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This recipe for watermelon chaat, a savory fruit salad dressed in toasted cumin and dried mango powder, comes from Malika Ameen, a cookbook author whose Pakistani-American family in Chicago makes infinite variations on fruit chaat in the summer. You could swap out the watermelon for a mix of what's in season, whether it's stone fruit, berries or cubed apple and pear. It's an ideal dish to break the fast during Ramadan, full of flavor and hydrating, and quick to put together. —Tejal Rao

Ingredients

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

• 2 pounds watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes
• ¾ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon amchur powder (dried green mango)
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (a generous pinch if you like heat)
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 orange, clementine or mandarin, juiced to make approximately ⅓ cup juice
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper
• 3 to 4 fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Place cubed watermelon in a wide platter with sides or in a large baking or serving dish and spread into a single layer.
2. In a small pan, toast whole cumin seeds on medium heat for 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove and coarsely grind with a mortar and pestle. (You can also grind in a spice grinder, but be sure not to grind to a fine powder as the coarse grains of the spice add a wonderful texture.)
3. Transfer cumin to a small bowl and add all remaining spices and salt. Add citrus juice, jalapeño and mint and mix well. Pour dressing over cubed watermelon and mix to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 1 to 6 hours. Serve chilled the same day.

variations:

• add cucumber cubes, avocado slices and pomegranate seeds for crunchy texture
• add black salt
• puree to make a refreshing cold soup topped with Greek yoghurt and minced cilantro
• add chopped mango and a small hit of black salt
• sub sumac for amchur
• Cut any fruit / dump on a few spoons of “chunky chaat masala.” The end.

source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018775-watermelon-chaat

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

• 47 calories
• 0 grams fat
• 0 grams saturated fat
• 0 grams monounsaturated fat
• 0 grams polyunsaturated fat
• 12 grams carbohydrates
• 1 gram dietary fiber
• 9 grams sugars
• 1 gram protein
• 99 milligrams sodium