Watermelon is a healthy fruit rich in micronutrients and antioxidants, helps to improve your general health. Now utilize this fruit to boost your general health. (1) Since this fruit can be stored at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, so you should explore the goodness of this fruit during the period of lockdown condition of the total country. Usually, we consume the interior red-colored, sweet portion of the watermelon and discard the white part of the fruit due to its less sweetness and bland taste. But this whiter part of the fruit also has a little sweetness, you may use this part to make your vegetarian recipes more tasteful. During the total locked down period of the country, we should utilize all of our vegetables and fruits in the best possible ways. Different vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes may be prepared using watermelon rind.

Recipe 1: Non-spicy Watermelon Rind/ Peel Curry

Ingredients Required

1. Peels of a medium size watermelon
2. Two medium size potato
3. Any cooking oil (10g)
4. A pinch of black pepper, or fenugreek seeds or panchphoron
5. Salt (as required)
6. Green chillies (3 or 4 according to your taste)
7. Coriander leaves

Preparation

• Remove the outer green part of the peel, take the white part, cut into small pieces.
• Heat mustard oil, add black cumin and 2 dry chillies to the oil.
• Fry potato pieces, add watermelon pieces, fry well, add turmeric powder and salt (as required), cover it.
• If needed, add 1/4^th cup of water, cook for 10 minutes.
• Add green chillies and coriander leaves.
• Switch of the gas, now your curry is ready.

Precautions

• Try to avoid adding water, the curry should be cooked in its own water.
• The curry taste little sweet, so don’t add any sugar to the recipe.
• Instead of black cumin, you may add fenugreek seeds or panchphoron, for introducing variety in your cooking.

Recipe 2: Prawn Curry with Watermelon Rind/ Peels

Ingredients Required

1. Peels of a medium size watermelon
2. Two (2) medium size potato, cut into small pieces
3. Two (2) medium size onion, grated
4. One (1) medium size tomato, puree
5. Small prawns
6. Any cooking oil (10g)
7. Four (4) green chillies
8. Garlic (few cloves)
9. Ginger paste
10. Turmeric powder
11. Red chilli powder
12. Cumin powder
13. Coriander powder
14. Salt (as required)

Preparation

• Wash the prawns, marinate them with salt and turmeric powder.
• Fry the prawns and kept aside.
• Remove the outer green part of the peel, take the white part, cut into small pieces.
• Heat mustard oil, fry potato pieces, add garlic paste, cook for a minute, add grated onion, fry for a minute, add tomato puree, cook for 2 minutes.
• Now add a mixture of ginger paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder, cook for 2-3 minutes till the oil is separated.
• Add 1 cup of water and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add watermelon pieces, and prawns, cook for five minutes.
• Add garam masala powder and switch off the gas, your curry is now ready.
• Serve fresh and hot, yummy prawn curry to your family members.

Precautions

• Don’t fry the prawns at high flame, it will be hard.

Recipe 3: Watermelon Rind/ Peel Jam

Ingredients Required

1. Watermelon rind: 250g
2. Jaggery: 50g
3. Fennel seeds (saunf): one teaspoon
4. cumin seeds (jeera): one teaspoon
5. dry red chillies: 2

Preparation

1. Boil the watermelon rinds, cool them, grind in the grinder without using water.
2. Roast one teaspoon of fennel seeds (saunf), one teaspoon of cumin seeds (jeera) and two dry red chillies, cool them and grind well to make your masala mix.
3. Heat little oil, add the smashed watermelon and jaggery (or sugar), cook at medium flame till it thickens.
4. Now add the freshly prepared masala, mix well and switch off the gas. Cool the jam.
5. Keep the jam in an air-tight glass jar. Store it in the refrigerator.

Precautions

• Don’t overboil the watermelon rind, overboiling of rind degrades the taste of jam.