This authentic Indian Onion Salad recipe is so quick and easy to make yet gives you the best results. The recipe is a copycat of the raw onion salad served in restaurants with poppadoms and green chutney.
You can make this easy Indian salad in under 5 minutes with a few simple/easy to find ingredients.
Table of contents
- BEST Indian Onion Salad for Poppadoms
- What is an Indian Onion Salad
- Why you will love this recipe:
- What goes in Indian Onion Salad
- How to serve Onion Salad Indian Takeaway style
- British Indian Restaurant Style Onion Salad
- Indian Onion Salad with Mint Sauce
- Tomato Onion Salad
- Indian Onion Cucumber Salad
- Sarlas/Challas
- Tandoori Onion Salad
- Sirke Wale Pyaaz
- Onion Salad with Oil
- How to make Indian Onion Salad
- What to do with leftover Onion Salad
- FAQs
- Other Onion Recipes
BEST Indian Onion Salad for Poppadoms
A basket of poppadoms alongside a trio of onion salad and two chutneys signals the start of your Indian feast in any Indian restaurant!
Onion salads provide texture and bite and enhance the flavour of the Indian mains.
If you're looking for a quick side dish to accompany your homemade Indian meal, then this is the salad that you need to try!
This particular style of raw onion ring salad is served with fried poppadoms, Indian mint sauce or curries but is versatile enough to be added to burgers, wraps and other recipes that ask for onions.
What is an Indian Onion Salad
Indian Onion Salad or Lachha Pyaaz is a raw onion salad recipe that is served as a side to an Indian meal and is made from raw onion rings or slices, lemon juice, fresh herbs and spices.
It is also known as pyaaz salad or lachha pyaaz ka kachumber in Hindi. Pyaaz, Piyaz or pyaj are the hindi words for all kinds of onions available.
The salad is naturally vegan, gluten-free and is no-cook.
Why you will love this recipe:
- So quick and easy - it's a great everyday salad
- No cook recipe - no cooking is required for these recipe
- Suitable for all dietary needs - the salad is plant based, suitable for vegans and vegetarians, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free and keto-friendly.
- Easy to scale up or down
- Easy to find ingredients
- Budget friendly
What goes in Indian Onion Salad
Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post
- Onion - you can make this salad with white, red or sweet onions such as sweet vindalia. You can either slice the onions into rings or into half slices. The onions then need prepping in ice water.
In the UK, sweet onion varieties include Ailsa Craig Onions
- Lemon/Lime juice - use freshly squeezed where possible
- Red chilli powder or green chilli - you can optionally add a pinch of spice powders like red chilli powder or finely chopped green chilli.
- Chaat Masala - chaat masala is a tangy spice blend (not spicy at all). It has a very distinct and recognizable taste and is heavily used in Indian street food items such as smashed potato chaat, surprisingly it was soooo good in this chaat masala hummus too.
Chaat masala is available in most supermarkets, South-Asian grocery stores and on Amazon too. It comes in a small packet and you can find them in world food section.
If you don't have any on hand, use mango powder, dried pomegranate powder or black salt (kala namak) or you may get away with using a pinch of garam masala or Madras curry powder
- Roasted Cumin Powder - (optional) also known as jeera powder. If you can not find chaat masala use this.
- Herbs - fresh coriander (cilantro) and mint leaves are the herbs used in Indian onion salad
- Salt - to taste (if using black salt, go easy on this)
How to serve Onion Salad Indian Takeaway style
How you serve this onion salad depends on whether you want to serve like Indian restaurants or British Indian Restaurant.
If you are serving it North Indian restaurant style, then it will go great with curries such as matar paneer, daal makhani , Bhindi Bhaji and garlic and coriander naan
If you are serving it British Indian restaurant style then prepare it finely chopped and serve with fried poppadoms and poppadom dips like mango chutney and mint yogurt chutney.
I prefer to make this salad fresh on the day rather than store it in the fridge.
Pair this salad with your everyday Indian vegetarian meal. I love to make a thali consisting of Multigrain flour roti/chapatti, easy spinach and chana dal and cabbage and potato curry
In Gujarat, India, thinly cut onion slices (without any spices powders) are served with Daal Vada (split moong lentils fritters) along with fried green chillies.
Also Finely chopped onions added on top of the Pani Puri (Indian street food) by roadside vendors in India.
I love to add on Instant Pot Afghan Lubya and Red Kidney Bean and Coconut Curry too
British Indian Restaurant Style Onion Salad
A variation of this Indian Onion Salad is served in the UK in British Curry Houses and Indian takeaways.
Before the starter appears, customers are served finely sliced onion salad with poppadoms, green mint yogurt chutney and mango chutney.
The onion salad is made with finely chopped white onion and finely chopped coriander. The salad sometimes includes very small pieces of cucumber and tomato. In some restaurants, the onion is mildly spiced with Indian masala the same as this recipe.
Finely diced onion is easy to scoop up with poppadom and load up with dips/chutney.
Honestly, I end up making a meal of this and fill up before the starter has even arrived!
Indian Onion Salad with Mint Sauce
For an alternative British Indian Restaurant (BIR) onion salad, you can toss these onions in jarred mint sauce.
British mint sauce is a refreshing condiment that adds tang and zingy flavours.
Tomato Onion Salad
Add thinly sliced tomato rounds to this salad, it tastes absolutely delicious and adds nutritional value too.
Indian Onion Cucumber Salad
You can add chopped cucumber to this salad along with the onion.
Kachumber salad
Kachumber is a wonderful Indian salad consisting of finely chopped onion, tomato, cucumber and coriander. It is finished with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Sarlas/Challas
This recipe hails from Kerala India. Sliced onions and cut green chillies are served as an onion salad
Tandoori Onion Salad
This onion salad is sometimes called tandoori onion salad as it is served with tandoori style dishes.
Sirke Wale Pyaaz
This Indian style pickled onion salad is made by pickling small red onions in vinegar then served alongside meals.
Onion Salad with Oil
In Himachal Pradesh, an area in India, some add a teaspoon of mustard oil to this salad.
How to make Indian Onion Salad
Make this Indian Onion Salad in just a two steps before you are going to serve your Indian meal.
Peel the skin of the onions, and wash it under the running water.
Slice using a sharp knife in to rings or dice them (to serve with papad and chutney). Slice as thin as possible.
If you wish, wear cut-resistant gloves to protect your hands (better safe than sorry!)
Separate the onion rings using your index finger and thumb. You can use all the rings, even the small ones.
To soak or not to soak... that is the question
It all depends on your preference of flavour and/or the time you have available.
Soaking the onion first will mellow and tone down the strong flavour. Some people aren't a fan, and some don't mind it.
If you want to make this onion salad in less than 5 minutes, then I suggest not soaking the onions.
If you have soaked the onions, after 20 minutes remove them and pat dry with a kitchen paper towel to get rid of all the extra moisture.
In a separate mixing bowl toss the onion rings with all the spice powders (which ever you'd like to use). Mix it and sprinkle with herbs.
What to do with leftover Onion Salad
Add them to the plain yogurt to make onion raita or pan fry with a little oil until light brown and use as a topping for burgers or hot dogs.
If you have sliced them thick, make onion rings by dipping them in to the batter and either deep fry or air fry. Or make world famous Onion Bhaji 🙂
FAQs
Chill the onions in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to cutting or use a good sharp knife
Place the raw onion in an ice water bath for 15-20 minutes minutes. The onion will remain crunchy, but the flavour will mellow.
Get rid of the strong taste of onions by soaking onion slices in ice cold water for at least 20-30 minutes or by sprinkling them with white vinegar. With this both methods onions will loose strong taste and becomes sweeter, however onions soaked in ice water will get crispy while those in vinegar will soften a bit.
White, yellow, brown and red onions can be used for salads
Cilantro/coriander and mint are the most common herbs used.
For Indian onion salad I suggest you must cilantro/coriander and mint, if you can't find coriander then you can just get away using a flat leaf parsley.
Jain and Swaminarayan faiths will not eat onion or garlic.
Onions are rich in sulphur and eating raw onion in some people can lead to heartburn, bloating and abdominal discomfort. Serving this salad alongside a meal can reduce these symptoms.
Keep them away from the potatoes to prevent going them bad. Store them in the fridge and use in making curry, meat dishes, or pizza or casseroles.
You can freeze onion in the freezer for up to six months. Simply, peel and chop and store in the zip lock bag or an air tight container.
I do not recommend storing this salad or making ahead of time as the strong flavour of the onion intensifies as it sits and does not taste fresh when eaten the next day. I suggest make small batches prior to serving instead.
Other Onion Recipes
Spring Onion Kadhi (spicy soup)
Do Pyaza Baingan (eggplant)
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Indian Onion Salad
Equipment
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 medium red onion
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder red
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala or roasted ground cumin
- 2 tablespoon cilantro/mint
- salt
Instructions
- Peel the skin of the onions.2 medium red onion
- Using a sharp knife cut the onions in to thin slices.
- Soak the slices in ice bath for 10-12 minutes
- Discard the water, pat dry the onions using a clean kitchen paper (tissue paper)
- Add salt, chilli powder, lemon juce, chaat masala and cilantro.¼ teaspoon chilli powder, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon chaat masala, 2 tablespoon cilantro/mint , salt
- Toss everything together.
- Serve
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
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Debbie says
This Indian Onion Salad looks so simple and unusual. I have never heard of anything like this but I will be trying this for sure.
Amanda says
Loved this onion salad! It was so fresh tasting with the mint, and it couldn't have been easier to put together.
Amy Casey says
I made this tasty salad to go along with chicken curry ~ it was perfect. Thanks for the tip about soaking the onions. The onions were nice and mellow tasting.
Jessica says
I've always wondered what the spice was that makes this simple side so tasty....I will definitely be looking for it the next time I shop. Thanks!!
Veronika says
Onions are such a great addition to any meal! This salad was a nice side to have that actually has a ton of flavor compared to just plain onions. Will definitely make again!
Ann says
This salad sounds delicious! Also sounds like the perfect recipe to use up some of my onions from the garden!
Cathleen says
I love how simple this recipe is! I have all the ingredients too, so I am so excited to make it when I get home tonight! 🙂
Freya says
I love to soak my onions first and then the rest of the flavours make this such a delightful side!
Marta says
I'd never heard of nor tasted Indian onion salad, but since I love onions, I had to try it. I'm so glad I did! I love the flavor of the chaat masala with the onions. It added a warmth that was unreal!
Bernice says
Love these flavours! I have had this salad before at local Indian restaurants only there was tomato in it. I think I prefer it that way...less onion-y.