Niislel salat, literally capital salad, is the Mongolian version of the Russian Olivier salad. Niislel is the Mongolian word for capital, the old name of the country's capital, Niislel Khuree, before it was renamed Ulaanbaatar in 1924. The dish traces a long lineage: the original Olivier salad was created in 1860s Moscow by the Belgian-born chef Lucien Olivier at the Hermitage restaurant, a lavish affair of grouse, veal tongue, caviar and crayfish bound in mayonnaise. In the Soviet era it was simplified and renamed stolichny, Russian for of the capital, meaning Moscow, with chicken replacing the grouse and the recipe pared back to potato, carrot, fresh and pickled cucumber and egg. Mongolia, a close Soviet ally from 1924, adopted this capital salad along with Soviet influence and calqued its name into Mongolian as niislel. Today it is wholeheartedly Mongolian: no Tsagaan Sar or Naadam table is complete without a great bowl of it, scooped alongside steaming buuz and khuushuur as the creamy, cooling counterpoint to all that meat.
Cool, creamy, and savory with little pops of sweet pea and tangy pickle. Soft potato and carrot melt into the rich mayonnaise while ham adds a salty bite. Comforting and crowd-pleasing.
Boiling softens the starchy vegetables so they bind, while mayonnaise emulsion coats every cube; chilling lets the salt and acidity penetrate and firms the salad into a cohesive, scoopable mass.
Variations
With chicken or sausage instead of ham; apple added for sweetness; lighter version with yogurt
On the Palate
Where Niislel Salat sits in the Mongolian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 120 min
Boil potatoes and carrots in their skins until just tender, then cool.
Watch outBoil the potatoes and carrots just until a knife slips in but they still hold firm — cooked to falling-apart, they mash when you fold the salad.
- 28 min
Peel and dice the cooled potatoes and carrots into small even cubes.
- 36 min
Dice ham, pickled cucumbers, and hard-boiled eggs to the same size.
- 42 min
Drain canned peas and sweetcorn and add to the bowl.
- 53 min
Combine all the diced ingredients gently in a large bowl.
- 63 min
Fold in plenty of mayonnaise with a little salt and pepper.
- 730 min
Chill for at least half an hour to let the flavors meld.
Watch outChill it a good half hour before serving — the rest firms it into a cohesive, scoopable salad and lets the salt soak in.
- 82 min
Serve cold as a side beside buuz, khuushuur, or sliced meats.
