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Niislel salad
Ulaanbaatar's 'capital' potato salad with egg, peas, carrot, cucumber and mayonnaise
Niislel means 'capital', and this creamy salad is the one served across Ulaanbaatar at Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year), birthdays and in every canteen. It descends from the Russian Olivier salad of the Soviet era, made Mongolian with plenty of cucumber and sometimes apple; it usually includes ham or sausage, left out here and replaced with extra egg. It's cool and comforting next to hot buuz (dumplings) or tsuivan. Chef's tip: cut everything into small, even cubes the size of a pea; that uniform dice is what makes it niislel and not just potato salad.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Boil 1 ⅛ lb waxy potatoes and 2 carrots whole in salted water for 18–22 minutes until a knife slides in but they still hold firm. Add 5 ½ oz green peas for the last 2 minutes. Drain and cool completely.
22 minStep 2: Boil 5 eggs for 10 minutes, cool in cold water and peel.
10 minStep 3: Peel the potatoes and carrots. Cut potatoes, carrots, eggs, 1 cucumber and 1 apple into 1 cm cubes. Common mistake: dressing the vegetables warm; the mayonnaise splits and the salad turns greasy and mushy.
Step 4: Mix everything with ½ onion, 7 oz mayonnaise, ¾ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper, folding gently.
Step 5: Chill for 30 minutes and serve sprinkled with 2 tbsp fresh dill.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does niislel salad take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of waxy potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of carrots?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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