Sirke wale pyaaz or Quick pickled onion salad is a staple in Punjabi cuisine with little variations. It is so simple to make that I never thought to share with you. As grilling season is in full gear right now so I thought to do a quick post. A plateful of this garnet pickled salad on the table is a perfect companion to North Indian style meal, tacos, burgers and grilled food, so try it!
This salad is piquant, savory and slightly sweet at the same time. It is most commonly made with pearl onions but thinly sliced regular red onion works great too. Red onions have deep purple skin which is great for raw salads. Soaking them in white vinegar mellows the pungent odor and brings out the prettiest pink color. When you add beet it lends a beautiful garnet color and deep earthy sweetness. Though beetroot is optional I add because I love eating it raw, and with some fresh mint, this salad is not just beautiful but also tastes delicious!
This is a really nice salad to serve alongside various dishes like tandoori chicken, fish or kebabs. It is vegan, low fat and is often served complimentary with Punjabi meal at every restaurant in the Northern region of India (may be in other regions too but I am not familiar). I also enjoy this in sandwiches and burgers and with fish meal. I have another recipe of quick pickled onion posted earlier ‘herbed onions’ over here.
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Sweet, tangy and savory. A plateful of this quick pickled onion salad is a perfect companion to grilled and spicy food, simple enough to brighten up an everyday meal.
Ingredients
- 1 ( 160 g) red onion
- 1 (120 g) beet
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup white vinegar ( apple cider or rice vinegar are good too)
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper optional
- Few mint leave
Instructions
- Peel and cut the onion in half. Rinse,slice thinly, lengthwise or crosswise (If you want onion rings don't cut the onion in half.
- Peel and slice beet root into thin batons.
- Place onions and beet in a Ziploc bag or a glass bowl.
- Add vinegar and salt. Lock the bag. Mix the contents well.
- Leave the locked Ziploc bag or the covered bowl containing pickled onions in the fridge for a minimum of 15 minutes.
- Right before serving, squeeze the salad gently so all the moisture is left out (wear gloves to prevent your hands from getting stained).
- You can discard the vinegar solution or keep in fridge to add it to your bowl of cooked lentils for tangy taste.
- Sprinkle fresh mint around, serve and eat.
- If you have leftover salad, tightly wrap and refrigerate to be used within 2 days
Angie@Angie's Recipes
I made pickled onions before, but without beet. Yours looks so beautiful with beet! I can’t wait to try this.
cheri
What a perfect combination onions and beets make, really love this!!!
Easyfoodsmith
It has been ages since I made sirke wale pyaaz. These days I slice them, sprinkle some kala namak and nimbu and we are good to go. But I enjoy eating sirke wala pyaaz when we visit an Indian restaurant that invariably serve it (on the house). Seeing yours, I am tempted to make it.
natalia20041989
Must be amazing, love the color!☺
Monika
I love this idea! Anything beetroot gets my vote, especially in simple fuss free recipes such as this one.
marcie
Pickled onions add such a nice pop of flavor, and I love that you added beets! These would be delicious on so many things!
Adina
What a simple and beautiful recipe, something I would like.
Shubha
Love it… I am sure they might taste awesome too with Paratha and achar:)
Blackswan
It’s simplicity at its best, dear! xoxo
Emma - Bake Then Eat
So pretty and I bet delicious!
Gloria Roa
this salad looks beautiful !!
Evi @ greenevi
Love pickled onions! I’ve never made them with fresh mint before, but I can totally see that they taste amazing together. I’ll try this version next time for sure, thanks for the inspo 🙂
sof
is spirit vinager gluten free?
Balvinder
Hello Sof, you already asked this question yesterday on “Traveling with a gluten allergy in India” and I answered that it is.
Have you tried making any recipes from my blog?
Soma Saharay
This we used to have in the Kolkata restaurants many years back, liked, your post reminded me of that