🥔 SIDE
Kachumber (Pakistani Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad)
Finely diced tomato, cucumber and red onion with green chilli and coriander, dressed with lemon juice, salt, black pepper and roasted cumin, the fresh relish served beside biryani, karahi and kebabs.
Pakistani · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 0 min
~34 cal · 2g protein · 8g carbs · 0g fat · 2g fiber · 4g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kachumber is the chopped salad of South Asia, eaten in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and on a Pakistani table it is almost always there. It grew out of the plate of sliced raw vegetables that has long accompanied meals, and became a dish of its own: tomato, cucumber and onion diced small and even, with chopped coriander, green chilli and a squeeze of lemon.
It is a side, not a starter. Kachumber goes next to rich, spiced mains, a biryani, a chicken karahi, a plate of kebabs, where its crunch and acidity cut through oil and spice, and beside a soft, soupy daal chawal, where it adds texture.
It takes five minutes, and the only rule is to cut everything the same size. Some cooks add roasted cumin or a little chilli powder, and in season a little diced unripe mango. It is best made just before eating, and left no longer than ten minutes or so, before the salt draws the water from the vegetables.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 2 medium (about 250 g) ripe tomatoes, diced small
- 1 (about 250 g) cucumber, peeled and diced small
- 1/2 medium (about 120 g) red onion, diced small
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped, optional
- 3 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp roasted ground cumin, optional
Instructions
- 1Dice the tomato, cucumber and onion into small, even pieces, about 6 mm.✎ Chef’s noteEven pieces are the whole craft of kachumber: every spoonful should have a bit of each.
- 2Put them in a bowl with the green chilli and coriander.
- 3Just before serving, add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and roasted cumin and toss gently. Taste and adjust.
- 4Serve straight away, or within about 10 minutes, beside biryani, karahi, kebabs or daal chawal.
Pakistani home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Lahore (Punjab). A good deal of what Lahore now eats arrived in 1947. Kashmiri families displaced from Amritsar settled around Gawalmandi and opened shops in the front rooms of their houses, bringing gram-flour battered fried fish, hareesa and Amritsari sweets that the old city has long since claimed as its own.
🗺️
Pakistan. Partition rewrote Pakistani menus. Muhajir families arriving from northern India after 1947 brought their own biryani, which is why Karachi's version is its own thing, heavier on potato, tomato and sourness than the Sindhi or Lahori styles. The tandoor remains a neighbourhood facility as much as a kitchen fixture, with dough carried to it and bread carried back.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it a Pakistan meal
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Kachumber (Pakistani Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad)?
Finely diced tomato, cucumber and red onion with green chilli and coriander, dressed with lemon juice, salt, black pepper and roasted cumin, the fresh relish served beside biryani, karahi and kebabs.
Where does Kachumber (Pakistani Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad) come from?
Kachumber (Pakistani Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad) is a Pakistani dish from Lahore (Punjab), Pakistan.
Can Kachumber (Pakistani Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kachumber (Pakistani Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kachumber (Pakistani Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kachumber (Pakistani Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad) take to make?
About 10 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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