We cannot emphasise enough on how wonderful and refreshing watermelons are for summers. And who does not love to just slice it up and sprinkle some black salt and devour it. And not just the taste, but the fruit is high on nutrition value. Watermelons being high in water content, helps to keep your body hydrated and cool in summers. It is the quintessential summer snack; one would want to binge on.
And for those who love to experiment, there is an entire world of watermelon recipes out there. From Mexican style watermelon salsa to exciting salads and coolers, here are some recipes for you to try out using watermelon.
Watermelon Bean Chaat
Ingredients: – 2 cups sliced watermelon, ½-1 cup cooked green beans, ½ cup cooked Kabuli channa, ½ cup boiled potato, Salt, Pepper and Coriander dressing.
Method: – In a bowl, add the watermelon chunks, green beans cooked, Kabuli channa, small sliced cubes of potato and mix them well. To make coriander dressing, blend 1/2 cup coriander, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 ice cubes and one teaspoon oil. After the dressing is made, mix it with the salad in the bowl and garnish it with almonds or peanuts.
(Recipe by chef Vicky Ratnani)
Mexican style spicy watermelon salsa
Ingredients: Fine chopped Watermelon – 500 gm, onion – 100 gm, tomato- 100 gm, olives – 50 gm, jalapeños – 50 gm, bell pepper – 50 gm (optional), Baked bean (optional) – 100 gm, fresh tomato puree-200 ml, tomato ketchup- – 100 ml, green chilli – 30gm, mint – 50 gm, coriander – 50 gm, Olive oil – 50 ml and lemon juice – 2 tsp
Seasonings: – Rock salt – some pinches, ground black pepper – pinch, crushed red paprika – 50 gm and crushed green chilli – 50 gm.
Method: – Take a big bowl and put the chopped watermelon and vegetables in it. Add fresh tomato puree and ketchup to it. Stir all the things nicely. Now add some seasonings according to the taste. Add coriander and 3/4 amount of mint leaves, olive oil and lemon juice to the mixture and stir properly. Serve the salsa with nachos/potato chip or roasted Papad.
(Recipe by chef Anshu Raj)
Melon Mary
Ingredients: Fresh watermelon – 200 grams (cut & deseeded), coriander – 4 to 5 leaves, pineapple – 100 grams (peeled & cut), pineapple juice – 50 ml, mint leaves – 4 to 5 leaves, lime juice – 5 ml, cumin powder – 1 pinch, green chilli – for garnish, sugar syrup – 5ml and ice cubes – 5 to 6.
Method: In a blender, blend together the watermelon and mint leaves and strain it. Keep it aside. Later blend the pineapple with ice cubes and strain that as well. Mix together the blended & strained watermelon, pineapple and pineapple juice. Add lime juice, sugar syrup, and cumin powder to the mixture. Refrigerate it for about 30 minutes and garnish it with chilli powder while serving.
