Kachumber Salad (Onion, Tomato and Cucumber Salad) 

Kachumber salad is a traditional Pakistani / Indian fresh vegetable salad made with onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. It’s an easy and quick to prepare salad. No cooking required, and ready in less than 15 minutes. It is also vegan, and gluten-free.

Kachumber salad is one of those recipes that can turn a simple meal into something special. It’s super quick to make - just dice up some tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. Toss them together in salt and vinegar. Serve it on the side with your favourite Pakistani / Indian recipe. For instance, moong masoor daal (lentil curry), chicken ka salan (chicken curry), aloo tahari (spiced potato rice). It’s also a great accompaniment to western dishes – serve it with grilled chicken, or add it on top of grilled fish, similar to a salsa.

Jump to:

• About this recipe
• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Variations
• Make ahead
• Storage
• Expert Tips
• Kachumber raita
• Serving Suggestions
• Pakistani / Indian recipes to try
• 📖 Recipe

About this recipe

Kachumber is a raw fresh vegetable salad from the Indian sub-continent, and common in both Pakistani and Indian cuisine. It’s also cachumber or kachoomer. It’s made with diced tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers tossed together with salt and a souring agent such as lemon juice or vinegar. This particular kachumber salad recipe is made with vinegar. The reason I use vinegar is because it’s always available at home. Plus it adds a delicious tang which I prefer over using lemon juice.

Why this recipe works

• It’s authentic. The concept of salads is rare in Pakistani / Indian cuisine. However, the one salad that we do have in the Indian sub-continent is this kachumber salad.
• It’s easy to make. Just dice a few ingredients together, give them a toss and let sit for 5 – 10 minutes to let the flavours develop. No cooking required, and no fancy ingredients either.
• It’s an excellent accompaniment to Pakistani / Indian cuisine. Our cuisine can be quite spicy, and this tangy raw vegetable salad acts as a refreshing palate cleanser.
• It’s super versatile, and can be served with pretty much anything. Whether it’s a simple meal of daal chawal (lentil curry with rice), or a gravy like dish such as chicken salan (chicken curry), or with something dry like bbq.
• It lends itself to multiple variations. If you don’t have tomatoes, make an onion cucumber kachumber salad. Or if you don’t have cucumbers make a tomato onion kachumber salad.

Ingredients

The ingredients required for this classic Indian vegetable salad are:

• Tomatoes: Use just ripe tomatoes that are firm and easy to cut. Avoid using over-ripe tomatoes as they can be soft and mushy and release a lot of liquid.
• Onions: It’s best to use red onions for this salad – they are look pretty, and not too strong. However, you can easily substitute with white or brown onions as well.
• Cucumbers: Finely diced. It’s not necessary to peel the cucumber or remove the seeds.
• Green Chili: Added for a hint of spice. Can be skipped.
• Fresh Coriander Leaves / Cilantro: Give a rough chop, and add in the end as a garnish. Can be skipped if not available.
• Vinegar: Necessary for that distinctive tartness in the salad. The traditional souring agent for kachumber salad is lemon juice, however, I prefer to use vinegar because I always have it in the pantry versus fresh lemon juice.  You can use fresh lemon juice or lime juice as a substitute. Do not use bottled lemon juice – that will give an artificial flavour to the salad.

Check out my guide on how to stock a Pakistani Kitchen + Pakistani Pantry List (with English translation and descriptions).

Instructions

Here are step by step instructions on how to make a Pakistani / Indian kachumber salad.

• Dice the vegetables: Start off with dicing the vegetables. Chop all vegetables roughly the same size. Keep chilies on the larger side so people can pick them out easily.

• Mix the ingredients: Place all the diced vegetables in a small bowl and add salt along with lemon juice (or vinegar). Mix well.

• Let it marinate: The kachumber salad can be served right away. However, it’s best to let it sit for about 10 – 15 minutes for the flavours to develop. It also makes the vegetables release their water creating a tangy liquid at the bottom of the bowl which tastes delicious.

Variations

• Switch up the vegetables: The traditional kachumber salad is made of cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes with green chilies and coriander. However, you can add other vegetables such as radishes or bell peppers / capsicum. You can also add mint leaves and pomegranate arils.  You can also skip a vegetable if you don’t have it – just use tomatoes and onions, or use onions and cucumbers.
• Green chili substitute: If you don’t like spice, you can skip the green chilies. Or substitute with serrano chili or jalapenos if green chilies aren’t available.
• Coriander leaves substitute: In case you don’t have coriander leaves / cilantro, you can skip. Or substitute with mint leaves, or parsley.
• Lemon juice based kachumber salad: In case you don’t want to use vinegar, you can use fresh lemon juice or lime juice. Avoid using the bottled lemon juice.
• Spice it up: Add different seasonings such as roasted and ground cumin seeds (bhuna zeera), chaat masala, or red chili powder to give a different taste to this classic Pakistani / Indian salad.

Make ahead

Can this salad be made ahead of time? Yes – dice the vegetables and store them in an air-tight container. Add salt, and vinegar a few minutes before serving. If the vegetables release a little water, you can throw it away before mixing the salt and vinegar.

Storage

This salad is best served right away or within 30 minutes of making it. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 1 – 2 days. Keep in mind that the salad will get more sour the longer it’s kept, and the vegetables will also get soft and release more liquid.

Expert Tips

1. Cut the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions (or whatever vegetables you are using) the same size.  
2. If you are adding green chilies, keep them on the large side so people can see and remove them easily.
3. Let the salad sit for at least 5 minutes after adding the vinegar. This lets the flavours meld together, and the vinegar also pickles the onion reducing their strong flavour.

Kachumber raita

This kachumber salad can also be turned into kachumber raita. Dice up the vegetables (onions, tomatoes and cucumbers), and then add to whisked yoghurt. Season with salt, roasted cumin powder, and red chili powder. Give it a mix and serve. Tastes delicious with biryani. Many restaurants and takeaway joints will give both raita and kachumber separately, so you can mix to personal preference.

Serving Suggestions

This fresh vegetable salad pairs well with any Pakistani / Indian meal. It’s a great accompaniment to daal chawal (lentil curry and rice) or an aloo ki sabzi (potato curry). It also tastes delicious with biryani and mutton pulao, with raita on the side.

It can also be served with western dishes as a type of salsa – add it to wraps and sandwiches, or use it as a topping in a rice or grain bowl. I recently used it as an accompaniment to avocado green chutney – sort of an Pakistani / Indian take on guacamole.

Pakistani / Indian recipes to try

Can’t decide what to serve with this fresh vegetable salad. Try out these delicious recipes:

• Aloo ki Tarkari (Spicy potato curry, Pakistani style)
• Shami Kebab (Pakistani meat and lentil kebabs)
• Mutton Yakhni Pulao (Goat Meat Pilaf)
• Ginger Chicken, Pakistani style
• Murghi ka Salan (Chicken curry with Onions and Tomatoes)
• Karahi Chicken
• Aloo Gosht (Mutton Curry with Potatoes) – Stovetop & Pressure Cooker method
• Traditional Chicken Qorma

What's your favourite thing to serve kachumber salad with?

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📖 Recipe