubes and crush them in a blender or alternatively wrap the ice cubes in a clean cloth and beat them with a rolling pin for the crushed ice.
5. Immediately wrap the ice in a disposable cups tightly placing the Popsicle stick or a disposable spoon (used here). Remove the ice candy and pour the lime juice (optional) on top of it. Now pour the desired flavored colorful-sweet syrup. The Golas can be given multiple colors too in one candy.
The Ice Gola is ready to enjoy and beat the summer heat with much joy.
5. Immediately wrap the ice in a disposable cups tightly placing the Popsicle stick or a disposable spoon (used here). Remove the ice candy and pour the lime juice (optional) on top of it. Now pour the desired flavored colorful-sweet syrup. The Golas can be given multiple colors too in one candy.
The Ice Gola is ready to enjoy and beat the summer heat with much joy.
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| Rose Syrup based Ice Gola |
