Try our easy Indian Onion Salad recipe! Made with onions, spices, and herbs, this Indian salad can be served as a side with curries, as a topping for burgers, or even as a perfect accompaniment to crispy poppadoms. Ready in just 5 minutes!
About this 5 minutes authentic Indian Onion Salad recipe
Do you love that crunchy onion salad served with poppadoms and green chutney at your favourite Indian restaurant? The good news is you can easily recreate this refreshing restaurant style salad at home in no time!
This authentic Indian onion salad recipe is super quick and simple to make, with just a few ingredients. Just mix everything together, and it’s ready to serve!
Pro Tip: For the best texture, soak the onion rings in ice-cold water for a few minutes to mellow out their sharpness.
What is an Indian Onion Salad?
Indian Onion Salad, also known as Laccha Pyaaz in India, is a simple and refreshing side dish made with raw onions, spices, lemon juice, and coriander leaves. It is a popular accompaniment to North Indian curries and tandoori sizzler platters. However, this versatile salad can also be enjoyed with burgers, Kati rolls, wraps, or used as a topping for sandwiches.
It can even be used in recipes that call for Pickled Red Onions.
Why you'll love this recipe?
- No-cook recipe
- Healthy, with no added oils
- Suitable for various dietary needs, including vegan, vegetarian, egg-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free
- Easy to scale up or down based on your needs
- Uses easy-to-find budget friendly ingredients that won't break the bank
- Versatile, pairs well with many Indian dishes. Here are 9 EVERYDAY INDIAN VEGETARIAN MEALS FOR YOU.
Ingredients
This recipe uses simple, easily accessible ingredients that are commonly found in most kitchens.
Onion - Use red or white onions, thinly sliced into whole rings. Other onion varieties such as brown or sweet Vidalia onions can also be used.
Chilli Powder - Use a little Kashmiri chilli powder for heat. Alternatively, substitute with cayenne pepper, paprika, diced green chillies, or jalapenos.
Salt to taste - If you are using chaat masala, use salt accordingly.
Lemon/ Lime - Use fresh lemon or lime juice to balance the sharp flavours of the onion.
Herbs -For this recipe,use fresh coriander leaves (cilantro), mint leaves, or a combination of both.
Spices -Ground cumin and chaat masala (optional). These spices are available in most supermarkets and can be added for extra flavour.
How to make Indian Onion Salad step by step?
Slice the onion: To prepare Onion Salad at home, first, slice the onion into onion rings, not too thin. Then separate with the rings with your fingers. You can also dice them or slice them if you like.
Soak: Then soak the onion rings in a bowl of ice-cold water for 5-15 minutes (optional step). By doing so, the onion stays fresh and crunchy and the sharp pungent taste has mellowed down.The longer the onion is soaked, more the pungent taste has toned down.
Toss with spices: In a mixing bowl, add the raw onion rings, salt, chilli powder, lemon juice, ground cumin(optional), chaat masala and fresh coriander leaves. Toss them together to combine and serve. Taste, and adjust the seasoning, and lemon juice to your liking. Restaurant-style Masala Onion Salad is ready in minutes.
Serving Suggestions for Indian takeaway style Onion Salad
This Onion Salad is a versatile side dish that pairs well with a variety of Indian dishes. Here are some serving suggestions:
- If you're serving in British Indian restaurant style, serve with crispy fried poppadoms, mint yogurt dip, and mango chutney.
- Use this laccha pyaz as a topping for your cauliflower rice or vegetable biryani for added flavour and crunch.
- Pair it with your favourite Indian curries, such as Paneer butter masala or Chana Masala, Yellow Split peas Dal, Vegetable Raita and Roti for a comforting family meal.
- Serve with South Indian Molagootal and Vendakka Pachadi for a sumptuous meal.
How to store Onion Salad
Store the Indian Onion salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. However, keep in mind that the salad may become watery and lose its texture over time.
If you plan to store the salad, it's best to keep the dressing separate and add it just before serving. This will help to maintain the salad's texture and prevent it from becoming too soggy.
Onion Salad leftovers
This onion salad is best enjoyed fresh, so only make as much as you'll eat in one day. However, if you do have leftovers, there are a couple of ways to repurpose them.
- Mix the leftover salad with yogurt to create a tasty onion raita. This will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- If you have leftover cut onions, use them to make restaurant-style onion bhaji for a delicious snack.
Onion Salad Variations
Kachumber salad - Add chopped cucumbers, tomato to the diced onion salad for a crunchy and refreshing twist. Finish with fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Tomato Onion Salad: I have a recipe for this.
Masala Onion Salad: Add ground cumin, coriander, black salt, and chaat masala powder to the salad for a spicy and tangy flavour.
Onion and Sprouts Salad: Add sprouted moong beans or other sprouts to the onion salad for a crunchy and nutritious twist.
Indian onion salad with mint sauce: For a variation of the British Indian restaurant style salad, toss the raw onions with mint sauce.
Recipe FAQ's
It depends on personal preference. Soaking the onions in ice-cold water for at least 15 minutes can help to make them milder and more crispy, reducing their strong taste. However, if you prefer the taste of raw onions, you can skip the soaking step and use them as is in the salad.
Soak the onion slices in ice-cold water for at least 15 minutes before using them. You can also try using sweet onions or scallions instead of regular onions.
Use Red onions for Indian-style onion salad. You can also use white, yellow or brown ones.
You can add a pinch of sugar or honey to the dressing, or marinate the onions in vinegar or lemon juice and salt for at least 30 minutes before using them.
Try refrigerating the onion for 30 minutes before cutting, or cutting the onion under running water.
Love this easy Indian side dish, you will also love
Best Vegan Indian Onion Salad recipe below
Ingredients
- 2 medium Onion slice to make onion ring slices
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cumin Optional
- ½ teaspoon Chaat Masala Optional
- 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves
- ½ Lemon juice about 2 tbsp
Instructions
- Soak the onion rings in a bowl of ice cold water for 5-15 minutes. Drain the water.
- In a mixing bowl, add the onion, salt, chilli powder, cumin and chaat masala, lemon juice and coriander leaves.
- Toss to combine and serve immediately.
John M says
Great recipe .Onion Salad would not be the same without the chaat masala. An essential I feel not an option.
Miral Watson says
Just the type of Onion salad recipe I was looking for. The instructions were simple to follow and I made a batch serve with poppadoms.