Indian Onion Salad is crunchy, delicious, tangy and easy to make. Serve it with any Indian meal on the side or with biryani, tandoori appetizers, grilled snacks.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: Not specified
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Side
  • Cuisine: Indian cuisine

Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions ((or 3 small))
  • 1 green chilli (optional)
  • 2 sprigs coriander leaves ((or 8 to 10 mint leaves))
  • 1 lemon ((about 3 tablespoons lemon juice))
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon chaat masala
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper ((crushed, optional))

Method

How to make Onion Salad

  1. Rinse onions well under running water and peel them. Slice the whole onion to thin round slices. (see pictures in the post)
  2. Slit the green chili and deseed. Chop finely. Also chop the coriander leaves.
  3. Separate the layers to get onion rings. Add them to a bowl of very cold water and rest for 10 mins. Later drain the water and shake off the onion rings gently to get rid of excess moisture.
  4. Add them to a serving bowl. Squeeze lemon juice and add all the spices - chaat masala, red chilli powder, black pepper and salt.
  5. Also add the deseeded and chopped green chilies and coriander leaves. Toss everything well.
  6. Taste test and add more spice, salt or lemon juice if required.
  7. Serve onion salad with grilled snacks, tandoori appetizers, biryani or with pulao.

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.