Watermelon curry, an ultra-light recipe that you should try before the summer is over
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Total: 20 min Diners: 4
Don’t think I’ve lost my mind in my eagerness to share with you easy, light, healthy and delicious recipes, I wish I had come up with the idea of cooking a watermelon with a mixture of curry spices.
The result is as surprising as delicious, an explosion of flavors in the mouth, sweet, salty, sour and spicy, but at the same time refreshing and, as an added value, it is a very light recipe with very few calories. Can you ask for more from a seasonal recipe?
The recipe I propose is inspired by the one that appears in the book “50 great curries of India” by Camellia Panjabi, a recipe that, according to the author, is popular in Rajasthan, a state in northern India with a desert climate in which during the summers reach very high temperatures and in which, as in the past it was not easy to get products from other regions, they cooked with what they had on hand as, for example, watermelon.
Watermelon curry can be served as a side dish or as a dish in itself accompanied by white rice, ideally basmati rice.
Nutritional properties of watermelon
About watermelon, the Spanish Nutrition Foundation says that “although according to Regulation 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims on foods no nutrient can be highlighted as &quo;source”source”of nutrition and health properties.ldquo;source” or “high content”, it can be highlighted in watermelon a contribution of potassium and vitamin A, which contributes to the total diet.”
“Watermelon is highly appreciated for being refreshing and rich in water and salts. Specifically, it is the fruit that contains the greatest amount of water (95% of its weight), so it has a low energy content and, in general, few nutrients, although it contains appreciable amounts of various vitamins and minerals.”
“The most notable in its composition is its content in carotenoids without provitamin activity (lutein and lycopene), among which lycopene stands out, since it is found in a high amount, this food being one of the main dietary sources of the phytochemical (2,454 µg/100 g of edible portion).”
How to make watermelon curry
Ingredients
Ingredients
Watermelon, 1/2 Vegetable oil, 2 tbsp Whole cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp Madras curry, 1 tbsp (*) Lime, 1 Coconut chips, 30 g Salt Fresh coriander or fresh mint
(*) For convenience, I have used a ready-made curry mix, but if you prefer you can use a mix made by you like the one suggested by Camellia Panjabi in the recipe in the book which contains ground red chili, turmeric, coriander powder, garlic puree and salt.
Step 1
In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat with the cumin seeds until they begin to release their aroma.
Step 2
Crush a quarter of the watermelon and mix it with the Madras curry spice mix.
Step 3
Add the mixture from the previous step to the pan and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until reduced by about half.
Step 4
Add the juice of half a lime and the desiccated coconut chips. We give a few turns to mix everything, but without overcooking because we do not want the coconut to soften excessively, but still maintain that little crunchy spot.
Step 5
Add the rest of the diced watermelon, mix well to soak in the spice sauce and leave on low heat for about five minutes.
Step 6
Serve immediately over a bed of basmati rice, sprinkle with a few drops of lime juice and top with some fresh coriander or mint leaves.
Extra bonus
If there is any leftover, it is not advisable to reheat it, but it is not necessary because it is also delicious cold. If you also trituráis it when, the result is a cold soup addictive and with fewer calories than a gazpacho.
