Curried Watermelon

This is an easy to do and complex in flavour watermelon curry from Rajasthan.
The flavour is earthy due to the cumin and coriander, with a hint of heat from the chilli - but once you bite into the melon chunks there is this great burst of sweetness and juiciness - a great combo and a real surprise.

The colour is spectacular, I wish the photos reflected it.

Above, served with a Goan Pork curry with a simple lentil dahl.

This is a great dish, in particular a great, unusual and interesting side for big BBQ's.
It only takes about 20 minutes to do.

Inspired again by the great Camellia Panjabi whose inspiring and definitive  book  '50 great curries of India' introduces accessible Indian food in all its glorious regional variety. 

What also surprised me was how easy it is to reheat - and if done gently the watermelon will retain its bite and form without turning into mush. Harder than you think!

Pretty straight forward - this will easily yield 8 large portions
You will need
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1/4 of a water melon
1&1/2 teaspoons of chilli powder
Pinch Turmeric powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Coriander powder
Crushed and pureed Garlic - good Teaspoon.
Salt 

Teaspoon of Cumin seeds
Ghee, Coconut oil or oil (I used coconut for this - made it vegan)
2 - 3 teaspoons lime juice

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De-seed the melon as best as you can
Chop up the flesh of the watermelon into good sized chunks - about 4cm/1.5 inch chunks.

Take about a cup of the chunks and blend them  to a liquid with the chilli, turmeric, garlic and salt to taste.

Now heat the oil in a wok or pan, when its hot chuck in the cumin seeds and sizzle them for about 20 seconds. It gives the oil the earthy flavour.
Add the blended watermelon and spice mix - bring to a simmer and leave sit for about 5 minutes.

Then reduce heat, add the watermelon chunks, spooning over or tossing the chunks gently in the juice.

Add the lime juice about 2 minutes from the end.

Serve and enjoy.

Please feel free to comment or leave feedback - I really appreciate the effort.

Just for fun - how to open a coconut, first take (more about that later)
Thanks to Brian for the camera work