How to make Romy Gill’s watermelon salad and spicy cocktail

Thanks to supermarkets, seasonal foods feel like a thing of the past. But watermelon still means only one thing... summer

Add some chilli flakes and serve both nice and chilled (Ros Atkinson)

While growing up in India, the fruits and vegetables that my parents bought to cook were all seasonal, because around 25 years ago that was the only choice people had.

We went markets to buy them, as there weren’t any supermarkets back then. But now, of course, supermarkets are in abundance in India, and you can get all sorts of food anytime of the year, not just when it’s in season.

And because supermarkets are everywhere, those who have grown up with this sort of availability have lost the understanding of what seasonality is and, more importantly, the joys of it.

Back home, the villages are still very much about seasonality, which I love when I go back to my parents’ house.

One of the fruits in season now is watermelon. There are so many ways of making watermelon salad, I have another one in my book Zaika.

Here are few ideas what you can do with watermelon.

Watermelon salad with toasted nigella seeds

1tsp amchur powder (mango powder)
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp chilli flakes 
1tsp toasted nigella seeds 
1 juice of lime and extra thick slices to decorate 
1 small half of water melon diced into chunks 
Handful of fresh mint leaves chopped roughly

In a bowl add the ingredients and toss it properly, cover with a cling film and keep in the fridge to chilli before eating.

This is an easy and fresh drink to serve up in the sun (Romy Gill)

Spicy watermelon cocktail

Serves 2

½ tsp chaat masala 
½ sea salt 
1tsp caster sugar 
1 juice of lime
50ml vodka 
50ml sparkling water 
175g of watermelon diced into chunks 
Handful of fresh mint leaves for decoration on the top

Chill two cocktail glasses in the freezer. Also, keep your watermelon and sparkling water cool in the fridge.

In a blender add chaat masala, juice of lime, sparkling water, vodka and watermelon and blend.

Next, on a plate add the sea salt and sugar. Mix together and take the glasses out of the freezer. Turn them on the mix so it sticks to the rim, add your blended juice and away you go.

Romy Gill is a chef and food writer. Her debut book ‘Zaika’ is available to buy now. Follow her @Romygill