Tongan Otai

Otai is the taste of Tongan summers: ripe watermelon blended with grated coconut and coconut milk, chilled until frosty and served in big glasses at every family gathering. In Tonga it is the essential drink at the Saturday market and Sunday feasts.

Sweet, cold and gloriously refreshing, otai is part drink, part dessert — a bowl of crushed watermelon studded with chewy coconut. Pineapple or mango can take the place of watermelon in a pinch.

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