Monday, July 13, 2009

Watermelon Rind Curry


I know what most of you are thinking......... watermelon in a curry? even saying it seems somehow funny. Mostly I have, in the past always associated watermelon with being one of the most awesome summer fruits and something that I like to have in plenty, on hot days. But when I say watermelon I am not talking about the sweet red fruit portion of the melon, I am talking about the white part of the melon. Have you ever thought about the white part of melon, the one just below the red fruit portion that we normally discard along with the skin and wondered if you can use it in cooking. I have never even spared a thought to that part of the watermelon until I came across this post on Nithya's site.Once I saw that post I was instantly intrigued and I could not resist trying out that part of the melon in my cooking. Cautiously at first I tried a small quantity of it, and when I was sure it tasted nice in savory dishes, I decided to experiment with it and make a curry with it.

I wanted to create a curry that would work well with roti's ( Indian flat bread) but this one would have worked just as well with plain steamed rice too. The curry was both mildly spicy and subtly sweet and the peanut and almond powders gave this curry some texture and a very slight creaminess. A surprising fact about this melon was that it managed to hold its shape even after being cooked, somehow I thought that cooking the melon would turn it into mush. It did not and the curry was really well liked. If you regularly buy this fruit and are in the mood for experimenting try this simple, unique and low fat curry, you may be pleasantly surprised by this one :-)

watermelon curry 3


Ingredients and Method to make watermelon curry
1 large onion cut fine
2 medium tomatoes cut fine ( I used roma variety of tomatoes)
4 cups of white part of watermelon (skinned and cut into 1/2 inch pieces and the fruit part removed)

1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder (or according to taste)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp jaggery powder (or sugar) (optional)

2 tsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds

3 tsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp dry roasted unsalted peanuts (without skin)
1 tbsp almonds

Handful of cilantro (coriander leaves )cut fine (optional)

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. When hot add cumin seeds to it . When the cumin seeds start to splutter and onions and saute until onions are transparent.

Then add tomatoes and saute until tomatoes become soft and mushy.

Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and stir for a few seconds.

Add the cut white part of the melon, salt to taste, sugar (if using) and a little water (about 1/4 cup) and on medium heat let the melon cook.

In the meanwhile powder the roasted unsalted peanuts and almonds in a spice grinder and keep aside.

When the melon is cooked, add powdered peanuts + almond mixture and ketchup to it and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice or roti (Indian flat bread)

Serves approximately 3 to 4

44 comments :

Gita Jaishankar said...

I have never tasted this curry before...I have to try it soon...love the seasonnings on top :)

Unknown said...

thats something really interesting...looks yumm too..

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Looks yummy and lovely ..simple subzi with chappathi i always love this..

Unknown said...

Looks ultra delicious.

kittymatti said...

really innovative...looks yum!

Kalaivani said...

sounds interesting...will try this for sure.

Archana said...

oh wow...my mom makes dosas with the white part of watermelon..this sounds very interesting...made the parrapu podi ver 2 and it was awesome :)

Cynthia said...

I have never tried cooking the rind of watermelon. This dish sounds like a really good idea.

Anonymous said...

me too posted one watermelon subji sometime ago.
chek this

http://www.icookipost.com/post/2007/07/18/Water-Melon-Subji.aspx

ur version looks nice.
thanks
prajusha
www.icookipost.com

Archana said...

Ok, I also tried out your oats dosais and they turned out so good..had that with the molagapodi which is also from your blog...today's breakfast was an 'Usha' breakfast !

Anonymous said...

Usha,even i used to discard the white portion !! what a brilliant idea..I loved the spirit and the photograph says it all !!

Suparna said...

hey usha,
very smart way of using up watermelon this way!! looks very healthy and easy....I'd love it with rotis.
tc

chef and her kitchen said...

hv seen in so many shows using watermelon white part in curries...looks yummy dear..need to try it soon

Nithya said...

This one is really innovative and interesting. And thanks a lot for linking it to my post too. :) Really nice of you.

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Looks yummy. Nice click.

lata raja said...

I'm trying it out right away.Had read in some magazine a while ago about cooking the white part.But just let it go.Wow, the curry looks awesome in that lovely bowl.

lata raja said...

Found your masala peanuts- microwave version and bookmarked. Thanks.

Chitra said...

very innovative..i dont like watermelon but i can have like this:) thanku so much ..!!

Parita said...

New to me, sounds delicious!

Ana Powell said...

Hi Usha
What a great recipe, lovely idea.
Sounds absolutely fantastic x

Vrinda said...

Great idea,never used the white part of watermelon..sounds great and tasty...

dejamo said...

Ok, now this is something I have to try - so clever and frugal! If I have to eat more of that pesky watermelon to get at the delicious rind, then I guess I will have to sacrifice!

It looks delicious.

So does the Mysore Pak. I think I will have to try that sometime soon, too.

dejamo said...

Ok, now this is something I have to try - so clever and frugal! If I have to eat more of that pesky watermelon to get at the delicious rind, then I guess I will have to sacrifice!

It looks delicious.

So does the Mysore Pak. I think I will have to try that sometime soon, too.

Deepthi Shankar said...

this is such a nice recipe ... I'd love to try this

Mangala Bhat said...

Sounds great!will try this sometime soon

Recipeswap said...

This surely is interesting Usha and looks like it will go well with rotis.

Varsha Vipins said...

Ha..now thats one unique dish Usha..Thanks for sharing with us dear..:)

Kitchen Chronicles said...

Wow! Thats a innovative idea to use watermelon. looks nice.

Amy said...

What an absolutely fascinating idea! I love it!

roma said...

hey, I never heard of this one but it looks really interesting...

Preeti Singh said...

looks interesting and different....great hearing for the first time.

Vaishali said...

I have used the watermelon rind in dosas, but a curry? Now that's new to me. Love the idea, though, and can't wait to try it the next time I get some watermelon.

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

THis is such a cool recipe!! We use the white part in a dosa-it adds a lovely flavour to the dosa. It's a sweet dosa and you can use either the white of the watermelon or cucumbers :)

Sum Raj said...

interesting recipe..looks divine..

Laavanya said...

What a neat idea to use the white of watermelon to make a subzi - looks delicious. Does it taste like ash gourd (chinese water melon) ?

Ivy said...

How interesting. I must try it. I made a sweet with the watermelon rind.
http://kopiaste.org/2008/07/karpouzi-glyko-water-melon-spoon-sweet/

soma said...

Very very unique... That would make justice to this awesome fruit.. all of it to be used. I guess it is kind of squashy? I had made chutney with it once.

Unknown said...

u wont believe this....i was eating watermelon and it was so good! i thought to myself if only i did not have to throw this white portion!!!man what a coincidence....i now know what to do with them...i will bookmark ur recipe!

Veda

Myvegfare said...

hi, usha, if i tell u something you won't believe it i too make dry curry out of the water melon portion as i don't buy it here often and not a big portion either i tried making something else out of it, and it is in my draft and i have not posted it yet, i use this like bottle gourd, your presentation is very beautiful, now i have to try dosa out of it as so many have said, & ivy's sweet too...., but then i have made tomato-melon gravy and dry curry but not your version, looks very yummy will try this next time when I buy melon...lovely photo too...

Anonymous said...

You have completely took me by surprise with this dish.. I love the photo, but in my wildest dreams I could never imagine watermelon curry.... WOW

Usha said...

Thanks all of you for visiting and taking the time to leave your warm and encouraging comments.

Arch, the idea of using the rind of watermelon in a dosa sounds very interesting,would love to give it a try sometime. I am so glad you tried version 2 of parappu podi, oats dosai and molaga podi and liked all of them!

Usha said...

Vaishali and Sweta, I am hearing about using the rind in dosas only now and I must say I am intrigued, hope I am able to try that idea out soon. Sweta I would love to see the sweet version of dosa that you mention....

Laavanya I have never tasted chinese watermelon so I am not able to make the comparison, this tasted a bit like white melon with a very slight sweet tinge in its taste.

Usha said...

Ivy, I loved the sweet you made with the rind of watermelon....


Soma, It does resemble squash a little in both appearance and taste but it is not exactly the same. Loved the idea of using this in a chutney too !

Usha said...

Veda I agree this fruit is fantastic and I love to be able to use all of it, do let me know when you try it !

Jayasri, I look forward to seeing your version of this curry soon !

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