Kachumber Salad Recipe (Indian Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad)

This Kachumbar Salad is a simple Indian Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad. It is a good accompaniment salad that balances Indian meals with its fresh vegetables, tart flavors, and color.

Kachumber is generally served, with a side of curry, dal, vegetables, or even in a naan wrap. Since it has no added fat, it is a great low-calorie side to your meal. As a side dish, it is low in carbohydrates, high in fibers, which makes it suitable for keto/low-carb diets as well.

Just serve as a side with kebabs, chicken tikka, or paneer. It is a great addition to any vegan meal. The closest cousin of this salad would be the Mexican Salsa (Pico De Gallo) – but with cucumbers.

Some restaurants also make masala papad (papadum) by layering papads with this kachumber and a bit of red chili powder. Once you make this simple salad, you will see why this is such a common salad served in India – at homes and restuarants.

What is Kachumber – Served all over India, but especially in the north, Kachumber salad is a common side dish with most meals. Simply put, Kachumber is a simple, fresh tomato salad, which completes an Indian meal.

What is in a Kachumber – Since Indian curries are elaborate with onions, ginger, garlic, and spices, kachumber brings a bit of balance, simplicity, and crunch to a creamy curry and rounds off a meal. Simple toss together tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions. Add a dash of lemon juice and season with salt just before serving. Kachumber is a great side for Biryanis as well.

This Kachumber also adds some interesting textures for naan wraps with kebabs or tandoori chicken. Just layer it on with meat or even paneer and wrap away!

The exact ingredients are as follow

• Tomatoes – Salad tomatoes are tarter and jucier than say, Cherry tomatoes. Just pick any firm, ripe variety.
• Cucumbers – Cucumbers add a neutral bulk to this salad.
• Onions – Use red onions and slice or chip them thin. Red onions are milder in flavour and add a wonderful colour to this salad.
• Lemon Juice – Perfect to add some sourness, and to also mellow down the onions a bit. Lemon juice also tones down the spice in your meal.
• Kachumber can also be made with vinegar. Simply replace lemon juice with equal quantity of white or red vinegar.
• Cumin Powder – Just the one spice is all you need.
• Salt – For seasoning. Adjust as per your taste.
• Cilantro / Corriander for garnish – Skip this if you do not like corriander.
• Extra optional : Fine diced fresh green chillis. If you like a it of hit to yoru salad, green chillies make a wonderful addition to Kachumber. Its also adds an interesting taste if eh main meal is not that spicy, like our creamy fragrant Dal Tadka ( Indian Lentil Curry).

Variations :

• Add chaat masala or rock salt, peanuts and sprouted mung beans to make a salad chaat.
• Add whisked yogurt to make a cooling summer Kachumber Raita.
• Bulk it up as a mail salad meal with paneer or chicken tokka and some grated carrots, and spinach leaves
• Layer it on papads with a bit of chili powder to make masala papad.

The possibilities are endless. Mix away!

Note about Salt: Salt tends to draw moisture from food. Our salad vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers and onions are particularly watery. If salted and kept aside for more than 10 minutes, they will sweat and release water, This ends in a soggy, wet salad, which is cal be unpleasant in texture.

To avoid this problem, add salt just before serving.

Storage: If stored in the refrigerator, do not add any salt. If stored properly in an airtight box, this should last 2-3 days.