Kachumber (Indian Cucumber Salad)

By
Anita Schecter
Anita Schecter_BW
Anita Schecter
Professional recipe developer, food photographer, and blogger with more than a decade of experience creating Middle Eastern recipes.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 07/26/24
Tested by
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Tested by Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions are a salad combination that's found in many parts of the world—the Middle East, Africa, and the Mediterranean all have their own variations. In India, the refreshing trio is known as kachumber. Kachumber resembles several staple salad dishes from cuisines, like kachumbari in the Great Lakes region of Africa or the famous Israeli salad.

Kachumber salad recipe on a plate with a fork

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

What makes kachumber unique is its dressing, which doesn't contain any oil, but rather a very simple combination of freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, and pepper. This quick and easy recipe brings to your table a simple and flavorful salad whose refreshing nature makes it a great side to any spicy food, curries, dal, rotis, burgers, sandwiches, or spicy curries. It also makes a fantastic summer salad and is a perfect vegan dish.

We recommend using English cucumbers, as they don't have seeds and have a great crunchy and firm texture. Equally delicious but lesser in flavor, Persian cucumbers work instead if you can't find English. If using regular cucumbers, peel and seed beforehand. As the red onion in this recipe can be very pungent, we suggest soaking it for 15 minutes prior to use so it will have less of a bite.

What Is a Burpless Cucumber?

Cucumbers contain a compound called cucurbitacin, which in nature prevents animals and pests from eating and preying on the fruits of the cucumber plant. This same compound causes humans to burp after eating cucumbers, but with many centuries of adaptation on our end to be able to digest these crunchy fruits, the burping, if any, should be mild. Luckily, many Asian and American burpless cucumbers have low or no cucurbitacin (Summer Dance, Garden Sweet, Armenian, or Burpless Beauty, to name a few).

Other members of the melon family (which cucumbers belong to) can also cause the same unwelcomed reaction in humans.

What You'll Need to Make This Kachumber Recipe
spruce eats chef's knives lab testing photo
A Sharp Chef's Knife
Chef'n FreshForce Citrus Juicer
A Handy Dandy Citrus Juicer
Best Mandolines
A Nifty Mandoline

"This salad is fresh, fat-free, and loaded with color and flavor. I did add the cumin, and it balanced the flavors nicely. It's an excellent side to serve with just about any main dish. It made four large servings. A great salad for a cookout or potluck." —Diana Rattray

Kachumber (Indian cucumber salad) in a bowl
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1/2 medium red onion

  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes

  • 1 large English cucumber

  • 1 large carrot

  • 4 medium radishes

  • 1 jalapeño pepper

  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • 1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Kachumber (Indian cucumber salad) ingredients gathered

    The Spruce Eats

  2. Peel and finely dice 1/2 medium red onion.

    Finely diced red onion in a bowl on a wooden cutting board

    The Spruce Eats

  3. Depending on their size, halve or quarter the 2 cups cherry tomatoes.

    Sliced cherry tomatoes on a cutting board

    The Spruce Eats

  4. Slice 1 large English cucumber in half lengthwise and dice. No need to peel or seed if using English or Persian cucumbers. For other types of cucumbers, do seed and peel.

    Cucumber sliced in half lengthwise and diced

    The Spruce Eats

  5. Peel 1 large carrot and slice using a julienne peeler or a regular vegetable peeler.

    Carrots on a wooden cutting board sliced julienne style

    The Spruce Eats

  6. If using, thinly slice 4 medium radishes with a sharp knife or mandoline.

    Thinly sliced radishes on a wooden cutting board with a knife

    The Spruce Eats

  7. If using, seed and dice 1 jalapeño pepper. To reduce the heat, remove the veins as well as the seeds before dicing.

    Seeded and diced jalapeño on a wooden cutting board with a knife

    The Spruce Eats

  8. Place all the cut vegetables into a large bowl and toss with 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. Season with the 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, if using. Enjoy!

    Kachumber (Indian cucumber salad) tossed in a white bowl

    The Spruce Eats

How To Store Cucumber Salad

If not using right away, skip the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and cumin, if using. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated for up to two days. Add the lemon juice and seasoning right before serving. If you have leftovers, keep overnight and use the next day.

Feeling Adventurous? Try This:

This salad has many variations. Here are some of our favorites:

  • Make it creamy - Toss the vegetables with 3/4 cup of 2 percent Greek yogurt. The thick and creamier texture makes this variation ideal to use as a BBQ salad to tone down the spice and smokiness of meats. If you'd prefer a fattier version, use full-fat Greek yogurt. Taste for salt and pepper before serving.
  • No lemon juice, no problem - Use vinegar instead of lemon juice. Apple cider or white vinegar are great substitutions.
  • Make it minty - Add 1/2 cup of freshly chopped mint alongside the cilantro.
  • Add extra flavors - Use garam masala instead of cumin.
  • Make it spicy - Add spicy chile peppers or a dash of cayenne pepper. Using your favorite hot sauce instead can also be a great addition.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
35 Calories
0g Fat
8g Carbs
1g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 35
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 78mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 15mg 73%
Calcium 27mg 2%
Iron 0mg 3%
Potassium 341mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)