Hot and sour tomato and watermelon salad recipe

This salad fills your mouth with such irresistible contrasts that I can never eat it fast enough. Every mouthful makes you long for the next. It’s also good made with mangoes – slightly underripe ones are best – instead of watermelon. Requires soaking time Overview 25 mins 10 mins 4 Ingredients For the crispy shallots - 4 shallots, finely sliced - 100ml milk - 1 tsp nigella seeds - 4 tbsp plain flour - Groundnut oil For the dressing - 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped - 1 red chilli, halved, deseeded and chopped - 1 tbsp soft light-brown sugar or caster sugar - 1 tbsp fish sauce - Juice of 2 limes For the salad - 350g watermelon flesh, cubed - 250g tomatoes, preferably of different sizes (either red or purple, or a mixture, if you have a choice) - ½ small red onion, shaved - 10g coriander, leaves only - 15g Thai basil leaves - 20 mint leaves, torn if large - 15g roasted peanuts, chopped - 1½ tsp sesame seeds (white or black, or a mixture) Method Make the crispy shallots first (you can also buy them in shops specialising in south-east Asian food, though these taste better). Soak 4 finely sliced shallots in 100ml milk for 30 minutes. Add 1 tsp nigella seeds to 4 tbsp plain flour and season it, then toss the shallots in it. Heat about 12cm groundnut oil in a deep pan. As soon as it’s hot, add half the shallots and cook until crispy. Lift out on to a double layer of kitchen paper and scatter with salt. Fry the other half in the same way. Leave to cool. Make the dressing. Put 1 roughly chopped garlic clove and 1 deseeded and chopped red chilli into a mortar and bash them to make a rough purée. Add 1 tbsp soft light-brown sugar or caster sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce and the juice of 2 limes and stir to help the sugar dissolve, then taste. It will be hot, sweet, salty and sour. Make sure there are no little seeds in the 350g cubed watermelon flesh. Cut 250g tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size. Toss these in a shallow, broad bowl with the watermelon. Toss in ½ shaved small red onion, the leaves from 10g coriander, 15g Thai basil leaves, 20 mint leaves (torn if large), 15g chopped roasted peanuts, and 1½ tsp sesame seeds. Add the dressing, then scatter over the shallots. Serve immediately.