Basic Kachumber (Onion Salad)
Have I mentioned that I love onions? More specifically, I love Kachumber.
It's the perfect Indian salad and Kachumber adds a touch of freshness and zing to heavier Indian gravies. In the weeks (okay, days!) where I've tried to give up eating rice I'd often have a bowl of Kachumber salad topped with whatever curry/gravy/vegetable was for dinner.
As a child, dad always had to force me to have some of this 'kachumber' salad. It was that or the slices of boiled beetroot! Kachumber can be a bit of an acquired taste but once you have acquired it, it’s like an addiction.
So, ofcourse it would be my luck that once I became a Bawi Bride onion was practically banned in my marital household. Why? Well the father-in-law is not a fan so the whole family basically never had any Kachumber.
This all changed once I joined the family. I distinctly remember telling the Mr., “Don’t ask me to give up my Kachumbar. If I can move countries for you, the least I should get in return is permission to eat Kachumbar whenever I get the urge.”
It does mean that I am now the official Kachumbar lady, but it is a small price to pay.
Ingredients:
2 large red onions
1 large Roma tomato
Handful of coriander finely chopped
1/2 tsp of salt
2-3 lemon slices
Method:
Slice the onions thinly. I have a theory that chopped onion rather than sliced onion tastes different so humour me.
Chop the tomato and coriander.
Once everything is chopped, I suggest you ditch the salad spoon and give all the ingredients a good mix with your hands so that all the yummy onion and salt essence is equally distributed.
Garnish with the lemon.
There are several different additions you can make in this kachubar so if you get tired of the same taste, try adding these:
Chopped cucumber to cool-off the salad – works best with Dhansak
Chopped beetroot to make the kachubar red – works best with Red Curry Rice
Yoghurt – this works best with Masoor
Vinegar – I haven’t tried this honestly but my dad has and it adds that kick of sourness