11.7.10

melon dessert

A big bowl of fruit dribbling with minty sweet droplets is just the oasis to revive the senses on these swelteringly hot humid days…

Photobucket

…crunch of the water melon, supple sweetness of honey dew, heady scent of a cantaloupe render into scoops of summer moods, in this deliciously chilled lemony dessert.

The recipe was given in an issue of Good housekeeping when it first started to come out in India, few years ago. Since then we've been making this at least once in the hot season. They suggest cutting the melons into bite sized cubes... I usually scoop the fruit with a melon baller to make it more fun. Either way, they melt in the mouth just as quickly as a crisp fruity sorbet :`)

It was originally meant for garden parties, so large quantities were given for the melons. I’ll write them at the bottom of this post.

Here I’m changing the quantities to the way I make at home. Feel free to use your favorite fruit more than others.


Ingredients
Water melon - 1 small
Cantaloupe or musk melon - 1 small
Honey dew melon - 1 small

for syrup (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
Water - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Mint - 2 cups (coarsely chopped with stems)
Lime/lemon juice - ¼ cup
Lime/lemon zest - 2 tsp

Let sugar dissolve in water completely on med-low heat and then bring it to a boil. This prevents crystallization and the syrup is smooth.
Boil for 5 min. or until syrup thickens slightly. Don't wait until the syrup is ready to form soft balls.

Remove from heat and stir in mint.
Let it cool and refrigerate for about 2 hrs to chill.

Sieve syrup, gently pressing with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
Stir in lime zest and lime juice. Adjust the juice according to the tartness you like.

~You can refrigerate the syrup for up to a week although I've noticed that the flavors were not as intense as when it was fresh.

preparing fruit

Cut the melons into bite size pieces or scoop out with a small melon baller.
Discard seeds.

For scooping, cut the melons in half so that the juices will remain in the half-melon during the process.
To get nice rounds, dig the melon baller into the fruit and twist & rotate it 360 deg. The uneven edges will smooth out.

Cover and refrigerate the fruit for a couple of hours or until you need.

Toss fruit with as much syrup as you like before serving.

Notes:
~If you prep the fruit the day before, melon water seem to collect in the bowl in the meantime. Remove some of this water just before adding the syrup, so that the flavors won’t get diluted.

~A round measuring spoon works as good as a melon baller.

The following quantities are for 30 servings as per the recipe.

Water melon - 1 small or ½ of large (about 4 ½ kg); Honey dew melon - 1 large (2 1/2 kg); Cantaloupes or musk melons - 2 medium (about 1 1/3 kg each)

~ A kilogram (kg) is about 2 pounds & 3 ounces.

Stay cool ( ' u ' )

9 comments:

Stephanie said...

Pretty and yummy. We have mint growing in our yard and I love the coolness of melons. I've never tackled a melon baller but the fruit is prettier round. Thank you for sharing. I'll be making this very soon. I love the fruits of summer.

Sujata Shah said...

Pratima,

You have the best recipes and pictures on your blog. My mouth is watering just looking at this. I am sure we will be making this fruit salad this summer. Yum!!!

Nanette Merrill and daughters said...

My neighbor makes this! She also adds some other fruits (in season sometimes) but this is what she makes her syrup out of, nearly exactly. It is so refreshing. Your photos are lovely.

ashima said...

So beautiful! I am in love with this blog and the lovely posts and pictures described in it. This dish seems heavenly, so cooling and refreshing in the hot summer months. As always, thanks so much for sharing. Happy Eating!

sewplay said...

Oh Pratima, I can feel summer from the other,winter side of the world. Thanks! Kathy

Thanu said...

I just dropped by the blog today and WOW what a lovely post .So apt for the weather. Lovely pics and you know how much I like the use of mellon baller.Thanks Pratima!

Martha said...

I normally don't add sugar to my fruit, but my sister always does. I am going to make this dish for her birthday dinner next month, and she is going to love it! Thanks, Pratima, for another beautiful post.

Candace said...

Ahhh...local melons are now in season and I haven't made something like this for a long time! I think I'll give it a try, Pratima! Thanks for the lovely photos!
Cheers!

ayumills said...

oh that looks so yummy and sweet!!! I am hungry now!