Recipe: Casaba melon with creamy sweet curry

Dietitian's tip: Sweet curry is made from a blend of ground spices. Combined with yogurt, it makes a light creamy sauce that perfectly complements ripe, juicy melon.

Low sodium = no more than 140 mg of sodium per serving

SERVES 6

Ingredients

For the sauce
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dark honey
1 teaspoon garam masala or 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves and a pinch of ground nutmeg

1 large casaba, cantaloupe or honeydew melon
Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Directions

To make the sweet curry cream, whisk together the yogurt, lemon zest and juice, honey, and garam masala or spice mixture in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Halve the melon, and using a spoon, remove and discard the seeds. Using a melon baller, scoop out the melon flesh and place it into a large bowl.

Just before serving, place 1 cup melon balls in each individual bowl. Spoon about 2 tablespoons curry cream over each serving and garnish with the fresh mint. Pass the remaining sauce at the table.

Nutritional Analysis

(per serving)

Serving size: About 1 cup melon and 1/6 of the sauce
Calories	118	Cholesterol	2 mg
Protein	5 g	Sodium	53 mg
Carbohydrate	26 g	Fiber	2.5 g
Total fat	1 g	Potassium	592 mg
Saturated fat	< 1 g	Calcium	94 mg
Monounsaturated fat	0 g

MAYO CLINIC HEALTHY WEIGHT PYRAMID SERVINGS

Fruits	1
Sweets	1

DIABETES MEAL PLAN EXCHANGES

Fruits

Your diabetes diet: Exchange lists

DASH EATING PLAN SERVINGS

Fruits	1
Sweets	1

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Source: This recipe is one of 150 recipes collected in The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook, published by Mayo Clinic Health Information and Oxmoor House, and winner of the 2005 James Beard award.

By Mayo Clinic Staff
Aug 9, 2006

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