Category: Uncategorized
Self Portrait
Our Lily Of The Valley
Watermelon Chaat
Cool salad for a hot summer’s day. So refreshing!
I found this recipe in the New York Times. The reporter writes:
“This recipe for watermelon chaat, a savory fruit salad dressed in toasted cumin and dried mango powder, comes from Malika Ameen, a cookbook author whose Pakistani-American family in Chicago makes infinite variations on fruit chaat in the summer. You could swap out the watermelon for a mix of what’s in season, whether it’s stone fruit, berries or cubed apple and pear. It’s an ideal dish to break the fast during Ramadan, full of flavor and hydrating, and quick to put together.”
Ingredients
- 2 pounds watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¾ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon amchur powder (dried green mango) (I didn’t use this.)
- Pinch of cayenne pepper (a generous pinch if you like heat)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 orange, clementine or mandarin, juiced to make approximately 1/3 cup juice
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper
- 3 to 4 fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced (I used Chocolate mint.)
- 1 small cucumber, halved, seeded, thinly sliced (My addition.)
- 5 pieces of dried mango, thinly sliced (My addition.)
Preparation
- Place cubed watermelon in a wide platter with sides or in a large baking or serving dish and spread into a single layer.
- In a small pan, toast whole cumin seeds on medium heat for 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove and coarsely grind with a mortar and pestle. (You can also grind in a spice grinder, but be sure not to grind to a fine powder as the coarse grains of the spice add a wonderful texture.)
- Transfer cumin to a small bowl and add all remaining spices and salt. Add citrus juice, jalapeño and mint and mix well. Pour dressing over cubed watermelon and mix to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 1 to 6 hours. Serve chilled the same day.
Rhododendron
A Sunday Sermon: A Recipe for Self-Improvement
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful.
2 Peter 1:8
Recommended Reading:2 Peter 1:3-8
Aldous Huxley, the twentieth-century British author, said, “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”
What area of your life do you want to improve? Just take a moment and think about that. In what area would you most like to grow? With God’s help, you can improve your one corner of the universe. What it really takes is the power of God in our lives, and there is a passage of Scripture on this very subject.
The apostle Peter wrote, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness…. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness… knowledge… self-control… perseverance… godliness… mutual affection… love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive” (2 Peter 1:3-8, NIV).
God will do His part (“His divine power has given us”), but we must also do our part and “make every effort.” Find an area of your life to improve, and start right now.
~From Turning Points Magazine & Devotional