Chuski, or ‘Baraf Ka Gola’ is a treasured childhood memory for most Indians; from waiting for the 'Chuskiwala' to pass through your neighbourhood in summers to tugging your father's shirt at the local carnival to get you a Chuski, there are many memories attached to Chuski. However, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, kids today can’t be exposed to outside eatables. So if you are looking to bring back that childhood nostalgia, by recreating the recipe for your kids, try these two Chuski recipes, which can be prepared in less than an hour. Aam Panna Chuski is more suited to a sweet tooth, while Shikanji Chuski is for taste buds that love a tangy flavour.
Ingredients:
For Ice Gola-
- 2kg Ice cubes or as required
- 8 Ice Cream sticks
- 1 Glass or as required
- Chat masala to taste
For Aam Panna Syrup- (makes 10 cups)
- 250gm Ripe mango, Cubed
- 150gm Raw mango, Cubed
- 200gm Sugar
- 1 tsp Black salt
- Salt to taste
- 2 tsp Roasted cumin, crushed
- ¾ tsp Black pepper powder
For Masala Shikanji-
- 300gm Sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tsp Black salt
- 6-7 or to taste Lemon
- ½ tsp Roasted cumin
- 2 cups Mint leaves
Method:
For Chuski-
- Break the ice till it turns into small flakes of crushed ice. This is a two-step process:
- First, wrap the ice cubes in a clean cloth, and hammer it with a heavy object like a rolling pin or a hammer
- Then, put the coarsely crushed ice cubes into a mixer and grind the ice further until it turns to powder
- Stuff the crushed ice into a glass till it's half full and press it very gently
- Stick one ice cream stick in the middle
- Add some more crushed ice on top and around the stick and press it down very hard with your fingers
- Take the ice lolly (gola) out of the glass by pulling the ice cream stick and pour the syrup of your choice
- If you are making shikanji chuski, sprinkle some chaat masala on top of the syrup
FOR AAM PANNA SYRUP-
- Peel the mangoes and roughly cut them to extract the pulp
- Put it in a pan with sliced and peeled raw mango, water, sugar, salt, and rock salt, and boil it till it's cooked
- Once raw mango is soft, take it out in a bowl and let it cool down
- Pour the mixture in a blender and make a smooth puree
- Take it out in a bowl and add roasted cumin powder and black pepper
- Aam Panna syrup is ready
FOR SHIKANJI SYRUP-
- Take some water and sugar to make a sugar syrup
- Once the syrup starts boiling, add salt, roasted cumin seeds, black pepper, and coriander powder
- Stir the mixture and cook till it reaches the one-string consistency
- Pour it out in a bowl and add some lemon juice to make it tangy
- Stir it well and allow it to cool down
- Once the syrup has cooled, put in a blender along with mint leaves and blend until smooth
Shikanji syrup is ready
Regardless of whether you are only choosing one chuski flavour or two, make sure to prepare the ice golly carefully. One of the biggest noob mistakes common to first-timers is that they try to blend the ice cubes right away in the blender without crushing it first, this can harm the blender blades. So make sure you have a clean cotton cloth with you in which you crush the ice. Also, when it comes to following the recipe don’t just follow the recipe blindly, use the ingredients as required and according to the number of guests.