Tangy, Crunchy Watermelon Salad

This watermelon salad is simple to make and only needs a few ingredients! It perfectly balances sweet and sour flavors with a crunchy touch, making it refreshing and ideal for the summers. So let’s talk about some of the ingredients used for this salad.

This recipe uses pomegranate molasses, a condiment common in Middle Eastern cuisines, which you can easily find in stores that carry Middle Eastern grocery itemsIn case you can’t get your hands on it, there are some substitutes I have mentioned below.

Option 1: Mix half cup balsamic vinegar with half tablespoon honey. Give it a good stir and drizzle half of it first. Do a taste test and if needed, you can pour in the remaining amount.

Option 2: Use ready made plum sauce. Not only is it easily available, but has the perfect sweetness too with a bit of tartness.

Option 3: Mix one tablespoon tamarind paste with one tablespoon water and one of teaspoon honey. Do not use more than the specified amount of tamarind paste because it is highly concentrated.

The vinaigrette on its own will taste very sour but as soon as you add it to the salad, the watermelons, cucumbers and onions will absorb the flavors. Mix in the vinaigrette at least 5-10 minutes before serving the salad which is enough time for the flavors to infuse. Don’t mix it too early because the salad will start to release water.

The crunch of this salad comes from the walnuts. Feel free to substitute the walnuts with nuts of your choice such as pecans, slivered almonds, peanuts or even pistachios.

Cucumbers are plentiful especially in summers. For this salad, you can use long English cucumbers or baby cucumbers. Just make sure to dice them smaller than the watermelon; makes it easier to eat.

When using onions, red onions are preferred because they are not as bitter as the white ones and giving them a dip in COLD water removes any traces of bitterness or rawness. In case you don’t have red onions, you can use white onions but let them soak in the COLD water too.

You can take this salad to another level by sprinkling some chaat masala on top!