Kachumber is a vibrant and zesty Indian salad easily thrown together to accompany a summer lunch with friends and family. This classic veggie dish is fantastically nourishing, full of flavour and certainly not short on kick!
You will need
600 g/1 lb. 5 oz. ripe tomatoes 1 shallot, thinly sliced into semi-circles
1/2 cucumber
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 green chilli/chile (such as serrano), deseeded and finely chopped
a handful of fresh mint leaves, shredded
freshly squeezed juiceof 1/4 lemon
4 lemon wedges
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Serves 4
Begin by scalding the tomatoes. Pour boiling water over the ripe tomatoes in a heatproof bowl. Set aside for 1 minute, then drain and carefully peel off the skins using a sharp knife. Slice the tomatoes in half, scoop out and discard the pulp and slice the tomato shells.
Put the shallot slices into a colander and pour over freshly-boiled water. Pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
Peel the cucumber, slice in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Finely slice the flesh and set aside.
Toast the cumin seeds in a small, dry heavy-bottomed frying pan/skillet until fragrant. Swirl the pan regularly so that they don’t burn. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
Toss together the sliced tomatoes, shallot, cucumber, green chilli and toasted cumin seeds. Season with salt and pepper, add the mint leaves and lemon juice and toss to combine.
Serve at once with a wedge of lemon on the side.
This recipe is taken from The Veggie Salad Bowl.