Ravinder Bhogal's shaved mango and cucumber salad with tajin and tequila dressing. Photograph: Phoebe Pearson/The Guardian. Food styling: Hanna Miller. Prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Thea Hudson. View image in fullscreen Ravinder Bhogal's shaved mango and cucumber salad with tajin and tequila dressing. Photograph: Phoebe Pearson/The Guardian. Food styling: Hanna Miller. Prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Thea Hudson. Food Tropical, Mexican-style and Middle Eastern: Ravinder Bhogal’s fruit salad recipes Forget the underpowered, ready-made offerings of food chains: these vibrant mixes are bursting with fruit and notes of florals, citrus and spice
Ravinder Bhogal Wed 22 Jul 2026 07.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google M ost of our experiences with fruit salad are dull: straight out of a can in saccharine syrup or unripe, slippery, unidentifiable chunks hastily bought from a sandwich chain when you’re trying to be healthy. The best ones, however, are life-enhancing and made fresh at home. And, with summer offering up a bounty of ripeness, now is the best time to make them. Eat them sweet or savoury, heighten their flavour with floral waters, spices, aromats, herbs or citrus, and enjoy for breakfast, lunch or as a refreshing after-dinner treat.
Tajín is a mouth-puckering and addictive spice mix that’s often sprinkled over fruit; it makes an excellent rim for margaritas, too. If you can’t find it, mix a tablespoon of mild chilli powder, half a teaspoon of ground sea salt, a quarter-teaspoon of citric acid and the zest of one lime.
3 ripe mangoes , peeled 1 large cucumber 1-2 tbsp Tajín , or to taste
For the dressing Juice of 2 limes 2 tbsp tequila 1 tbsp agave syrup 30g fresh coriander , roughly chopped 60ml avocado oil
Shave the mangoes and cucumber using a vegetable peeler, discarding the stones and seeds as you go, then arrange on a platter.
To make the dressing, blitz the lime juice, tequila, agave syrup and coriander in a blender, then slowly drizzle in the oil until emulsified. Drizzle the dressing over the shaved mango and cucumber, and toss to coat. Scatter with the Tajín and serve at once.
View image in fullscreen Ravinder Bhogal’s tropical fruit salad with lemongrass vanilla and ginger syrup. Make this the night before, to give the fruit time to soak up the flavours of the syrup. This is the type of fruit salad you can put into a large jar and take to a barbecue or picnic.
Prep 20 min Cook 15 min Chill 2 hr+ Serves 6
1 small pineapple , peeled, cored and cut into bite-sized chunks 2 mangoes , peeled, pitted and cut into bite-sized pieces ½ honeydew or cantaloupe melon , peeled, deseeded and cut into bite-sized chunks 2 guavas, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces 20 lychees , stoned 1 small papaya , cut into bite-sized pieces
For the syrup 4 tbsp golden caster sugar 8 makrut lime leaves 2 lemongrass stalks , bashed with something heavy 2cm piece ginger , peeled and sliced 1 vanilla pod 2 star anise 500ml water
Put all the cut fruit in a large bowl. To make the syrup, put all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the hob, leave to cool, then strain it over the fruit. Pop the bowl in the fridge for at least two hours and ideally overnight. This is wonderful served with ice-cream.
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