July 4th

What a beautiful butt!

Watermelon Chaat

We had our annual July 4^th dinner and viewing. This year the weather really cooperated. It was a warm night and there was no breeze. The viewing of the fireworks was spectacular. They seemed to last longer than usual. Everyone loved it!

The food was a replay of our traditional July 4^th Bar-b-Que. Once again we made Bo Ssam. You can get the recipe on our blog of: May 27, 2016. Click the date to get the recipe.

We made an interesting Pakistani Watermelon Chaat. It was quite flavorful and everyone liked it.

We had Ribs and Brisket from Bludso’s like we do have every year. This time the Brisket was unbelievably tender. Over the next few days I had many wonderful sandwiches for lunch!

We had many additional dishes. Robert and Darrel brought both Dessert and Mac n’ Cheese.

Doshi and Michael also brought contributions.

It was a memorable night!

Watermelon Chaat

New York Times

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)

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

Preparation

1.   Place cubed watermelon in a wide platter with sides or in a large baking or serving dish and spread into a single layer.

2.   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.)

3.   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.