This Indian Tomato Salad is a spicy twist on a delicious classic appetizer recipe. It's loaded with tomatoes, onion, and lean protein chickpeas. Plus, it's a light, easy, filling dinner for a busy weeknight.

This Indian tomato salad is bursting with bold flavors, with the goodness of chickpeas, fresh tomatoes, freshly minced serrano peppers, and a splash of zesty lemon juice, making every spoon of this salad a delight(like this Indian carrot salad and Indian quinoa salad).
It's a comfortable and satisfying side dish perfect to enjoy as a standalone dish or as a side with curries or grilled meat.
A simple, light, yet flavor-packed salad that brings the taste of India to your table!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
⭐️Quick and effortless!
⭐️Tastes delicious and loaded with flavors, best served with Indian curries.
⭐️Customize to your preference.
Ingredients
- Tomato: Choose cherry tomatoes for this recipe. Feel free to add any variety of tomatoes.
- Onion: Yellow onions are the best in this recipe because of their natural sweetness. However, red onion tastes excellent with a hint of spiciness.
- Green chili pepper: These are Indian green chilis; you can substitute them with serrano peppers or Thai green chilies.
- Lemon juice: A light and refreshing dressing.
- Chickpea: Canned chickpeas are convenient. See below for how to make perfectly cooked chickpeas at home.
How To Make Indian Tomato Salad
- Prepare: Prepare all the vegetables by washing, cleaning, and peeling, whichever is necessary.
- Chop: Chop them evenly to the chickpea size. Finely chop the green chili peppers.
- Toss: Add all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and gently combine using a spoon.
- Serve: And serve immediately.
♨️How To Adjust The Heat Level
This Indian tomato salad is gently spiced, but you can control the heat by adjusting the amount of green chilies.
You can also remove the seeds of the chilies to minimize the heat without compromising the flavors.
The Leftovers
This Indian tomato salad tastes best when served fresh and is not freezer-friendly.
If you have any leftovers, refrigerate ingredients separately in an air-sealed container for a day. The good news is that you can freeze the chickpeas to use later.
Best To Serve With
- Bread: We love serving it with this onion kulcha.
- Curries: My family's favorites are this Instant Pot chicken curry, Indian tofu curry, or this lima bean curry.
- Raita & pickles: The best accompanying condiments are cucumber raita and the Indian lemon pickle.
- Rice: Simple steamed rice and serve with flavored rice.
- Drinks: Enjoy with ginger tea.
FAQ
Can I make Indian tomato salad in advance?
You can prepare all the ingredients and store them separately. And toss it just before serving.
If you want chickpea substitutes for this Indian tomato salad, try adding cooked red, kidney, black beans, edamame, boiled peanuts, or black-eyed peas.
Add grilled paneer or spicy tofu steak for protein. Shredded chicken makes it a complete meal. Cucumber enhances freshness. Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle black pepper, and garnish with cilantro or mint.
More Salad Recipes To Try
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know your thoughts in the 📝 comments section below the recipe.
📖 Recipe
Indian Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup tomato roughly chopped
- ½ cup onion roughly chopped
- ½ cup chickpea cooked
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 serrano pepper minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add roughly chopped tomato, onion, chickpea, lemon juice, serrano pepper, and salt.
- Combine and toss them gently till lemon juice coats all the ingredients.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Easily customize the spice level by adjusting the amount of green chilies or removing the seeds for a milder flavor.
- It is best served fresh but refrigerate the ingredients separately in an airtight container for up to a day if you prefer storeing. However, chickpeas are suitable to freeze for later use.
- Pair it with Indian flatbreads and curries such as Instant Pot chicken curry, or enjoy it with simple steamed rice for a satisfying meal.
Suja Manoj says
Yummy and filling salad
Sujatha Muralidhar says
Thank you Suja Manoj
Tara says
Oh yum! This salad looks incredible with the combination of the tomatoes and chickpeas. I love how easily it all comes together. Definitely perfect for weeknights.
pepperbowl says
Tara, this makes me so happy to hear, thank you!
Amy says
This was so darn good! I added some paneer to it because I just love cheese!
pepperbowl says
Amy, I’m so excited to hear it!
Alison says
I made this salad for a picnic this weekend and it was a big hit! It's so simple yet flavorful.
pepperbowl says
Great to hear! Thank you Alison!