Kachumber Salad

Ingredients

• 3 medium cucumbers, peeled if waxed and cut into 1 cm cubes
• 3 firm tomatoes, deseeded and cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp chaat masala
• ¾ tsp fine salt, or to taste
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds, optional, for garnish

Instructions

1. Toast the cumin seeds in a small dry pan over medium-low heat, shaking often, until they smell nutty and turn a shade darker. Tip them onto a plate to cool, then crush them coarsely with the back of a spoon.
2. Put the chopped onion in a large bowl with the lemon juice and half the salt. Stir and leave for 5 minutes; this softens the raw bite of the onion.
3. Cut the cucumbers and tomatoes into even 1 cm cubes. Scoop out the watery tomato seeds so the salad stays crisp rather than soggy.
4. Add the cucumber, tomato, green chilli, coriander and mint to the onions.
5. Sprinkle over the crushed cumin, chaat masala, black pepper and the remaining salt. Toss gently until everything is lightly coated in the lemon juice.
6. Taste and adjust with more salt, lemon or chilli. Serve within 30 minutes, topped with pomegranate seeds if using.

Tips

• Salt draws water out of cucumber and tomato, so add most of the salt to the onions first and toss the whole salad just before serving.
• Cut all vegetables to the same size so each spoonful has a bit of everything.
• Chill the vegetables for 20 minutes beforehand if the weather is hot; a cold kachumber tastes fresher.
• Use firm, slightly underripe tomatoes; very ripe ones turn mushy when diced.