Cucumber Peanut Koshimbir
Koshimbir is the everyday raw salad of Maharashtra, cucumber bound with coarsely crushed roasted peanuts and finished with a tempering of popped mustard seed. It is usually seasoned with salt and a small pinch of sugar to balance the lime. Neither is necessary: the roasted peanuts carry so much savory weight, and the cucumber so much of its own sweetness, that lime alone brings it into focus. Dress it at the last minute so the cucumber stays crisp.
Ingredients
- 1 whole Cucumber, large, finely diced
- 1/3 cup Peanuts
- 1 whole Indian green chile, minced
- 1 tsp Cumin seed
- 1/2 tsp Brown mustard seed
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp Lime juice
Method
- Toast the peanuts in a dry pan over medium heat until the skins darken and loosen, about 4 minutes. Cool them, rub off the skins, and crush them coarsely. This roasted-peanut powder is the backbone of koshimbir, giving richness and a savory depth that reads as fully seasoned.
- In the same dry pan, toast the cumin seeds until fragrant, about 1 minute, and grind them. Then pop the mustard seeds in the dry pan over medium-high heat, covered, until they crackle and jump, about 1 minute, and tip them out. Popped mustard seed is the traditional tempering, done here without the usual spoon of oil.
- Just before serving, combine the diced cucumber, crushed peanuts, minced chile, ground cumin, and cilantro.
- Dress with the lime juice and scatter the popped mustard seeds over the top. The lime does the seasoning that salt and the customary pinch of sugar usually split between them, so add it to taste and toss right before it goes to the table, since cucumber weeps quickly once dressed.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 105 calories, 4 g protein, 3 g fiber, 10 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
