With the kind of heat we have been having in Austin, finding different ways to keep cool goes beyond tons of ice in our drinks. We need to figure out how to make our food cool and tasty which is a big problem for me. I come from a long time 'Khana garam garam kahan chahiye' (Food should be eaten when its hot). In India, growing up salads were an accompaniment/appetizer to the main course of curry,dal,rice and roti and it was mainly cut cucumbers,tomato and onion in salt and lemon juice. Moving the united states introduced me to 15 dollar salads for lunch with a variety of things thrown in together with leafy greens. Its taken some time to warm up but now i enjoy salads in different forms and sometimes even as a complete meal.
This watermelon and feta salad is a beautiful balanced tasting plate, with a wonderful mint and chaat masala dressing to freshen up every bite. Chaat masala is a wonderful wholesome spice that i grew up with back home. Its closest equivalent is Tajin, eaten with many mexican fruits and veggies. This masala is sour and salty and livens anything sweet or savory with a pop. Eating a pinch on its own leaves your brain with a literall 'PING!!!' and a need to get another pinch. Its often sprinkled on top of street food, eaten with fresh fruits and added to yoghurt raita. If you have never tried some before, i definitely recommend getting your hands on some from your closest ethinic food/indian food store. Here is an excellant article by Priya Krishna from Bon Appetit about Chaat masala to understand more about its flavor profile.
Ingredients:
1 small watermelon - cubed. ( I used the watermelon as the salas dish, you can too it feels pretty cool to eat out of 😎)
Feta cheese - cubed. ( I used full fat feta cheese block cubed into tiny sqaures)
Mint and Chaat Masala dressing:
25-30 mint leaves
Extra virgin Olive Oil
Chaat Masala 1-2 tsp ( Is this is your first time using Chaat masala, err on the side of caution and use 1 tsp first )
1/2 lemon juice
Recipe:
Use a blender to make the mint and chaat masala dressing. I used my mortar and pestle since it was a small quantity.
Mix watermelon and feta cheese in a bowl.
Generously drizzle with dressing.
Add few mint leaves plus chaat masala for garnish
Enjoy 😊