This tropical fruit salad recipe is the best I have ever tried. Thanks to the magical coconut dressing, every bite of this summer salad is flavorful. It is sweet, spicy, and sour. All in one, perfect for any occasion.
Salad fan? Then check out simple and easy creamy dill cucumber salad, avocado salad, Thai salad, Fruit Salad with Cream, etc.
About Avnas Ambe Sasam Recipe
This is a traditional salad recipe from Konkani or coastal cuisine popularly known as avnas ambe sasam, especially served during summer when mangoes and pineapples are in season.
Avnas means 'pineapple,' Ambe means 'mangoes,' and Sasam means 'mustard seeds.' Adding raw mustard seeds to the coconut-based paste makes this dish out of the world with its unique taste. As all the tropical ingredients go into this recipe, we call it a tropical fruit salad recipe, pineapple fruit salad, or mango fruit salad.
If you like Konkani recipes, don't miss out on our popular dalitoy, tori gashi, panpolo.
Why you'll love this recipe?
- Easy to make summer salad that is vegan and gluten-free.
- No cooking is involved, and the salad is ready in less than 15 to 20 minutes.
- Tropical fruit salad is one of the best recipes for outdoor activities, potlucks, or picnics as a light, refreshing snack or dessert or as side dish, particularly in the warmer months when you may be craving something cool.
- Fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants essential for maintaining good health.
- Use sweet and ripe fruits. This way, you can reduce sweeteners and make this a healthy fruit salad for weight loss.
Ingredients
To make the best fruit salad, you need basic ingredients from your kitchen.
Fruits: I have added tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, and red and green grapes. This combination tastes the best for the coconut dressing we will use. You can add other tropical fruits like cantaloupe, papaya, kiwi, guava, passion fruit, dragon fruit,
For the coconut dressing: Use grated coconut, red chile dry, and mustard seeds to make a paste.
Salt and sugar: To enhance the flavor.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions
- Traditionally fresh seasonal fruits like mango, pineapple, and grapes are used to make this salad. But you can use frozen or canned ones.
- You can use jaggery or a sweetener of your choice instead of sugar.
- Dry red chile can be substituted with red chile powder, paprika, or cayenne powder.
- You can use dry shredded or frozen coconut if fresh coconut is unavailable.
Step-by-step instructions
- Add pineapple, mango, grapes, salt, and sugar in a bowl and toss.
- In a blender or mixer, add grated coconut, dry red chile, and mustard seeds with little water and grind it to a smooth paste (Tip: Do not add too much water at once, start with ¾ cup and add more only if required. We need medium thick paste so that it gets coated well with the fruits. )
- Add this to the fruit mixture and mix until well combined.
- Keep it refrigerator till you are ready to serve. You can also serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for additional flavor.
Pro Tips
- Prepare it and refrigerate it till you are ready to serve. I prefer to refrigerate it for about 2 hours before I am ready to serve to combine the flavors well.
- Vary the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit and your liking.
- Feel free to add fruits like banana, kiwi, apple, papaya, and peaches.
Recipe FAQs
Tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, and grapes are mainly used. You can add cantaloupe, papaya, kiwi, guava, passion fruit, dragon fruit, or any other summer fruit like berries to your tropical fruit salad to add more variety and color.
Combine the fruits like strawberries, pineapple, mangoes, honeydew, watermelon, grapes, kiwifruit, and oranges. If you like the crunch, you also add dry fruits and nuts. Toss it with honey lemon dressing, mint dressing, yogurt dressing, or coconut dressing. Serve chilled, and enjoy.
This salad tastes the best when served chilled. You can make this 2-3 hours ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. This makes sure the flavors are well combined.
To avoid the fruit salad becoming soggy, keep the dressing and fruits separately in the refrigerator and toss them just before you are ready to serve.
Ripe fruits that are soft to the touch and have a sweet aroma works best for making salads.
More mango and pineapple recipes
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Recipe card
Simple Tropical Fruit Salad | Easy Summer Fruit Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Pineapple, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 ½ cups Mango chunks
- ½ cup Red grapes
- ½ cup Green grapes
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Sugar (or jaggery)
For the coconut dressing
- 1 cup Coconut, grated (fresh or frozen)
- 1 or 2 Dry red chile, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 ½ cups Water (approx, adjust as needed)
Instructions
- Add pineapple, mango, grapes, salt, and sugar in a bowl and toss.1 ½ cups Pineapple, chopped into bite-size pieces, 1 ½ cups Mango chunks, ½ cup Red grapes, ½ cup Green grapes, ½ teaspoon Salt, 2 tablespoon Sugar
- In a blender or mixer, add grated coconut, dry red chile, and mustard seeds with little water and grind it to a smooth paste (Tip: Do not add too much water at once, start with ¾ cup and add more only if required. We need medium thick paste so that it gets coated well with the fruits. )1 cup Coconut, grated (fresh or frozen), 1 or 2 Dry red chile, adjust to taste, 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds, 1 ½ cups Water (approx, adjust as needed)
- Add this to the fruit mixture and mix until well combined.
- Keep it refrigerator till you are ready to serve. You can also serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for additional flavor.
Notes
- Prepare it and refrigerate it till you are ready to serve. I prefer to refrigerate it for about 2 hours before I am ready to serve so that the flavors get well combined.
- Vary the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit and your liking.
- Feel free to add fruits like banana, kiwi, apple, papaya, and peaches.
- If you like your salad spicy, you can also chop and add 1 green chile.
Substitutions
- Traditionally fresh seasonal fruits like mango, pineapple, and grapes are used to make this salad. But you can use frozen or canned ones.
- You can use dry shredded or frozen coconut if fresh coconut is unavailable.
- You can use jaggery or a sweetener of your choice instead of sugar.
- Dry red chile can be substituted with red chile powder, pepper flakes, paprika, or cayenne powder.
Kiki Johnson
This is a great summer dessert! Love my some tropical fruit and the decoration is very cute!
Dannii
Such a beautiful looking fruit salad. The perfect way to start the day.
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats
Light, easy and healthy. The coconut dressing makes it. Thank you!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
This fruit salad is perfect for hot summer days and I really love the coconut dressing.
Tara
Oh yum! You had me at the combination of sweet, spicy, and sour. So many wonderful flavors packed into this summer salad.