What is Kachumbari? For to describe it as an ordinary tomato salad is not sufficient. It is a ubiquitous side dish in East Africa with Indian origins – Kachumber. It typically accompanies a variety of dishes including a rice dish called Pilau.
The Indian influence in Kenyan cuisine is one that is very evident, both in technique and language. There has long been a debate as to whether some of these dishes can be considered Kenyan if at all. An unfortunate historical past of being colonized by the British forced encounters that created this synergy to Kenyan cuisine as we know (well, at least some of the cuisine). It is why you will see recipes labelled as Kenyan style _______ etc. But I think ultimately it is about being respectful of the origin of some of these dishes that made their way to us despite a complicated past and present.
In this video, I share my version of kachumbari using some not so traditional ingredients: yellow heirloom tomatoes, pickled red onions, and violet salt. Traditionally kachumbari contains: red tomatoes, raw red onion (sometimes soaked in brine), cilantro (coriander), salt, and a chilli (or chile in other parts). Moving forward, I’ll be making kachumbari with pickled onions, because it tasted better than the brine soaked equivalent. Plus it makes for a rather beautiful kachumbari, wouldn’t you agree?