A Riff in the Heat on Kachumber Salad

In this heat, I crave the cool of Kachumber salad. Chopped, chilled and best eaten with a cut through dressing. 

Possibly the polar opposite of a torn leaf salad, the chopped salad is all about the knife.

This is your chance to bring your sabre toting skills to the fore and chop your way carefully and uniformly through whatever ingredients take your fancy.

Today, my fridge yielded this. It’s a riff on Kachumber, the Indian salad dish which takes fresh tomatoes, chilli and cucumber as it’s base. And with the addition of a mustard-maple dressing, toasted almond slivers, and hummus on the side, I had a feast of a lunch.

I make in small batches as once a salad is dressed, the clock is ticking.

Serves 2

Source

2 large tomatoes, deseeded and core removed.

¼ cucumber, deseeded

1 spring onion

¼ avocado

Handful toasted almond slivers

¼ pepper

Small handful of fresh mint and fresh coriander, chopped fine

1 tsp cumin seeds

¼ small red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped

For the Maple Mustard Dressing

Using a small lidded jam jar as a measure, mix and shake well to combine:

1/3 qty apple cider vinegar

2/3 qty extra virgin olive oil

Good tsp yellow Dijon mustard

2 tsp maple syrup

Seasoning

Action

Chop all your salad ingredients, bar the slivered almonds, herbs and chilli into same sized, uniform pieces, around 1cm squared.

It’s a challenge. And a very rewarding one. I recommend a a sharp knife.

Place chopped ingredients into a bowl with a tbsp of your dressing, plus the remaining ingredients when you’re ready to eat.