Watermelon Granita

I notice a lot of blogging events themed on ice cream or other frozen treats this month. With the mercury on the constant raise, its fair to treat ourselves occasionally, may be often. Both G and I longed for something cool and refreshing as the temperature in my area is 116F for the past two days. I was not in the mood to make ice cream (Again, after that decadent semifreddo). So, I settled for granita. Unlike ice cream or sorbet, granitas are easy to make. They don’t require any special gadget, cooking or expertise. They are relatively low-fat too. My newly bought margarita glass is also one of the reasons, I must admit.

While taking photos, G and I had a disagreement. I wanted to take a shot in the natural light, while he wanted a night time shot which will heighten the red colour of the granita. I couldn’t decide between the two as I liked ‘em both. To end the feud, I am going to post both the photos. Tell me what you like – the bold and colourful nighttime shot or the minimalist daytime shot.

Ingredients

Watermelon cubes – 5 cups, seeds removed
Sugar – 1 cup
Water – ½ cup
Lemon juice – as needed

Method

Make the simple syrup by adding 1 cup of sugar to ½ cup of boiling water. Stir until sugar has dissolved and the solution becomes clear. Cool and reserve.

Blend watermelon cubes, simple syrup and lemon juice until smooth. Strain and taste the juice. It should be very sweet and with noticeable lemony taste. It looses some of its taste when frozen.

Pour the juice into a 9x13 baking dish or any shallow container and freeze for 3 hours. Scrape the mixture with a fork until its fluffy. Freeze again. Scrape and fluff the granita before serving.

This goes to A Fruit A Month – Watermelon, hosted this month by Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi. Thank you Maheswari for creating this event which gives the fruit kingdom the respect it deserves. As much I am tempted to send this to Nupur for W of A-Z Indian Vegetables, I am restricting myself, because, this neither is a vegetable nor it is Indian. I have to come up with something else, Sigh!