One of the first things that caught food critic Todd Kliman’s attention at Ananda was this watermelon-and-feta salad—and not just because it was an unexpected dish to find at an Indian restaurant. Making it at home, we fell in love with it too, although it took some improv in the kitchen. If you don’t have a juicer (our tester didn’t), you can easily muddle the watermelon through a sieve to extract its juice. Juicing the green chilies was a bit trickier—we handled the job by carefully working them through a garlic press.
The restaurant’s version of the salad calls for an elegant, dinner party-worthy presentation. But the salad is just as delicious in tossed form, with chunks of watermelon and crumbles of feta.
Serves 4
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
4 tablespoon fresh watermelon juice
2 green chilies, juiced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch Himalayan salt
1 seedless watermelon
12 ounces feta cheese, cut into ½” x 1” x 3” pieces
20 roasted pistachios, crushed
1 small bunch baby watercress
1 small bunch baby radish sprouts
In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, watermelon juice, chili juice, olive oil, and salt. Set aside.
Cut the watermelon into small cylinders (the restaurant has a tool for this, but you can use a circle-shaped cookie cutter). Drizzle the dressing on each plate. Lay the watermelon over the dressing, and place the feta pieces on top. Sprinkle pistachios over the feta and watermelon and garnish with watercress and radish sprouts.
