Cachumber Salad with Onion and Tomato
Cachumber is a raw Indian salad of chopped tomatoes, onion, and green chilli with a splash of wine vinegar. It works like an Indian salsa – fresh, sharp, and just sour enough to cut through heavy curries and rich food.
The salad belongs at almost any Indian meal. It sits on the table alongside raita and pickles, providing a cold, crisp contrast to the hot dishes. It takes five minutes to make.
The key is to chop everything to roughly the same size so each mouthful has both tomato, onion, and chilli. The vinegar should be used sparingly – the salad must not become watery.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 onion, chopped
- 250 g tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1–2 fresh green chillies, chopped
- 1–2 tbsp wine vinegar
- salt, to taste
Directions
Put the onion, tomatoes, and chillies in a bowl.
Pour over the vinegar and mix gently. The mixture must not become too wet – start with 1 tbsp and add more to taste.
Season with salt.
Leave the salad to rest for about 30 minutes so the flavours come together before serving.
Notes
Active time about 5 minutes plus 30 minutes resting.
Remove the seeds from the chillies if the salad is being served to children or guests who cannot handle heat.
Serve cold as a side dish with curry, rice, and bread. Keeps for a day in the fridge but is best the same day.
See Also
Cucumber Raita (Kheera Raita)
Mint Raita
Green Chutney
