Enjoy this simple, under 30 minutes, gluten-free, vegan Indian recipe with watermelon rind. It pairs well as a simple home meal with ghee parathas or steamed rice.
How did we land at this watermelon rind sabji?
One of the best things about moving is you get to start over, well if not all things some still make a difference, something new. The not so great part is the packing and unpacking. Thankfully this time we were a bit smarter and managed our food stock better. This meant we did not have hungry arguments on who is responsible for what!!
Coming back to the point, we were thirsty in the move and the summer hear that we bought a medium-sized watermelon. Little did we think that our refrigerator was still not functional! So this meant we had watermelon as snacks and at breakfast. I certainly cannot stand wasting the rinds. The rind, therefore, had to show up at dinner as a simple sabji.
Ingredients for this recipe
Tempering- the recipe is a very simple Indian home-style one. So we start off with a tbsp of oil, cumin and curry leaves. I love the flavour of fried curry leaves.
Base masala ingredients- The common ingredients in most Indian recipes are the ones here as well. Onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes that are chopped and sauteed with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and basic curry powder.
Watermelon rind- the often discarded watermelon rind is delightful to make this low-calorie sabji. The slight sweet bits of this watermelon add so much flavour to this recipe. Chop, grate or mince to use in this sabji based on the options you have.
Broccoli – I love to add a bit of green to this recipe and the quick-cooking broccoli florets were the perfect addition. If you are not a fan, that’s alright! make the sabji without it. It is still very tasty.
Crushed peanuts – the last addition to this recipe is crushed peanuts. This gives more creaminess and thickness to this curry than a runny gravy.
Watermelon rind sabji
Equipment
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 measuring cups and spoons
- 1 frying pan
Ingredients
For the curry base
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 pinch Asafoetida
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger root grated
- 1 small Onion chopped or minced
- 1 large Tomato
- salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp curry powder ( I have used indian curry powder)
For main ingredient
- 1/2 large watermelon rind keep skin intact if you prefer.
- 10-12 florets broccoli
To garnish
- 1/4 cup peanuts roasted and crushed
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves optional
Instructions
- Wash and peel the watermelon rind ( if you prefer to keep the green part, leave it on)
- Grate or finely chop this rind and set it aside.
- Mince the garlic and ginger.
- Chop the onions and tomatoes.
- Into the frying pan , on medium heat, add the oil and the cumin seeds ( jeera).
- Once they start sizzling add the asafoetida, curry leaves and let them fry.
- Add the garlic, ginger and onions and saute it will.
- Now add the tomatoes. Cover and cook for two minutes so the tomatoes will soften.
- To this add the masala powders and salt.
- Mix well and saute till the raw smells vanish and the tomatoes soften into a pulp.
- Add the chopped watermelon rind and broccoli to this and mix well.
- Sprinkle a bit of water, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Mix the curry well and simmer till the watermelon rinds are fully cooked.
- Now add the peanuts and coriander leaves.
- Mix well and the curry is ready to serve.
Notes
Quick tips to make this watermelon rind sabji recipe perfect.
The masala base– you can certainly improve the masala base by using slow-cooked buna masala to replace the quick version that I have used here. This gives depth to the flavour and fantastic fiery colour.
The rind -it is not really necessary to remove the green exterior skin. The green skin cooks really well if you slow cook it. However, I chose to remove it here. Instead of chopping the rind, you can grate it too. This gives a smoother sabji.
The nuts- choose the nuts you like to add to the recipe. Certainly, they add creaminess and nutritional value, but the taste will change a bit in what you choose. You can make this recipe nut-free as well for a lighter version.
Fresh herbs- you can finish off this recipe with a touch of fresh herbs like cilantro or mint. I haven’t added any as it was tasty by itself and I did not want to have another run to the store.
Other watermelon rind recipes on this blog.
Watermelon skin thogayal – Meal prep friendly chutney that doubles up as a side for steamed rice.
Watermelon rind and kidney bean stew – Winter perfect stew with Kidney beans and melon rinds is a tasty slow cook one that is perfect with mashed potatoes or bread.
Varutharacha Watermelon rind kootu curry – This Kerala style nonspicy recipe is perfect with steamed rice and freezer friendly.
When it comes to smoothies, we never discard the rind. Rather blend it smooth as we have in watermelon cherry smoothie or the watermelon basil sherbet.
Stay connected
When you make this watermelon rind sabji, let us know what you like about them in the comments. We are always all ears to hear your reviews, twists and turns. While you are here, do subscribe to get updates as regular as we can post them for you. Tag us @mildlyindian or #mildlyindian with your version of these recipes on all your social media accounts.
See you at the next post.
Waiting to get watermelon during summer to try out this watermelon rind sabji. Anyway with the way food prices are rising, this is an excellent recipe to use the healthy and nutritious rind.
I always think to make watermelon rind but have never tried, will surely try your recipe this time.
Wow, what a unique and delicious sabji this is with watermelon rind. We loved all the flavors in this amazing dish.
I had heard of the watermelon rind sabji a while back. This time after seeing your recipe decides to try it. And it came out unbelievably good. I am never growing away the rind anymore.