Salada Russa – Russian Salad Recipe

Russian Salad or Salada Russa(Portuguese) is not a truly Goan recipe. It came into the food scenes in mid 1980 to 2000’s. You would see it at all wedding buffets and Birthday parties. Since I haven’t made this recipe for ages I could not remember it too well. I did remember its subtle sweetness because of apples and pineapples added to the salad. As I was googling the recipes I found recipes with variations. I wanted to share the classic recipe.

A 411 call to my mum did not help either as she too could not remember as this recipe is loosing it’s popularity to newer one’s. I was fortunate to ask my good friend Maya P who took the time to send me whatsapp voice instructions. So I credit this recipe to her…..Thanks Maya!

The dressing for this salad is mayonnaise. Goan mayonnaise is made with vinegar, a tad bit of sugar and raw eggs. My mum always makes her mayo with cooked yolks. I would highly recommend making your own mayo then the store-bought since it is so easy and simple. I make mine in a glass/mason jar with a hand mixer.

Serving Size: 1 Cup approx

Ingredients:

1 whole raw egg

1/2 cup oil

1/8 tsp of pepper powder

1 tsp of vinegar

1/4-1/2 tsp of sugar

salt to taste

  Directions:

In a well dried mason jar add the egg, pepper, sugar, salt  and vinegar. Gently add the oil while you are using a hand blender. Blend the mixer for a minute or two till thicken.

Store in the refrigerator up to a week.

Goan Mayonnaise is used in a lot of recipes. Fish Mayonnaise that has a similar base of a Russian salad with the addition of steamed fish and cooked eggs.

Forminhas (canapé) are mini deep-fried dough shell stuffed with fish paste or a mixture of boiled potato, peas, carrots and mayo.

Chicken Rolls is a hotdog bun stuffed with shredded poached or boiled chicken, leafy lettuce and mayo.

You can enjoy Russian salad as a nice cooling side dish for your barbeques on hot summer days. This is a rich salad as it is made with oil and raw eggs, so you do not want to over indulge 🙂 .

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

1 boiled russet potato diced in small pieces

1 green bell pepper

1 apple diced with or without skin

1 cup of cooked peas

1 cup of cooked diced carrots

1/2 cup mayonnaise

salt to taste

Optional:

1/2 cup diced cooked chicken or shrimps/prawns

1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple

2 chopped boiled eggs

Directions:

In a clean bowl mix all the ingredients together and let refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Serve chilled as a side, on a toasted crostini, bagel chips, puff pastry cups/shells or crackers.