Recipe for Watermelon Rind Curry
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sized watermelon
- 3 Tbsp Organic Ghee
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (available at your local ethnic Indian grocery store)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (available at your local ethnic Indian grocery store)
- 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
- 2-3 serrano or Thai green chilies, split into two
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder (available at your local ethnic Indian grocery store)
- 1 tsp coriander powder (available at your local ethnic Indian grocery store)
- 1/2 tsp Dried raw mango powder (available at your local ethnic Indian grocery store, known as aamchur)
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- Salt to taste
- Fresh mint or cilantro for garnish
- Some water to cook
Method:
- Eat the red juicy sweet part of the watermelon and save the peel. Use a sturdy peeler and peel away the hard green shell and save the whitish part of the melon. (My swivel peeler did the job very well).
- It's okay if you did not get all the red part. Cut the white part in to very small pieces using a chef knife and set aside.
- Heat 1 Tbsp of ghee in a pan and add the onion. When the onion is translucent and well-cooked, let it cool and grind in to a paste in the food processor and set aside
- Heat the remaining ghee and add the cumin seeds and fennel seeds
- When fragrant in about a minute, add the garlic, ginger and green chilies
- After 3 minutes, add the watermelon rind, turmeric powder and 2-3 Tbsp of water. Close and cook on low heat until the watermelon rind is soft, around 15 minutes
- After the rind is soft, add the coriander powder, dried mango powder, garam masala and salt to taste and stir for a minute
- Add the onion paste, stir and cook for 5 more minutes and switch off
- Serve garnished with some tender fresh mint leaves or chopped cilantro