Matira curry: A sweet and spicy watermelon dish with summertime roots
The following has been reprinted, with permission, from Monsoon: Delicious Indian Recipes for Every Day and Season.
Matira Curry (Red Watermelon Curry)
By Asma Khan
If you can add feta to watermelons and make a salad, you can add chillies and make this quintessentially Rajasthani dish. In an arid and parched land, the people living in the desert of Rajasthan found ways to survive the harsh summer months where very little vegetation grew. The matira curry was a clever way to use the one ingredient that was locally available in abundance–watermelon. My father's family originally came from Rajasthan and I remember my great grandmother telling me that the hotter the dry, scorching wind blew in the desert, the sweeter the watermelons got! The dish has a sweet and spicy flavour. It can be served as part of a barbecue menu and is a great accompaniment to any meal.
Ingredients
4 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
4 dried whole chillies (medium heat), broken in half
4-cm (1½-in) fresh root ginger, finely grated
½ tsp ground turmeric
150g (5½oz) watermelon, juiced; plus 600–750g (1lb 5oz–1lb 10oz), cubed
1½ tsp salt
2 tsp sugar (any type)
4 tbsp lime juice
fresh mint, to garnish optional
Preparation
Warm the oil in a karai or wok over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, then the broken chillies followed by the grated ginger and turmeric. Immediately add the watermelon juice and stir. Add the salt and sugar, then bring to a low rolling boil. When the juice has reduced by a third, add the watermelon cubes and cook for 4–5 minutes. Stir well, then taste and adjust the seasoning, adding lime juice for acidity.
If you like, you can serve the curry garnished with fresh mint (this would not have been available in summer in Rajasthan, but I like the combination of mint and watermelon).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
11 hours ago
- CBC
Matira curry: A sweet and spicy watermelon dish with summertime roots
Of course, there's no bad time of year to make a curry like this, but what better time than when watermelons abound? As Asma Khan notes in her cookbook, Monsoon: Delicious Indian Recipes for Every Day and Season, matira curry is a sweet and spicy dish with roots in the summers of Rajasthan in northwestern India. Plus it's a straightforward recipe, which delivers a lot of flavour with little effort — another reason to reach for it on the longest of days. The following has been reprinted, with permission, from Monsoon: Delicious Indian Recipes for Every Day and Season. Matira Curry (Red Watermelon Curry) By Asma Khan If you can add feta to watermelons and make a salad, you can add chillies and make this quintessentially Rajasthani dish. In an arid and parched land, the people living in the desert of Rajasthan found ways to survive the harsh summer months where very little vegetation grew. The matira curry was a clever way to use the one ingredient that was locally available in abundance–watermelon. My father's family originally came from Rajasthan and I remember my great grandmother telling me that the hotter the dry, scorching wind blew in the desert, the sweeter the watermelons got! The dish has a sweet and spicy flavour. It can be served as part of a barbecue menu and is a great accompaniment to any meal. Ingredients 4 tbsp vegetable oil ½ tsp cumin seeds 4 dried whole chillies (medium heat), broken in half 4-cm (1½-in) fresh root ginger, finely grated ½ tsp ground turmeric 150g (5½oz) watermelon, juiced; plus 600–750g (1lb 5oz–1lb 10oz), cubed 1½ tsp salt 2 tsp sugar (any type) 4 tbsp lime juice fresh mint, to garnish optional Preparation Warm the oil in a karai or wok over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, then the broken chillies followed by the grated ginger and turmeric. Immediately add the watermelon juice and stir. Add the salt and sugar, then bring to a low rolling boil. When the juice has reduced by a third, add the watermelon cubes and cook for 4–5 minutes. Stir well, then taste and adjust the seasoning, adding lime juice for acidity. If you like, you can serve the curry garnished with fresh mint (this would not have been available in summer in Rajasthan, but I like the combination of mint and watermelon).
National Post
2 days ago
- National Post
Tibetan exiles celebrate Dalai Lama's 90th birthday
Tibetan exiles gathered in India's hillside town of Dharamshala on Monday to celebrate the 90th birthday of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, according to a Tibetan calender.
CBC
27-06-2025
- CBC
Investigators analyzing black box data from fatal Air India crash
Social Sharing Investigators have begun analyzing data extracted from the black boxes of the ill-fated Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed on June 12, killing at least 270 people, India's Civil Aviation Ministry said on Thursday. The data is crucial as it will help shed light on the cause of the country's worst aviation disaster in recent memory. A team led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started looking at the data with support from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the ministry said in a statement. "These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences," it said. Indian investigators recovered the black boxes from the wreckage site in the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad, a couple of days after the London-bound Air India flight 171 struck a residential area minutes after takeoff. The crash killed 241 people onboard and at least 29 on the ground. There was one survivor. The black box is one of the most important pieces of forensic evidence following a plane crash. There are typically two sturdy devices: the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. They're typically orange, not black. Indian authorities flew the black boxes from Ahmedabad to the national capital in an Indian Air Force aircraft amid tight security early this week. The investigation could take weeks or months. India set up a state-of-the-art laboratory in New Delhi in April to help the AAIB repair damaged black boxes and retrieve data to enhance the accuracy of investigations. A multidisciplinary team led by AAIB director general GVG Yugandhar is probing the Air India crash with assistance from aviation and air traffic control specialists and experts from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The Indian government has also set up a separate, high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash and formulate procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future. The committee is expected to file a preliminary report within three months. Following the crash, Indian authorities had ordered deeper checks of Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners to prevent future incidents. Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet. Inspection has been completed for at least 26, while four were undergoing long-term maintenance. The rest were expected to finish the safety checks soon.
