Indian Style Cucumber Peanut Salad

This Indian cucumber salad recipe is a simple yet flavorful salad that combines cucumbers, roasted peanuts, aromatic spices, and lemon juice.

This spicy cucumber peanut salad is my favorite Indian-style salad. It is so easy to make and tastes delicious. This vegan salad with Indian flavors is also gluten-free and makes a fantastic side dish for any meal.

About Koshimbir

Koshimbir is a Maharashtrian cuisine's classic Indian salad. Koshimbir is also known as kachumber or kosambari. This salad is usually made with fresh veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions.

Kakdi Koshimbir is a specific type of Indian salad made primarily with Indian cucumber.

Unlike regular salads, a tempering of mustard and cumin seeds is added, enhancing the flavor and taste of this koshimbir.

Ingredients 

Gather these fresh and aromatic ingredients to prepare the spicy Indian cucumber salad.

Cucumber: Cucumbers that are crisp, fresh, and mild flavored go well in this recipe. I used English cucumbers in this recipe. Persian cucumbers also go well in this recipe. For authentic Indian versions, use Indian varieties of cucumber.

Roasted Peanuts: Peanuts add a nutty flavor and crunch to this salad.

Cilantro leaves: These fragrant leaves enhance the overall taste and flavor of the salad.

Green chili: Finely chopped green chili makes this salad spicy. You can skip or adjust the amount as per your spice preference.

Oil: I used coconut oil, but you can use any other oil or ghee for tempering.

Red chili, cumin, and mustard seeds: Tempering with these ingredients is the key difference between koshimber and other salads. Even if you skip tempering, this salad will be delicious.

Sugar and Coconut: Traditionally, Koshimber uses sugar and grated coconut. You can skip these if you do not like the hint of sweetness in the salad.

Lemon or lime juice: Offers a zesty element, adding a refreshing citrusy taste to the salad.

Salt: Balances the flavors and brings out the natural tastes of the ingredients.

How to make Indian cucumber salad

Prep the ingredients

• Roast Peanuts: If not already roasted, dry roast peanuts until they turn golden brown. Once they cool down, remove the skin. You can pound the roasted peanuts and use them. Here, I used the peanuts directly as we like the salad to be a little crunchy.
• Prepare Cucumber: Wash, peel (if desired), and dice the cucumber into cubes. If the cucumbers have more seeds, you can remove them before chopping.
• Chop Fresh Ingredients: Finely chop cilantro leaves and green chili.

Toss the salad

• Combine Ingredients: Take cucumber, peanuts, finely chopped cilantro, chopped green chili, lemon or lime juice, salt, sugar (if using), pumpkin seeds(if using), and grated coconut (if using) in a bowl. Mix everything well.

Add the tempering 

• Temper the Oil: Heat oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and red chili. Let them crackle and sizzle.

• Add Tempering to Salad: Pour the tempered oil mixture over the salad.

Serve the salad

• Mix Well: Carefully mix all the ingredients, ensuring the tempering coats the salad evenly.
• Serve the Indian cucumber salad immediately for the freshest taste.

Tips, Substitutions, and Variations

• Opt for firm and fresh cucumbers. If you do not like cucumber seeds, you can remove them. Removing seeds can also prevent the salad from becoming too watery.
• Skip the green chili if you do not like the spicy salad. Or you can add the slit green chili to the tempering to reduce the spice level in the salad.
• Pumpkin seeds are optional, and they add the crunch to the salad. 
• Replace peanuts with chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds for a different nutty flavor.
• Instead of cilantro leaves, you can use other fresh herbs like mint, dill, and parsley.
• Mix in a dollop of plain yogurt or Greek yogurt to the salad for a creamy version of this salad.
• If you like to skip the tempering, use ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin powder to get that flavor.

Serving and Storage

This peanut cucumber salad tastes best when it is served immediately. When kept aside for some time, cucumber will ooze out the water, and the salad will become soggy.

If you want to make this salad beforehand, mix all ingredients except salt, sugar, and lemon juice. Then, add these ingredients to the salt just before serving it.

If storing leftovers, refrigerate the salad in an airtight container for up to a day. However, its texture may change slightly due to moisture release from cucumber.

Serve the Indian cucumber salad as a cool side dish to main courses or as an accompaniment to your favorite Indian dishes, such as dal or basmati rice.

FAQ

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