I come from a family where we eat each meal planning the next and this, on ordinary days too. Special occasions of course come with the added advantage! Growing up, birthdays always stole the show and my Neeti aunty was the designated head of the party planning committee. Unlike what happens today where bespoke party planners and caterers have become the need of every hour, back then the mums took the onus on themselves. They never trusted food that came from outside! 

Neeti Aunty was a step ahead of rest. Birthday parties gave her an outlet to unleash all her creativity. From mini burgers topped with cocktail umbrellas, sausages and bottle gourd made to look like animals, mini rasgullas presented in the form of pumpkins, and the  innumerable cakes she baked, she did it all.  But the one dish that never failed to liven a party for both kids and adults were her jelly boats.  

 A jelly boat is essentially jelly that is set inside the skin of any scoopable fruit—it could be an orange or a melon. When cut into a wedge, it is hoisted with a paper flag making it look like a boat! Genius, right? I think so, too.  

Picture credit: enthucutlet

**Adult Supervision Required** 

Ingredients 

1 cup water 

3 tbsp of raspberry jelly crystals 

3 oranges 

Method 

To prepare the boat’s base:

Cut each orange in half and scoop out all the segments. Make sure to do this with a butter knife to avoid cutting through the skin.

To prepare the jelly 

• Put the jelly crystals into a saucepan and add 1 cup of water.
• Bring the jelly to a boil and cool slightly.
• Pour the jelly mix into the orange cups and refrigerate.
• Once the jelly has set, cut the half into wedges.
• Finish with a paper flag with a toothpick.
• Serve chilled and devour.

About enthucutlet

enthucutlet is a bimonthly food magazine that tells unusual stories about food in India (and sometimes beyond), and has been conceptualized by Hunger Inc. Hospitality which is responsible for The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro and Bombay Sweet Shop.

enthucutlet aspires to tell fun, unusual, heart-warming, and surprising stories in the vast realm of food in India. Organized into seasons like your favourite shows, each edition of enthucutlet delves into an idea that is thought provoking and is at the centre of all the features in it. These are contributed by a diverse set of writers ranging from economists, to neuroscientists, to food experts and everyone in between.