Tarbuj er Khosar r Chutney / Watermelon rind Chutney

 

As summers are in, markets too are flooded with summer fruits. Watermelon is one such favourite fruit that is enjoyed and eaten during this season... types of watermelon salads, watermelon drinks, watermelon popsicles etc are made using the inner part of the watermelon... similarly the white part of the watermelon or the watermelon rind is equally used to make Sabji, Spicy Chutney to go with Dosa, sweet dish etc, as the watermelon rind too has its health benefits. 

I am sure many of us Bengali’s will  relate to this ‘Shesh pate mishti Chutney chara Bhat khaaoa shesh hoi na.’ It means that if there is no sweet Chutney at the end of the meal, then the meal is not completed. 

We have varieties of Chutneys that we enjoy throughout the year, tomato chutney, pineapple chutney, mango chutney, raw papaya Chutney, Elephant apple Chutney etc...

Today we will make Tarbuj er Khosar r Chutney, Chutney from watermelon rind, a love from my kitchen. This Chutney is scrumptious... I am sure you will like this recipe too.. Enjoy this Chutney with your main meals or with Puri or Parotta for breakfast. 

Ingredients 

6 cups - Small cubes of Watermelon rind 

Juice of 3 medium size Lemons 

1 tbsp grated Ginger 

6 cups Sugar 

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Chilli flakes 

1/2 tsp Kalonji / Nigella seeds

2 Bay leaves 

Method 

Take a big pot, dry roast the bay leaves and kalonji  on a low flame until there is a lovely aroma. Add in the watermelon rind, sugar, ginger, chilli flakes, salt and lemon juice. Stir and cook all the ingredients on a low to medium  flame. Let it simmer, stir occasionally and cook until the sugar has become thick syrupy. Once done cool the Chutney down, the chutney will become more thicker,  store the chutney in a dry glass jar. Keep the chutney in the fridge and enjoy this with your main meals, Puri or Parotta for breakfast . This chutney will stay for 2 to 3 months. 

Watermelon Rind Muthiya / Tarbuze Chal Na Muthiya

Watermelon Rind Muthiya  / Tarbuze Chal Na Muthiya   

As we talk of zero wastage... here is an interesting traditional Gujarati snack recipe with grated watermelon rind. Muthiya can be had steamed or fried. It’s a delicious, healthy and a filling dish. It’s perfect to enjoy with an evening cup of chai..

Ingredients 

1 cup Grated Watermelon Rind

1 tsp Ginger and Green Chilli paste 

1 tsp Lime Juice 

1 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves 

Few Curry Leaves

1/2 cup Whole Wheat flour 

1/2 cup Chickpea Flour

1/4 cup Fine Semolina 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

2 pinches of Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Asafoetida

1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/2 tsp Sesame Seeds

3 tsp Oil 

Method 

Take a bowl, add the grated watermelon rind, whole wheat flour, semolina, chickpea flour, ginger - chilli paste, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, lemon juice, sugar, coriander, baking soda, salt and 1 tsp of oil. Knead the ingredients into a soft dough. Keep it aside for 5 minutes. Apply oil on the palms and divide the mixture into 2 portions. Shape each portion into a cylindrical roll. Arrange the rolls on a greased sieve and steam in a steamer for 20 minutes. Once done, insert a toothpick and check. Remove and cool the muthiya,  cut the rolls into slices and keep aside. For the tempering, heat the remaining oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, sesame seeds and asafoetida and sauté it for few seconds. Add the muhiya pieces and toss them for a minute. Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve it hot. 

Watermelon Rind Barfi / Tarbuje ka Chelka ka Barfi

In this lock down state we should try to keep our mental state healthy, the best way is to keep ourselves busy and work on hobbies we love. We also have to eat proper food, since the whole family is at home, we need to make some delicious dishes that our family will enjoy.... Keeping in mind that simple ingredients which are easily available should be used, zero wastage policy should be taken into consideration. Try to use the complete vegetable including the vegetable peel and transforming the leftover meals into delicious recipes. 

There are many vegetable peels that can be eaten and can be made into delicious snacks or vegetable or sweets... like we can make Chutney out of the peel of bottle gourd, pointed gourd, ridged gourd, raw banana, water melon rind, peas etc. In Bengal we have many types of bata / mash  that are made with different vegetable peels like raw banana, pointed gourd, cauliflower stem etc. 

Some delicious fritters/ fry can be made with peels of bottle gourd, potatoes, water melon rind etc. Some sweet dishes too can be created with the peels of watermelon and green peas like candy, Halwa, barfi or kheer. Today we will make water melon rind Barfi... 

Ingredients 

Grated Watermelon Rind from 1 medium size Water Melon 

1/2 cup or as required Sugar

1/4 cup Water + Juice extracted from the grated Watermelon rind 

1/2 cup Milk 

2 Pinch of Salt 

1/2 tsp Cardamom powder 

2 tbsp Milk Powder

2 tbsp Almond and Pistachio flakes 

Few Saffron strands

Method 

Squeeze out the juice from the water melon rind. Add water, juice of grated water melon rind and sugar in a pan. In few minutes add salt and let the liquid simmer for a minute. Add 2 tbsp milk and continue to simmer. Strain the liquid out and pour the liquid back into the pan and let it continue to simmer until one string is formed. Add the water melon rind into the sugar syrup and continue to cook on low flame until the ingredients changes it’s colour to golden brown. Add the milk, cardamom powder, milk powder, few saffron strands and 1 tbsp of almond - pistachio flakes into watermelon rind. Continue to stir and cook on low flame until all the ingredients form into a lump. Pour in the mixture into a greased square mould, level the barfi evenly. Sprinkle the remaining saffron, almond and pistachio flakes. Leave the mixture to cool down. Cut the barfi into square pieces and serve them.