Onion Salad Recipe (Laccha Pyaaz)

Onion Salad also known as Laccha Pyaaz or Masala Pyaz is a quick Indian salad made with fresh cut raw onion rings, ground spices, lemon and fresh herbs. This salad is a staple in the North Indian restaurants and highway Dhabas. It is always served with tandoori foods, appetizers, snacks and sometimes even with Biryani. Onion salad also goes well alongside roti, kulcha or Naan served with curry & Dal. It also goes well with pulao or any Indian Rice Dishes.

About Onion Salad

At home we also use them in our Kathi rolls, wraps, sandwiches and burgers too. Whenever you want to perk up the flavor and spice in your meal you can make this instantly. These crunchy salad onion rings are tangy, spicy and flavorsome, you can’t stop eating a few.

Onion Salad is simply made by tossing thin sliced raw onion rings in lemon juice, spices and herbs. To remove the pungent flavor of the onions, they are usually soaked in cold water for a short time. This step removes the spicy and pungent taste as well, making them more palatable. The onions grown in India are mostly pungent and they are loved as is by a lot of people.

So a lot of people just avoid the soaking step but soaking also keeps the onions fresher & crisp for a little longer. Though red onions, sweet onions and white onions all go well here, the smarter choice is to use what you like. Avoid yellow onions. This onion salad is best made and served immediately as the onions begin to turn soft as they rest longer.

Though they keep good for an hour, the flavors are best when they are made. Serve onion salad on the side of Grilled Indian appetizers like Paneer Tikka, Tandoori chicken, Chicken tikka, Kababs, Biryani or Pulao.

Photo Guide

How to Make Onion Salad (Stepwise Photos)

1. Rinse onions under running water and peel them. Repeat the rinse and remove any outer layers that are bruised or dried out. Rinse lemon, green chili and coriander leaves.

2. Slice the onions to thin rings. You can also simply slice them. Deseed and fine chop green chilies and coriander leaves.

3. Separate the layers, discard if any thin membrane comes out. Add them to a bowl of very cold water. Leave for 10 mins. Drain the water from bowl.

4. Shake off the onion rings and add them to another serving bowl.

5. To spice up the onion salad, you will use red chilli powder, black pepper, chaat masala and salt. If you don’t have chaat masala, you may use a small amount of cumin powder and amchur powder (dried mango powder). But the flavors won’t be the same. You can start with smaller quantities and adjust towards the end.

6. Squeeze lemon juice and toss the onions.

7. Mix the ground spices and salt in a small plate. Sprinkle all over evenly. Also add chopped chilies and coriander leaves.

8. Toss and taste test. Add salt or spices or lemon juice if you want more.

Serve the onion salad immediately. It is best eaten under 1 hour.

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