Kachumber Salad is made with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and onions mixed with simple seasonings. It is fresh, crisp and quick to prepare. You can add lemon juice, chaat masala or herbs for extra flavor. Serve it as a side with everyday Indian meals.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: Not specified
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup onions (- chopped, or 1 small to medium onion)
  • ½ cup tomatoes (- chopped or 1 medium tomato)
  • ½ cup cucumber (- peeled and chopped, or 1 small to medium-sized cucumber)
  • 1 tablespoon mint leaves (- chopped)
  • ¼ cup coriander leaves (chopped, (cilantro))
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice (or as needed)
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon green chilies (- chopped or ½ teaspoon chopped serrano or jalapeno - optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (or cayenne pepper)
  • ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder (or ground cumin)
  • 2 to 3 pinches black salt (- optional)
  • salt (or food grade, edible rock salt or pink salt as required)
  • 2 to 3 lemon wedges (- for garnish, optional)
  • 4 to 5 mint leaves sprigs (- for garnish, optional)

Method

Prep Veggies

  1. Rinse, pat dry, peel, and chop the cucumber. Rinse, wipe dry and chop tomatoes. Peel onions and rinse them.
  2. Chop the veggies including green chillies if using.
  3. Rinse the coriander and mint leaves very well. Pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or dry the herbs in a salad spinner.

Make Kachumber salad

  1. Transfer the chopped veggies in a bowl.
  2. Add the chopped green chillies, red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder or ground cumin.
  3. Add coriander leaves and mint leaves. Sprinkle with black salt if using and regular white salt or pink salt.
  4. Drizzle lemon juice.
  5. Mix and toss the salad well so that the ingredients are mixed evenly.
  6. Check the seasoning and add more salt or lemon juice, according to your preferences.
  7. Serve the kachumber salad straightaway.

Serving Suggestions

  1. Kachumber pairs well with any Indian meal. It brings in a lot of freshness not only to your meal but also to your palate and you will definitely enjoy eating it.
  2. Serve kachumber salad with some lentils and rice or roti, a vegetable pulao, any Indian vegetarian curry or gravy paired with bread or rice or naan.

Storage

  1. Kachumber tastes best when eaten as soon as it is made. If you keep it sitting for few hours, it becomes slightly watery due to the vegetables leaving their juices when mixed with salt.
  2. If at all you have any leftovers, keep in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and try to eat it on the same day.

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.