Here comes another recipe with watermelon rind! Previously I made bhaji with it but this daal turned out to be more delicious than bhaji!

This recipe needs a little bit more spices than usual daal, for example cumin powder, chili powder and cinnamon stick. I have used red lentils (Lens culinaris), but I guess you can use any daal, even beans to make this delicious recipe!

To begin, peel the green skin and then separate all the white parts of watermelon from red parts. A little bit of red parts won’t taste bad but too much will make the daal sweeter. Cut them into 1 inches pieces.

In a deep pan, heat vegetable oil and add whole cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon stick. When they start popping, add some pounded garlic and let it fry for a minute.

Add sliced onion to pan and let them fry til golden brown. Then add watermelon rinds.

Add all dry spices like chili, turmeric and cumin powder to pan. I have added a few green chilies, but if you don’t like it too spicy then you can avoid it. But what is a Bangladeshi food without green chili, right?

Stir cook the watermelon rinds with all spices for 2-3 minutes. This will add a roasted taste to the rinds, as they usually are of neutral taste. As you can see the difference in the picture, rinds get bit translucent after few minutes of stir cooking.

While the rinds are being cooked, wash the lentils 5-6 times and boil them. I did not add any salt or turmeric powder here, because I have already added them to the rinds. Otherwise, it will be too spicy and I really don’t spicy daal.

It’s time to boil the rinds. Add about 100ml of water, not too much but just to cover the rinds under water, so they get cooked and softer. Cover the pot if needed and put the flame in medium low heat. Let them cook for 5-6 minutes.

At this point, add the daal, that has been cooked separately on the other pot. I have added salt before but remember to check salt at this stage because you have added a new ingredients here.

I had not added extra water yet, to ensure proper mixing of spices with daal.

Now add water, depending on how thick or thin you want your daal to taste. I have added around 100ml more, because I like daal with medium thickness.

After cooking for 10 more minutes, the consistency looks like above picture. Note that I did do “phoron” as I do for other daal, because I have added onion and garlic in the very beginning. But of course you can always add extra “phoron.” It will nothing but increase the taste.

Recipe: 4-6 Serving Prepping time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 250g of white parts of watermelon 250g of Red Lentil Spice and Condiments: 20ml Vegetable Oil 1 tsp whole Cumin 1 medium white onion 4-5 Cloves of Garlic 1tbs fine Salt 1tsp Turmeric powder 1tsp Cumin powder 1tsp Chili powder 2-3 green Chili (optional) 1 small bay leaf 1 small Cinnamon stick

Instruction: 1. Heat oil in a wok or skillet. Add whole cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and pounded garlic. When they start popping, add sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Add salt to soften onion. 2. When onions are golden brown, add white parts of watermelon and all the dry spices. Stir well so they are well combined. Continue to cook in a medium heat. 3. Add water to soften the rinds. Cover the pot for 10 minutes so the veggies get softer and cooked. Put them in low heat. 4. Meanwhile wash red lentil 4-6 times and boil them without any spices. 5. When the rinds look half cooked and translucent, add boiled lentil. Check salt and add if needed. 6. Add water to your amount of preference. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Serve with white rice.