Jell-O Flag

As we are commemorating the 59th Indian Independence Day, I was wondering what I could use in honor of this great event. The first thing that came to mind was the colors of the flag, orange and green, which gave way to my next thought, Jell-O.

No matter how far we have moved away from our motherland and adapted a new lifestyle in the new one, we are patriotic to our country.

I am proud to be an Indian and am even more proud of my 9 yr. old son Jason, who despite of being born and raised in America, proudly displays his nationality by drawing an Indian Flag every time he makes a greeting card to the family members for any occasion, just a small simple gesture of showing his love for his country.

He stayed up last night and helped me make this simple dessert and rice flags, described below, as a tribute to our country.

Things you need:

One packet each green and orange Jell-O, prepared according to the quick set directions on the box.
*Russian Pudding (prepared according to the directions given at the end of this article)
One printed Wheel
A wooden stick or any stick to resemble the flag post.

Set the Jell-O’s and Russian pudding in the same size containers and chill till set.  Freeze for faster settings or you can follow the directions on the box.

Once the Jell-O is ready, I cut the Orange Jell-O, followed by Russian pudding and Green Jell-O to the same size and width.  I placed the wooden stick on the left side to resemble the flag post.  Finally, I placed the printed wheel on the Center.  And here you go? the edible National Indian Flag looks truly colorful, placed on the center of the table.

My next flag is very simple and easy to make by using basmati rice and cloves as a wheel.

Things you need:

1-cup basmati rice
2-cups water
Green and Orange food coloring
24 cloves
1 wooden or any stick to resemble the flag post

I boiled the basmati rice with water in the microwave for 10-15 minutes based on your microwave brands, set aside and let it cool.  I divided the rice into three equal parts in separate bowls.  Then I used the orange food color to one bowl and green food color to another bowl.  First I placed white rice on the center, then the orange and green rice to same size in length and width.  Placed 24 cloves carefully with some patience on the center to form a wheel and finally the wooden stick on the left side to resemble the flag post.

If you wish, you may turn this rice into a delicious tri color biryani.

Here is the Russian pudding recipe.  Though this is called Russian pudding, this is not a Jell-O or a Pudding.  You just have to taste it to describe it!

Ingredients:

1 pkt clear gelatin
? cup cold water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
? cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1tsp pure vanilla extract
Frozen strawberries in sugar (thawed) or any fruit topping of your choice.

Stir the gelatin in the cold water and set aside.  Warm whipping/heavy cream and sugar on low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Do not boil.  To this mixture add water and the gelatin and stir until the gelatin and sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, add sour cream and vanilla extract and mix well.  Gradually add the heavy cream, sugar and gelatin to the sour cream and mix well.  Set in individual desert cups or Jell-O molds or any plastic molds (to make a flag, I used rectangular plastic box).  Chill till set. 

Serve with fresh fruits or thawed frozen strawberries in sugar syrup.

Wishing you all a Happy Independence Day!

Author: Queenie Mendonca- USA