Dragon Fruit dishes

Dragon Fruit also known as Pitaya

This fruit was originally introduced to Queensland State in Australia in the early 1980's. It is now grown in Queensland, Northern Territory, and parts of Western Australia and New South Wales.  It is a tropical cactus from the rain-forests of Central and Northern South America.  

This fruit is generally eaten fresh but it can also be chilled, cut into half to reveal its attractive flesh, either sliced (outside skin peeled) or scooped out with a spoon.  The delicately sweet flesh is crisp and refreshing and can be used in fruit salads, sherbets, jams, jellies, soft drinks, ice creams, etc.,

This fruit has a taste similar to kiwi fruit, watermelon and pear and has lot of small seeds in it which are a good source of health because it expels the bad cholesterol and lowers the good cholesterol. 

This fruit has good source of antioxidants, high amount of Vitamin C, helpful in reducing blood sugar level in people with type 2 diabetes, its Vitamin B1, B2 and B3 help in increasing the production of energy and in the metabolism of carbohydrates, help repair and restore the loss of appetite, helps in lowering bad cholesterol level respectively.

 

Dragon fruit preparation

For fruit salad - sliced dragon fruit, pineapple, kiwi fruit and mango combined together with lemon juice and sugar - chilled for 45 minutes and served.

For Ice cream - dragon fruit, sugar, honey, lemon juice, whipped cream - together blended, heated, refrigerated for 7 hours and freeze overnight before serving.


For Shake - sliced dragon fruit, chopped basil leaves, sugar, lime juice, milk, crushed ice - pureed in blender until smooth and served chill.

For Salsa -  diced dragon fruit, lemon juice, olive oil, chopped chives, salt, pepper - combined together and served with crackers.