This Cucumber Salad is an Indian-style dish with tangy, spicy, slightly sweetened, and fresh flavors! It is a quick 5-minute recipe and perfect to serve with mains or enjoy as a healthy snack.
If you want a light and simple yet flavorful salad, this recipe is a must-try! Adding some basic spices brightens this cooling Cucumber Salad, making it fresh, earthy, and delicious.
Jump to:
About Indian-Stye Cucumber Salad
Whenever I make this cucumber salad, it brings many memories from India. On hot summer days, we used to eat cucumber slices topped with salt and lime juice to keep us cool from the extreme heat.
But when I started cooking, after understanding spices, I made my version of this salad to enjoy cucumbers. I added more earthy spices and cilantro to make it more interesting and delicious.
I also like to add a bit of sweetener to elevate the flavors of the salad. I add either honey or maple syrup. The sweetener does not make the salad sweet; instead, it elevates other flavors of this cucumber salad.
I love adding freshly chopped cilantro, which pairs well with cucumbers. Also, adding a small green chili gives a slightly spicy kick to the salad. However, it is optional, and you can skip it.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- This Cucumber Salad is simple but bursting with many flavors.
- It is a quick recipe, and all you need is five minutes.
- The salad is fresh, bright, vibrant, and cooling.
- It can be served with mains or can also be enjoyed as a healthy snack.
- The salad is vegan and made without onion and garlic.
Ingredients
- Cucumbers: I used English cucumbers, but you can use garden or Persian cucumbers.
- Ground Cumin: Crushed, toasted cumin seeds give this salad a unique flavor. If you don’t have roasted ground cumin in your pantry, it’s easy and quick to make. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add cumin seeds. Toast the seeds until they are fragrant and turn brown, stirring continuously for 30-45 seconds. With a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, grind the seeds to a coarse powder and use it for the recipe.
- Salt and Pepper: Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Chaat Masala: I love adding chaat masala to various dishes, and this cucumber salad is one of them.
- Lemon or Lime Juice: Add lemon or lime juice to taste. Do not skip this step, as it brightens the flavors.
- Green Chili: I like to add a slight spiciness to this salad. However, adding green chili is optional.
- Sweetener: Adding a teaspoon of natural sweetener enhances the flavors of Cucumber Salad. You can add honey, maple syrup, agave, or any choice of sweetener. You can also add cane sugar or jaggery powder.
- Cilantro: Freshly chopped cilantro adds an earthy flavor to the salad.
How To Make Cucumber Salad
- Add diced cucumber, green chili, ground cumin, chaat masala, salt, pepper, maple syrup, and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl.
- Toss well to mix.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings as required.
- Add chopped cilantro and mix well.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 10 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Cucumber Salad goes well with almost every Indian meal. It can also be served as a side dish with other cuisines.
You can serve this fresh, vibrant, and cooling salad with Rice and Dal. For a complete meal, have it with Roti and Sabji.
It goes well with vegetable pulao or biriyani. For example, you can serve Kachumber Salad with Tawa Pulao (No Onion No Garlic), Methi Pulao (No Onion No Garlic), or Tomato Rice (No Onion No Garlic).
Storing Suggestions
Once the salt is mixed with the cucumbers, water will be released, making the salad runny. Therefore, it is best to serve this Cucumber Salad within a few hours of making it.
But if you still have leftover salad, cover it tightly and refrigerate it for a day.
Helpful Tips For Cucumber Salad
Cucumber: If using a cucumber with many seeds, cut it lengthwise, remove the seeds, and then chop it.
Green Chili: If you do not want your salad spicy, you can skip adding green chili. Instead of green chili, you can add red chili powder, red pepper flakes, or hot paprika.
Spices: Add more or fewer spices as per your taste preference.
Make-Ahead: Cucumber salad can not be prepared in advance, as adding salt makes it watery. However, you can prepare it by mixing all the ingredients except salt and cilantro, covering it tightly, and refrigerating it. When you are ready to serve, add salt and chopped cilantro, mix well, and serve.
Scaling: This recipe serves two people, but it can easily be doubled, tripled, or halved as needed.
More Easy Salad Recipes
You May Like More Light and Healthy Side Dishes
Recipe Card
Cucumber Salad (Indian-Style)
Ingredients
- 1 large English cucumber peeled and diced
- 1 small green chili seeded and finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon coarsely ground roasted cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chaat masala
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or to taste
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Add diced cucumber, green chili, ground cumin, chaat masala, salt, pepper, maple syrup, and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Toss well to mix.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings as required.
- Add chopped cilantro and mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 10 minutes before serving.
Storing Suggestion
- Once the salt is mixed with the cucumbers, the water will be released, making the salad runny. Therefore, it is best to serve this Cucumber Salad on the same day it is made.
- But if you still have leftover salad, cover it tightly and refrigerate for a day.
Notes
- Cucumber: If using a cucumber with many seeds, cut it lengthwise, remove the seeds, and then chop it.
- Green Chili: If you do not want your salad spicy, skip the green chili. Or, instead of green chili, you can add red chili powder, red pepper flakes, or hot paprika.
- Spices: Add more or fewer spices as per your taste preference.
- Make-Ahead: Cucumber salad can not be prepared in advance, as adding salt makes it watery. However, you can prepare it by mixing all the ingredients except salt and cilantro, covering it tightly, and refrigerating it. When you are ready to serve, add salt and chopped cilantro, mix well, and serve.
- Scaling: This recipe serves two people, but it can easily be doubled, tripled, or halved as needed.
Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think.