Using Watermelon Whites

With each grocery trip being like returning from a war-zone, there's a new found respect for food! A good fallout of the pandemic is that people are rethinking their food habits and ways to maximize the output from fruits and vegetables. 

As you grow conscious about what you toss in the bin, you start wondering about how it could have been avoided in the first place.

Eating a watermelon means dealing with a ton of rinds. While I haven't ventured to experiment with the outer rind yet, the whites below the rind have been looking at me with imploring eyes. I don't have the heart to toss them in the bin, even if it's the compost bin!

My Mom makes a curry with the white parts but I'm not a big fan of this curry. So I was on a lookout for other uses. 

The green of the rind goes to the compost bin. Pic courtesy: Pixabay

Watermelon Whites

I figured out that if the whites could be blended in a gravy or paste, that would be good. I decided to add them to a lentil pancake batter. 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients : 

Moong daal (small yellow lentil) - 1 cup

Watermelon whites - 2 cups

Tomato - 1 medium

Onion - 1/2 

Coriander - A fistful along with stalks

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic (optional) - 3-4 cloves

Green chillies (optional) - 1-2

Lemon juice - Half a lemon

Spices - Red chilly powder, cumin seeds, salt, amchoor (raw mango powder) or lemon juice.

Watermelon whites added to lentils to make a savory pancake (dosa)

Way To Go:

1. Wash the lentils well and soak for at least 2-3 hours. You can soak them overnight too. Blend all the ingredients together. You can add more watermelon whites or water to make a consistency like pancake batter. Taste the batter and adjust spices.
2. When the griddle is hot, season it with some oil. Pour the mix on hot griddle. Keep it on medium-high flame. Flip the pancake when well done from one side. Let it sauté lightly on the other side. 
3. When done, enjoy it hot with ketchup or a dip of your choice. 

The watermelon whites made the batter very light and fluffy. I loved the fact that the volume of the batter went up without a change in taste. 

Here are some other ideas to use watermelon whites.

Add whites to a:

1. Smoothie

2. Soup

3. Dip or Chutney

4. Lasagna

5. Pasta sauce, Pasta veggies

6. Daal or Sambar

7. Paav Bhaji

8. Dough

9. Curry

Tips:
1. You can refrigerate or freeze the whites, because chances are that you won't be able to use them all at once. 

If you use the whites in some other way, do let me know. 

Till then, cheerio!