Kachumber, a simplest Indian salad made with cucumbers, onions, tomatoes & herbs. This oil-free salad is so refreshing & crunchy with a lemony flavor.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: Not specified
  • Total time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 250 grams cucumbers
  • 150 grams tomatoes ((2 medium))
  • 50 grams onions ((1 medium))
  • 1 green chili ((deseeded and chopped))
  • ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt ((or any, adjust to taste))
  • ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder ((roasted jeera powder))
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper ((or ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder))
  • ⅛ teaspoon red chilli powder ((for garnish))
  • 1 small lemon ((adjust to taste))
  • ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves

Method

  1. Sprinkle little sea salt and vinegar over cucumbers, peeled onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, green chilies and lemon. Leave them for 5 minutes, rub and rinse them (except coriander leaves) well under running water. This step removes any pesky substances over the salad veggies.
  2. Pat them dry with kitchen tissues or air dry them for a while.
  3. Add coriander leaves to a bowl of water and rinse them, changing water a few times. Place them on a kitchen tissue or colander to remove excess moisture.
  4. We don't want any moisture on the veggies.
  5. Julienne or chop all the vegetables to bite sizes. If you want you may peel the cucumbers (optional) & deseed before chopping. Add them to a mixing bowl.
  6. Chop coriander leaves and add them too. When you are ready to serve the kachumber, sprinkle salt and lemon juice. Mix it.
  7. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish kachumber with black pepper, cumin powder and red chilli powder.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.