Persian Cucumber Salad: Easy Recipes and Creative Ways to Use Persian Cucumbers

When the cucumber salad is on the dining table, you have to be careful not to eat too much to save room for this watery yet crunchy dessert. No matter what the main course is, this greenish salad gives you some reassurance that the meal is at least partly healthy. And the good news is that this salad is cheap and easy to make; you’ll find this out yourself if you follow the Persian cucumber salad recipe step by step.

Persian Cucumber Salad Recipe

Aside from the flavor, the convenience of making cucumber salad is another reason why this salad is so popular on Persian dinner tables. Once you prepare the ingredients, it takes you less than 20 minutes to make the salad. The ingredients you need include:

Necessary Ingredients:

1. Fresh cucumbers: 5 cucumbers
2. Red onions: 2 small onions
3. Chopped dill: 2 spoons
4. Mayonnaise: 1 spoon
5. Pepper and salt: as needed 
6. Thyme powder: half a teaspoon

Optional Ingredients:

• Sesame: 1 spoon 
• Radish: 3 or 4
• Pomegranate seeds: a couple of dozen

How to Make Persian Cucumber Salad

Things are really straightforward here; just get the above items and follow the steps below to prepare a nice cucumber salad for 2 to 4 people.

1. Wash the cucumbers and onions.
2. Chop the cucumbers into circular slices. If the cucumbers are slim, you don’t need to peel them; it’s your call.
3. Chop the onions into small pieces. 
4. Chiffonade the dill to add a pleasant scent to the salad.
5. Mix the items in a large bowl. Ta da! 

Other Versions of Persian Cucumber Recipes

The Persians know no limits when it comes to making a dish mouth-watering. Any cook might have a secret ingredient they add to the salad to make it more suitable to their liking. Tomato or onion is the most common companion of the cucumber salad. 

If you like your cucumber salad to have a peppery and slightly spicy flavor, you can also add some radishes to the salad.

The Shirazi Salad

If you’re looking for a more watery and sour taste, you can also try the Shirazi salad. You need to chop one medium onion, 4 tomatoes, and 5 Persian cucumbers into small pieces. Use a salad maker if you have one to save time. Then, pour all these items into a bowl and add two spoons of verjuice and mix everything up. 

Some prefer to use vinegar instead of verjuice; that’s again your call. If you have a sour tooth, you can add another spoonful of vinegar or verjuice, but don’t go overboard or you’ll end up hungry again after a couple of hours. For a better scent, you can add crushed dried mint to the mix as well.

Cucumber Salad Goes with What Food?

There’s no right or wrong when it comes to cucumber salad. But you might taste every essence of the salad after having other traditional Persian foods, especially chicken stew and Chelo Kebab. The Persian cucumber salad is a happy ending for all meals served for lunch or dinner, particularly if the meal includes rice. 

Let me remind you that this salad isn’t just a humble Persian cuisine, and it can be served with other famous international foods. For instance, it’s a brilliant idea to have this salad after eating Tacos or mac and cheese. 

In addition, this salad is fit for every diet since it contains no animal products (given that you use vegan mayonnaise) and is gluten-free.

Nutrition Value and Health Benefits

There is a famous saying attributed to the revered Persian physician Ibn Sina that translates into: “Make your food your medicine or your medicine becomes your food.” Meticulous attention to what food you eat and how you cook it is quite normal in Persian cooking practice. 

Cucumber is rich in fibre and low in calories. This helps the digestion process and prevents the feeling of heaviness after eating a wholesome meal. Also, since cucumber is 95% water, this salad keeps you hydrated. 

Tricks of the Trade in Persian Cucumber Salad

If you’re on a diet and don’t want to use mayo in the salad, you can mix a spoonful of Greek yoghurt and lemon juice or apple vinegar instead. Also, you can soak the chopped cucumbers in cold water before mixing them with other ingredients to make them crisper. Lastly, you add crushed walnuts to the salad to make it more nutritious.

Grow Your Own Cucumber 

If you have green thumbs and love gardening, you can harvest Persian cucumbers yourself. Thanks to its popularity, you can find Persian cucumber seeds in different cities worldwide. Nazdikia has shortlisted some of the places that sell Persian cucumber seeds that yield shiny, soft, and crispy cucumbers. 

• Persian cucumber seeds and fresh cucumbers in the US

Persian cucumber seeds in Chicago

Persian cucumber seeds in Houston (Texas)

Persian cucumber seeds in Los Angeles

Persian cucumber seeds in Washington

Persian cucumber seeds in New York and New Jersey

Persian cucumber seeds in San Francisco

• Persian cucumber seeds and fresh cucumbers in Canada

Persian cucumber seeds in Toronto

Persian cucumber seeds in Vancouver

• Persian cucumber seeds and fresh cucumbers in Europe 

Persian cucumber seeds in London

Where to Buy Persian Cucumber Seeds in Hamburg