This is a traditional East African dish which is delicious and incredibly easy to make. Essentially, it is a fresh tomato and onion salad, and variations can be made on herbs and condiments to bring together your desired flavour combinations. There are numerous variations of this salad with some adding cucumber and avocado for a much more filling and flavour filled salad.
We love it because it is delicious and you really can’t go wrong. It’s a salad which always pleases the guests with its simplicity and mouth-watering juiciness.
You can add your own touch to it by adding or removing different herbs and spices. For example, if you prefer a lingering cool effect on the tongue then, add lots of mint. Or if you prefer a fresh peppery taste with a hint of mint, then basil is the best herb to indulge in. Our go to is coriander and parsley for a fresh citrus and peppery taste. The lemon tends to compliment the flavours too, which is all together incredibly indulgent. We tend to get through a large bowl and often have to keep ourselves from eating it all when we have guests!
Often, we would use red onion, however white onion is fine too. If you would like to get rid of the tangy sharp taste of the onion, we recommend you chop and leave it in water or in the fridge for a few hours. This of course takes extra planning. We tend not to bother as we have grown to love the flavour and sharpness of the onions.
We usually have the salad with chips or anything with no sauce such as falafel.
Remember-the juicier the tomatoes, the tastier the salad!
With love,
Chris and Dale
xxx
Kachumbari
Equipment
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Salad
- 1 Knife
- 1 Sieve
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5 large tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 1 bunch basil
- 1 bunch coriander
- 1 lemon
- 1 bunch parsley
- 2 chillies
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Chop the onion and leave to sit in water. This can be cold or warm water.
- Chop the tomatoes and add to the bowl as you go along
- Chop the chillies, coriander, and parsley
- Slice the lemon in half and juice over the salad with the sieve to ensure the seeds do not go into the salad
- Add the onions to the tomatoes.
- Add all the other herbs to the salad
- Sprinkle salt and olive oil. Then stir well. Taste and add more of of any of the above ingredients until salad is to your taste.