Tina's Indian Fruit Salad
This past 4th of July, I was graciously invited to a BBQ at a friend’s house, where I was blown away by my friend, Tina Walia’s, out-of-this world Indian fruit salad. I’d never thought of adding basil and freshly ground cumin and black pepper to a fruit salad, but trust me, these spices are so subtle yet robust when mixed with the sweetness of mandarin juice and honey. I’d also never tasted on my palate before the milder salt of Sendha namak, otherwise known as rock salt, or Himalayan pink salt. But it was the combination of these seasonings with fresh fruit that was utter perfection. For the crisp apple soaks in the uniqueness of this dressing and is paired superbly with the delicateness of mango and berries. This salad has quickly become my staple in the pantry, as it draws out the best of raw fruit. Switch up the fruit in winter by adding more apple and omitting the mango or experiment with your own fruit combination! A big thanks to Tina Walia for this to die for recipe!
Ingredients
- Zest and juice of 1 large Eureka or Meyer lemon
- 2 Honeycrisp or Gala apples
- 2 large Kent mangoes, firm and just ripe, so they hold up
- 2 cups grapes, Tina uses white grapes, but I’ve used red grapes
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- DRESSING:
- ½ cup mandarin juice, I use 2 Orri or Honey mandarins, but Tina uses any
- ¼ t. toasted and ground cumin seeds
- 1 t. honey
- ½ t. rock salt, I use Rani’s Sendha namak from Amazon and Tina uses Kirkland’s Himalayan pink salt
- ¼ t. or 10 grinds of whole black pepper from a mill
- 4 chopped basil leaves
Directions
- Step 1 First, zest the lemon and squeeze its juice into a 2-quart or larger mixing bowl. Next, dice the apples into small cubes and add it to the bowl, coating it with the lemon juice and zest. After this, dice the mangoes into small cubes and add it to the bowl with the apples, but don’t mix. Then, wash and measure out the grapes and berries, adding them to the other fruit, but taking care not to mix.
- Step 2 Now, prepare the dressing. First, squeeze the juice from the mandarins and add it to a separate mixing bowl. Second, toast the cumin seeds in a pan over the stovetop until golden brown. Then, grind the seeds in any type of grinder until it has the consistency of coarse powder. After this, add the ¼ t. of ground cumin to the mandarin juice. Follow this with the rock salt and black pepper. Next, chop the basil and add it to the dressing. Finally, measure out the honey and add it to the bowl, stirring well until the honey is dissolved and all the ingredients are mixed.
- Step 3 Next, pour the dressing over the fruit and gently mix, taking care not to crush the berries. Cover and store in the fridge for 2 hours, if you can, to let the flavors meld. When you serve, scoop out the fruit from the bottom where the dressing has soaked into the fruit. The salad is best if eaten within 1-2 days. Enjoy!
- Step 4 Note: this recipe is copyrighted by Tina Walia.
Tina’s Indian fruit salad showcases an array of unique flavors as an assortment of berries, mango, and apple is seasoned with Himalayan pink salt, toasted cumin, mandarin juice, basil, and black pepper. Try it and see how this recipe brings out the best of fruit!
Nutritional Information: servings per recipe: 8, calories: 157, total fat: 1.7 g., saturated fat: 0.2 g., cholesterol: 0 mg., sodium: 11 mg., total carbohydrate: 37.2 g., dietary fiber: 6.4 g., total sugars: 27 g., protein: 3.6 g., calcium: 149 mg., iron: 5 mg., potassium: 463 mg., vitamin D: 0 mcg.