Persian Shirazi Salad Recipe - An Easy Cucumber Onion Tomato Salad that resembles Pico-de-gallo or Mexican Salsa. Juicy, refreshing and bursting with flavors from fresh herbs, vegetables and lime juice, this salad can be put together in no time.
Deceptively similar to Indian Kachumber Salad, Shirazi Salad is a simple Persian no lettuce chopped vegetable salad recipe. A summer friendly salad that can be served as side, entrée or appetizer.
Summers officially mean salads for lunch and our Persian Salad is perfect for hot summer days. It's juicy, fresh, light, refreshing and easy to put together.
No creamy dressing, No Mayo or expensive ingredients are used for the salad. It is perfect for folks who are clean-eating on a budget.
This salad can be easily customized and serves a crowd. A great salad recipe for potlucks, entertaining a group of friends, family weekends or game nights.
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About Shirazi Salad Recipe
Shirazi Salad or Salad Shirazi is a Persian or Iranian Salad named after Shiraz, a city located in South-Western Iran.
In Iran, the dish is served as side or condiment with kebabs or rice based dishes.
The salad is quite similar to Pico de gallo or Mexican Salsa and can be served as an entrée or appetizer with crackers or lavash.
The salad dressing for traditional Shirazi uses Verjus or Verjuice (unripe grape juice). It lends acidity to the salad. It is not available in my part of the world and hence I have used suitable substitutes.
Shirazi Salad is gluten-free, Vegan, contains no nuts, Whole30, Paleo.
Ingredients & Substitutions
The salad uses 3 key vegetables - Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Onion.
Traditionally, Shirazi uses Persian Cucumbers. However, I have used English Cucumber as they contain less seeds. I don't peel the skin either as I love the bright green color.
If cucumbers contain a lot of seeds, scoop it out before finely chopping for the salad.
Tip - Sometimes, Cucumbers can taste bitter so it's best to taste-check before adding them to salads. I would personally recommend tasting a slice each from both the ends of the cucumbers.
Tomatoes - Choose ripe yet firm tomatoes for the recipe as they are easier to chop. You may choose to scoop the seeds out or drain the chopped tomatoes in a colander to remove excess moisture.
Onion - Except Spring Onions or scallions, I would recommend any variety of onions for this salad. I personally prefer red onions.
Herbs - Traditionally, dried mint is added. However, I have used both fresh mint and cilantro / coriander. You can use a combination of parsley and cilantro too.
Salad Dressing
Lime Juice - The salad gets its acidity from fresh lime juice. I have used 1 whole Indian Lime (no zest) which is the size of a table tennis ball.
Sumac - Sumac has a lemony tart flavor and does wonders to this salad. Sumac is available in stores that sell Middle Eastern Spices or you can easily order it online. If you cannot source this ingredient, skip it.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - I personally skew towards No Oil Salad recipes but love a splash of EVOO in my Shirazi. It sort of blends everything together.
This salad does not contain chilies of any kind. It is non-spicy and something the whole family can enjoy.
Serving Suggestions
There are many ways of serving this humble salad. Some of the suggestions below can be helpful if you are planning to make Shirazi for your family, entertaining a group of friends or throwing a bbq party by the poolside.
A perfect make-ahead salad recipe. Refrigerate for 45 mins - 1 hour prior to serving.
Serve as SIDE with curries and rice or Naan bread. Some of our favorites include Chana Masala, Rajma Masala, Mushroom Matar and Brown Lentils Curry.
If you are planning a Middle Eastern Menu, you can create a mezze platter by serving Beetroot Hummus or Muhammara, Falafel, Roasted Potatoes with Zaatar. Serve Pita Bread, Lavash or Buckwheat Crackers on the side.
The salad can be served with pita chips, tortilla chips or baked nachos as entrée or appetizer.
Salad as Meal - Add cooked Chickpeas, Kidney Beans or cannellini beans to the salad to make it filling and protein rich. Cooked Quinoa, pearl barley or bulgur wheat are great additions.
Use as topping for tortilla wraps, gyros and tacos.
Secret - I love Shirazi as a topping on my Masala Papad and Khakra.
If you have tried some unconventional ways of enjoying this salad, please share in the comments section below. Would love to know!
Storage Instructions
The salad stays fresh, under refrigeration for 2-3 days. Store in an airtight container. It is more juicier the next day and the flavors mellow down too.
Packing this for lunch box? Pack the chopped vegetables and salad dressing in separate containers. Mix and enjoy during lunch.
More Salad Recipes to try
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Shirazi Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tomatoes, finely chopped or use 1 & 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 Onion, large, finely chopped or use 3/4 cup chopped onions
- 1 English Cucumber, finely chopped or use 3/4 cup chopped cucumbers
- ¼ cup Finely chopped Cilantro
- 2 tbsp Finely chopped mint
- 1 ½ tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- ½ tsp Sumac
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper Powder
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the finely chopped tomatoes, onions and cucumbers. Mix well.
- In a small jar, add lemon juice, sumac, EVOO, black pepper powder and salt to taste. Mix or shake, pour the dressing over the salad, add fresh herbs and toss everything well.
- Refrigerate the Shirazi Salad for atleast 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
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We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!
Vidya Narayan
I love the fresh flavors in this Persian version of pico de gallo! So good.
Perfect, tasty condiment or side dish! The mint is KEY and makes it SOOOO fresh and delish!!
Such a good recipe just in time for the warmer months! Thank you!!
This shirazi salad recipe is so much like pico de gallo but with even more flavor. What a great alternative - we may never go back!