Not Tajín — Watermelon Is Worth Every Bite When Paired With This Spice

Whether you're cutting it into cubes, triangles, or sticks, watermelon is terrific any way you slice it. Its substantial texture and subtle natural sugars also make it particularly conducive to all kinds of flavor enhancements. Tajín, the tasty mix of arbol, pasilla, and guajillo chiles, plus lime and sea salt, has long been among among the fruit's favorite toppings. Another seasoning is also great for a little bit of variety: chaat masala.

Chaat masala is a classic Indian spice mix that you find on all manner of street food treats, such as sev puri. Chaat masala recipes can diverge, but one can expect to find components such as dried mango, tamarind, chili, ginger powder, mint, cumin, coriander, ajwain, salt, and pepper. These dynamic items happen to complement cool, sweet, juicy watermelon. You can give it all a taste with as little as a shake, or underscore some of chaat masala's elements with a few more low-lift, but still impactful, pairings.

The simplest way to enjoy watermelon with chaat masala is to cut the former into your preferred shape, shake on some of the latter, and taste. This also provides a baseline for other great ingredients you might want to introduce. Emphasizing chaat masala's existing components is a delicious place to start. Mixing watermelon with mango enhances the sweetness of it all, for example, and a few fresh sprigs of mint makes it all seem even more icily refreshing. The crowning shower of chaat masala further ties it all together.

There are also plenty of ways to lean into chaat masala's more savory side. The salty, squeaky halloumi you might skewer and grill with watermelon chunks gains even more warmth and depth thanks to chaat masala's notes of cumin and chili. You can also split the difference and garnish it with a bit of the mint that also amplifies the freshness of chaat masala's coriander. Narrowing in on even a few of chaat masala's building blocks always helps you construct a satisfying final product.