Zingy Tandoori Laccha Pyaaz made with onion & basic spices you might already have on hand. This dhaba-style onion salad takes 10 minutes to make and can take your basic Dal-Chawal meals to the next level.
Are you even Indian if you’re not eating raw onions with your spicy curries? Whether it is Pav Bhaji, Chole, Dal, or Paneer, Indian Food is usually served with a side of onions, lemon, and chilies. You add some salt to the raw onions, squeeze some lemon on it, and take a bite of it along with your rice or roti and curries for the whole experience.
Now, when you go to a Punjabi Dhaba (or pretty much any good restaurant that serves authentic Punjabi/ North-Indian food), this tandoori laccha pyaaz (तंदूरी लच्छा प्याज़) is served with your main meal. Thin cuts of red onion quickly pickled with salt, red chili powder, chaat masala, and coriander powder make this an ideal side that compliments the food. Also known as Masala Pyaz, this staple salad is crunchy, zingy, and spicy.
Tips for making the Masala Pyaz / Lachchha Pyaaz Recipe:
- Try to find young red onions that aren’t too pungent. You can also use white or yellow onions for this recipe.
- Cut the onions into thin circles or long slices.
- Soaking in cold water for at least 5 minutes keeps the onions crunchy for a bit longer, and also removes most of the pungent taste from the onions.
- Ideally, this masala laccha pyaaz is supposed to be fresh and crunchy, so do not make this ahead of time. You can slice onions and soak them in water for up to a day, and mix the spices separately. Right before you want to serve, mix the spices, lemon, and cilantro with the onions. This will keep it crunchy.
- You can experiment with any spice mix you desire, but chaat masala makes this an oh-so-tasty salad.
- In case you do have some leftovers, do not discard them. It will still be edible, but just not crunchy. Refrigerate and consume within 2-3 days.
Here’s a quick video on how to make this pickled onion salad –
Tandoori Laccha Pyaaz (Masala Onion Salad)
Ingredients
- 1 large Red Onion (or any onion)
- 1/4 tsp Black Salt (or regular Salt), adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder (adjust for desired spice)
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Chaat Masala Powder
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Cilantro or Coriander leaves
- 1 piece finely chopped Green Chili, optional
- 1/2 piece Lemon (adjust as needed)
- Cold Water, to soak Onions in
Instructions
- Peel and slice onion into thin circles, separate the layers to form individual onion rings. You can also just cut them into long, thin slices.
- Add the onion slices into a large bowl, cover them with cold water and keep them refrigerated for 5 minutes. This removes some pungency of the onions.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, add all the spices and mix together.
- Remove the onions from the refrigerator, discard the water completely. Gently dry out the onions on a clean kitchen cloth.
- Then add the onions back into the bowl, add the rest of the spices and gently massage the spices nto itheonions.
- Squeeze some fresh lemon juice, add the chopped chilies and cilantro and mix well. Taste & adjust for seasoning if needed.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Short answer – no. Mixing salt into onions will cause it to sweat, and it will no longer be crunchy.
- But, you can prep all the elements, and assemble it right before serving.
- To prep, slice your onion and keep them soaked in cold water in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Also, mix all the spices and keep them aside.
- Right before you wanna serve, mix the spices, lemon juice and cilantro leaves with the drained onions
- In case you do have leftovers, you can refrigerate them and consume within 2-3 days. But they won’t be crunchy. They will be soft, pickled onions.
If you like this recipe, do check out some other Indian recipes you may enjoy with this Pyaaz –
You wrote tandoori so many times in the article that “tandoori nights” gana yaad aa gaya 😝