Pineapple and cucumber salad with a kasundi and black salt dressing

Pineapple and cucumber make a simple sweet, sour and hot salad at home. Jagonews24's lifestyle desk published this recipe on 27 June 2026. Cubed pineapple and cucumber are tossed in a dressing of lemon juice, black salt, mustard paste or kasundi and green chilli, scattered with coriander leaves and chilled before serving. It goes with lunch or makes a light afternoon snack.

According to FoodData Central, the food composition database of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 100 grams of raw pineapple contain 47.8 mg of vitamin C, 1.4 g of fibre, 109 mg of potassium and 50 kcal of energy, with only 0.12 g of fat and no cholesterol. In the same database, 100 grams of raw cucumber with its peel hold 95.23 g of water and 15 kcal. The cucumber gives the salad its freshness; the pineapple gives it a sweet and sour taste.

Banglapedia records that pineapple was first grown in Bangladesh in Sylhet at the beginning of the 20th century and is now cultivated in almost every district, with the largest areas in Sylhet, Tangail, Dhaka and Rangamati. The three main varieties are Giant Kew (locally kalendar), Honey Queen (jaldubi) and Red Spanish (ghorashal). The plants flower from March to May and fruit from June to September, so fresh pineapple is easy to find at the end of June.

• Pineapple pieces: 2 cups
• Cucumber: 1 cup
• Lemon juice: to taste
• Mustard paste or kasundi: 1 teaspoon
• Chopped green chilli: 1 teaspoon
• Roasted dried chilli powder or chilli flakes: 1 tablespoon
• Black salt (bit lobon): 1 teaspoon
• Ordinary salt: to taste
• Sugar: a little
• Chopped coriander leaves: a little

Black salt, kala namak in Hindi and bit lobon in Bengali, is a kiln-fired rock salt made mostly of sodium chloride; traces of sulphur compounds give it a pungent smell. It is widely used across South Asia, Bangladesh included, in chaats, chutneys, salads and on fruit. Kasundi is Bengal's traditional mustard sauce or relish, made mainly from mustard seeds with salt, turmeric and other spices.

• Wash the pineapple and cucumber well and drain.
• Cut both into small cubes and put them in a large glass or ceramic bowl.
• In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, black salt, ordinary salt to taste, a little sugar, mustard paste or kasundi, chopped green chilli and chilli flakes to make the dressing.
• Pour the dressing over the pineapple and cucumber and mix gently so everything is evenly coated.
• Scatter the chopped coriander over the top and toss lightly again.
• Chill the salad in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes and serve.

A cucumber and pineapple salad published by University of Nevada, Reno Extension uses much the same elements: cucumber, diced pineapple, hot green chillies, lime juice, salt and a fresh herb (mint, in that version). To reduce the heat, it advises removing the chilli's seeds and ribs before chopping.

• For more flavour, sprinkle a little roasted cumin powder over the salad just before serving.
• If you like it hotter, use chopped green chillies instead of chilli flakes.
• Make the salad just before serving so the pineapple and cucumber stay crunchy.
• If extra liquid collects, drain it off lightly before serving.
• Instead of adding more sugar, you can rely on the pineapple's own sweetness.

Photo: Biswarup Ganguly / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, USDA FoodData Central, Banglapedia, University of Nevada, Reno Extension, Wikipedia