Kachumbari

Kachumbari is a East African salad that is very quick and easy to make and also tasty! I had this a lot when I went on holiday to Kenya (check out my blog for my trip there). I pretty much had it at very restaurant that had local declicaies whenI was out there. It is such a nice side dish especially with grilled meats or fish. Kachumbari is a salad that consist of tomatoes, onions, coriander, chilli (optional) and lemon/lime juice.

Kachumbari has its origin from India (which is not surprising given the migration of Indians worker to East Africa who came to work there during the era of colonisation). This and some other popular East African delicacies such as Chapati, Masala Chai are as a result of that era.

What I love about Kachumbari is how fresh it taste and also because at the same time it doesn't taste boring like a 'normal' salad might. Maybe I should also mention that because it also has a bit of heat/spice to it, it does it for me! If you know me you know I like my food withe a bit of heat/spice! So this is salad is right up my street!

So if you're having a barbecue or any any meal where there is grilled meats or fish, I recommend you add Kachumbari as a nice side to it. It's healthy as well which is a plus and can give your meal that nice balance! Right let's get into the recipe.

Recipe

Equipment

- Chopping board

-Knife

-Sieve

-Bowl

-Salad spoon

Ingredients

- 5 medium size Tomatoes

- 1 medium size red onions (you can also use white but red is traditional used)

- Bunch of coriander

-1 Fresh lemon

-1 tsp salt

-Chilli (optional)- to your taste

Process

1) Peel the onions, rinse and then slice them thinly. In a bowl of warm water, add the onions to it and then the salt and then mix altogether and let it soak for at least 5 minutes. This is in order to get rid/reduce the pungent taste of the onions.

2) Whilst the onions is soaking, wash the tomatoes and then slice thinly as well. Chop the coriander and also the chilli and set all aside. Cut the lemon and squeeze out the juice and set aside as well.

3) Pour the onions into a sieve to take out the water. Add a bit of water wurst the onions is in the sieve in order to rinse off the salt.

4)In your serving bowl, add the tomatoes, onions, coriander and chilli. Then mix altogether. The add in the lemon juice bit by bit and taste- add more depending on your preferred level of tanginess or to your taste. Then mix altogether.

5) Leave the salad to rest for about 20 minutes in the fridge. It taste much better when it is left to rest first.

Check out the reels section of my Instagram page for a quick video showing the process here.

Any questions, feel free to send an email or message on any of my social media platform.