Watermelon rind is high in fiber, which helps maintain regular bowel movements and prevent disease. The fiber in watermelon also helps keep you full longer and aids in weight loss. It is also a good source of many healthy vitamins and minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron.
Consuming watermelon rind will be beneficial in lowering blood pressure in obese patients as well as helping to provide enough oxygen to the muscles, improving your exercise performance.
Although watermelon rind is very good for health, eating too much can lead to digestive problems, bloating and flatulence.
The white part of the watermelon rind tastes very much like cucumber and can be added to salads. When cooked, the rind tastes similar to cooked carrots. The flavor of the rind is very neutral and can be customized with spices.
Pickled watermelon rind: Instead of eating it raw, you can try pickling the rind and enjoying it as a side dish. For this method, you will peel the rind, wash it, cut it into bite-sized pieces and boil it for a few minutes. Note that you only take the white rind with a thin layer of pink on top and add a little seasoning (to taste).
Add to juice: Watermelon rind can be juiced with other fruits or added to smoothies. You need to balance the amount of watermelon rind when combining with other fruits, do not add too much to avoid affecting the flavor as well as health.
Stir-fried watermelon rind: This method not only adds the necessary crunch but also adds nutritional value to the dish. To make this dish, you will need 520 g of watermelon rind, remove the hard green skin and cut into 1.3 cm thick pieces; 30 g of ghee; 2.5 g of cumin seeds; 5 minced garlic cloves; a little minced ginger; 2.5 g of serrano chili seeds, seeded and minced; 5 g of chili powder; 15 g of coriander powder; 5 g of dried green mango powder; 1.3 g of turmeric powder; 2.5 g of salt; 60 ml of water.
Making:
Melt ghee in a pan over medium heat and add cumin seeds. When cumin starts to crackle, add ginger, garlic and serrano pepper.
After a minute, add chili powder, coriander powder, green mango powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Add watermelon rind and water and mix well.
Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Remove from heat and enjoy.
