The world needs more killer sides for tandoori chicken. I think anyway. And I think this is one of them. Indianish curried potato salad.
Flavour loaded potatoes. Hard-boiled eggs. Red onion. Spice. All wrapped up in a creamy mayo yoghurt dressing.
Who doesn’t like a good potato salad? With grilled chicken? It’s a natural. Classic backyard BBQ menu. Real comfort food.
But when it’s tandoori chicken? The potato salad needs to step up. Big time. And this one does. Like it was designed for it.
Because it was. Literally. I sat down to come up with things to serve with tandoori chicken. And I came up with this.
East meets west – for real
This is a riff on western potato salad. I took my classic potato salad and re-imagined it through an Indian lens.
That’s what Indianish is all about. Not fusion. Food re-imagined. Familiar food. WIth the kiss of Indian flavours.
Potatoes. Eggs. Mayo. Red onion. All the classic ingredients. For awesome potato salad.
Yoghurt replaces sour cream. Lemon and tamarind instead of pickle juice. Curry powder. Or mix powder. If you like. But spice either way.
And chaat masala. That’s a big one.
Chaat masala pushes curried potato salad deeper into Indian territory
Not all potato salads are created equal. And not all curried potato salads are either. There are lots of recipes out there.
Mostly it’s about adding some curry powder. That isn’t bad. Truth be told that’s actually pretty good. Curry powder and mayonnaise are good solid Indianish flavours.
But this is glebekitchen. So it has to be better. There has to be a twist. And that twist is chaat masala.
Never heard of chaat masala? Not really surprising. That’s digging pretty deep into Indian flavours.
It’s a spice blend. That’s what masala means. A masala is a mix of spices. It’s the first word that defines what.
Tandoori masala. Garam masala. Chaat masala . See where this is going?
Chaat masala is made for curried potato salad. Because it has a secret ingredient. I love secret ingredients.
Kala namak makes this one special
Kala namak. If you haven’t heard of chaat masala I’m guessing that’s a new one too. Black salt. Super distinctive. It’s salt. But with impurities. And those impurities make it what it is.
Food science time. The impurity is sodium sulphate. There may be others. But that’s the one at work here.
And sulphates have that smell. You know it. Hard boiled eggs is the nice way of putting it. There are less flattering descriptions.
Doesn’t sound great. I know. Fish sauce doesn’t sound great either. And it’s amazing.
Take a leap with me. Kala namak amplifies the egg flavours in this potato salad. Brings it together. It just works.
Not a very good sales job. I know.
All I can tell you is I like this. A lot. If you like eggs. The smell of eggs. Then this is an ingredient you need to try.
Look for a masala that includes kala namak. Read the ingredients on the box. Because if it doesn’t have kala namak it isn’t chaat masala. For me anyway.
Full disclosure. I love fish sauce too. That stuff is magic in a bottle. Just so you know who you are dealing with here…
On the matter of mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is not an Indian ingredient. But it is an Indianish ingredient. Totally an Indianish ingredient. It took me a long time to figure that out.
There are funky Indian restaurants where I am. Pushing things a bit. I really like those restaurants. So I go. And I ask questions. Because I’m nosy.
One place has this dip. A red chili dip. For pakoras. Creamy. Spicy. Crazy delicious.
I tried to recreate it at home. For a long time. I knew the flavours but I fell into the yoghurt trap. Creamy must be yoghurt right? It’s Indian after all.
Turns out it is not. It’s a mix. Yoghurt and mayonnaise. Those two ingredients together unlock the most amazing dips.
And the most amazing Indianish curried potato salad. If I do say so myself.
Curried potato salad is… about potatoes
Shocker. I know. Nobody saw that one coming. But it’s more important than you think. The potatoes matter. A lot.
You want a medium starchy potato. Waxy potatoes are not good here. New potatoes are OK. Different. But OK.
Yukon gold are my ideal here. A mashing potato. Not quite as floury as a russet. And just a little bit waxy. So they hold their shape.
You want to season those potatoes. Not with salt and pepper. With a tangy mix of vinegar, lemon juice and yellow mustard. Infused potato goodness.
That may seem a little different. But it’s the backbone of really good potato salad. Layering flavours. It’s always about layering flavours. Around here anyway.
Up your barbecue game?
This is a match I think is made in heaven. Or in Ottawa anyway. Tandoori chicken and curried potato salad. Maybe a kachumber or Indianish slaw to round it out.
That’s an impressive backyard BBQ. One that will impress. Maybe not as much as a full blown Texas brisket. But a whole lot less time consuming.
Spicy tandoori chicken. A seriously tasty potato salad. And a tomato cucumber salad or slaw. That’s a great menu.
And there’s nothing difficult here. You can enjoy the party. Instead of worrying. And running around. I call that a win win.
Curried potato salad. A little bit southern. A little bit Indian. A whole lot delicious.
Curried potato salad
Ingredients
The dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup full fat greek yoghurt
- 4 tsp curry powder – or Indian restaurant mix powder. Just don’t use garam masala. Please…
- 1/4 tsp chaat masala – optional (not really. See text above). You can go up to 1/2 tsp if you like chaat masala.
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp tamarind paste – paste is not the same as concentrate
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Curried potato salad
- 2 lbs yellow flesh potatoes – e.g. Yukon gold
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice – about 1/4 lemon’s worth
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard – ballpark mustard aka American mustard
- salt to season
- 3 eggs – large or extra large
- 1/2 red onion – diced
- 1 tbsp chives – minced
- fried shallots to garnish – optional
Instructions
Perfect hardboiled eggs
- Place eggs in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water by one inch (so the water is one inch above the level of the eggs in the saucepan).
- Bring to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat and cover. Let sit 10 minutes. Set a timer or you’ll forget. Seriously…
- When the timer shows about 2 minutes remaining make an ice water bath.
- When the timer goes off (at the 10 minute mark) drain the eggs and lower them gently into the ice water bath to cool completely. A spoon works well for this. Peel and set aside.
Prepare the potatoes
- Boil the potatoes in well salted water until a paring knife (a small sharp knife) slides in without resistance.
- Drain and let cool until you are able to handle them. You want them still warm when you start this.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3/4 to 1 inch dice.
- Spread the potatoes out on a cookie sheet that will fit in your refrigerator.
- Combine 1 tbsp white vinegar with 1 tbsp yellow mustard and the lemon juice.
- Drizzle the potatoes with the vinegar mustard mixture. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get some on every piece as best you can.
- Season the potatoes with a liberal sprinkling of salt.
- Place the potatoes (still on the cookie sheet) in the refrigerator for one hour.
Make the dressing
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Stir thoroughly.
- If you are using the chaat masala taste after adding 1/4 tsp. It should have an “eggy flavour”. If you like that flavour and want more add another 1/4 tsp. I like 1/2 tsp. It will mellow a bit when it’s mixed into the potato salad.
Make the curried potato salad
- Chop your eggs into 1/4 inch pieces. Dice your red onion. Mince your chives.
- In a bowl large enough to allow you to comfortably toss the ingredients add all the ingredients except the dressing.
- Add half the dressing . Fold gently to start to combine. Add the rest of the dressing and fold until well mixed.
- Refrigerate the dressed salad for one hour before serving.
- Taste. The potato salad may need a bit more salt. I don’t know how liberally you salted your potatoes. I don’t know how much salt you put into the water to boil the potatoes. And I have no idea what your salt profile is. You will need to decide for yourself. It should be close though.
- Garnish with a little bit of fried shallots if using. You don’t want too much here. Just a hint of crunch and flavour. Too much can be overpowering.
Nutrition
Curried potato salad
Ingredients
The dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup full fat greek yoghurt
- 4 tsp curry powder - or Indian restaurant mix powder. Just don’t use garam masala. Please…
- 1/4 tsp chaat masala - optional (not really. See text above). You can go up to 1/2 tsp if you like chaat masala.
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp tamarind paste - paste is not the same as concentrate
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Curried potato salad
- 2 lbs yellow flesh potatoes - e.g. Yukon gold
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice - about 1/4 lemon’s worth
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard - ballpark mustard aka American mustard
- salt to season
- 3 eggs - large or extra large
- 1/2 red onion - diced
- 1 tbsp chives - minced
- fried shallots to garnish - optional
Instructions
Perfect hardboiled eggs
- Place eggs in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water by one inch (so the water is one inch above the level of the eggs in the saucepan).
- Bring to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat and cover. Let sit 10 minutes. Set a timer or you’ll forget. Seriously…
- When the timer shows about 2 minutes remaining make an ice water bath.
- When the timer goes off (at the 10 minute mark) drain the eggs and lower them gently into the ice water bath to cool completely. A spoon works well for this. Peel and set aside.
Prepare the potatoes
- Boil the potatoes in well salted water until a paring knife (a small sharp knife) slides in without resistance.
- Drain and let cool until you are able to handle them. You want them still warm when you start this.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3/4 to 1 inch dice.
- Spread the potatoes out on a cookie sheet that will fit in your refrigerator.
- Combine 1 tbsp white vinegar with 1 tbsp yellow mustard and the lemon juice.
- Drizzle the potatoes with the vinegar mustard mixture. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get some on every piece as best you can.
- Season the potatoes with a liberal sprinkling of salt.
- Place the potatoes (still on the cookie sheet) in the refrigerator for one hour.
Make the dressing
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Stir thoroughly.
- If you are using the chaat masala taste after adding 1/4 tsp. It should have an “eggy flavour”. If you like that flavour and want more add another 1/4 tsp. I like 1/2 tsp. It will mellow a bit when it’s mixed into the potato salad.
Make the curried potato salad
- Chop your eggs into 1/4 inch pieces. Dice your red onion. Mince your chives.
- In a bowl large enough to allow you to comfortably toss the ingredients add all the ingredients except the dressing.
- Add half the dressing . Fold gently to start to combine. Add the rest of the dressing and fold until well mixed.
- Refrigerate the dressed salad for one hour before serving.
- Taste. The potato salad may need a bit more salt. I don’t know how liberally you salted your potatoes. I don’t know how much salt you put into the water to boil the potatoes. And I have no idea what your salt profile is. You will need to decide for yourself. It should be close though.
- Garnish with a little bit of fried shallots if using. You don’t want too much here. Just a hint of crunch and flavour. Too much can be overpowering.
Nutrition
Tandoori chicken is perfect for backyard BBQs. But the question is always what to serve with tandoori chicken.
Pulled pork. Brisket. Ribs. Burgers even. They are all great. Worthy stars of the backyard BBQ. But I like to mix things up.
And when I do I like tandoori chicken best. An Indian themed BBQ. A little unexpected. Always a hit.
Tandoori chicken is obvious. Perfect even. That the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what to serve with tandoori chicken.
The classic Indian sides aren’t really Indian bbq friendly. Rice is not standing around food. Dal doesn’t cut it. Naan isn’t a great fit either. There’s nothing to dip it in.
You need to break convention here. Think outside of the box. Once you do that you’ll see.
There are a few what to serve with tandoori chicken lists out there. Curiously they are all about exactly the same.
This is not like those. There’s no rice here. Or naan bread (like you can dip bread in tandoori chicken anyway). No spring rolls. Or samosas.
And absolutely no tandoori chicken salad. How is tandoori chicken salad a side for tandoori chicken anyway?
This one breaks the mold. All about what I make. This is what I think are the best sides for tandoori chicken.
Indianish potato salad – just a no brainer
What kind of backyard BBQ doesn’t have potato salad? It’s classic. A cornerstone. Expected even.
So why not think about Indianish potato salad? Curried potato salad. The classic potato salad you love. Re-imagined. With Indian flavours.
It’s a little bit Coronation chicken. And a little bit southern staple. With a trip to India for spicing.
This one was engineered to go with tandoori chicken. Literally. I came up with it specifically for just that reason.
It’s one of my favourites. Easy and delicious. And you can make it ahead of time. Nothing here not to love.
Grilled gunpowder potatoes
Did you notice my lead off recipes are potatoes? I am a serious potato lover. And gunpowder potatoes is another side I love.
Buttery, spicy grilled potatoes. Not as dead easy as potato salad. These are grilled. So be sure you have help. Or solid grilling game. It can get pretty busy.
Chaat masala is the secret ingredient here. It makes the dish. There’s chaat masala in the potato salad too. So think about getting some for your spice arsenal.
A little green chili. Spices. Butter. And a drizzle of mint raita. Definitely worth adding to your list.
If you’ve ever stuck asking yourself “what to serve with tandoori chicken” this one is always a hit.
Indianish slaw
Slaw is another quintessential backyard BBQ staple. I make some sort of slaw for just about every BBQ I throw.
This one is a little different. I love it. With vindaloo pulled pork. And with tandoori chicken. Indianish slaw. It’s slaw. But jacked with Indian flavours.
A little bit creamy. A little bit spicy. And a little bit tangy.
Like coleslaw should be. Good coleslaw anyway. Not that radioactive green stuff the Colonel serves.
This has no equivalent I am aware of in actual Indian cooking. It’s pure Indian inspired. Indian flavours come to backyard classic.
Kachumber – tomato cucumber chili salad
This is one you know. You may have never tried it. But it’s somewhere on pretty much every Indian buffet.
You probably missed it. Busy loading up on all the tasty curries. Nobody can blame you.
Hard to get your veggies in when you have naan and lamb rogan josh staring you in the face. I know. I’ve passed it by too.
But it is a bit of shame. Kachumber is a celebration of summer. Tomatoes at their peak. Field cucumbers. Green chilies. Onion. And a lemony chili dressing.
Make this one when everything is at its peak. Should be easy. Backyard BBQ is a summer thing. At least where I live.
Chana chaat – Indian chickpea salad
This one is legit Indian. Sort of. It’s my take on a street food classic. An Indian chickpea salad. Cold chickpeas work. Trust me.
This is not your every day chickpea salad. It has seriously bold flavours. And a secret ingredient.
Chaat masala makes this one special too. I didn’t set out to make this post about chaat masala. It just happened. Maybe that’s a sign.
Add in some onions, chilies, tamarind sauce and cilantro. That is one seriously tasty dish.
Mint raita– a little drizzle to bring it all together
Mint raita – at least this version – isn’t particularly authentic. No cucumber in it. Not really Indian. Not much in this post is. So I feel good about it.
Not what you think of when you think what to serve with tandoori chicken. But it’s a nice touch. A little something extra. Clean flavours. Light. Refreshing even.
Yoghurt. Mint sauce. Fresh mint. Salt. Cilantro. A little milk to thin it out. And salt. Super basic. Incredibly easy to pull together. Five minutes max.
But I think your guests will like it. Mine do anyway. It’s a counterpoint to the chicken. You don’t need a lot.
Put a bit on your plate. Let it mix with the chicken juices. Bump up against the chicken. A little burst of flavour.
Something to think about.
Tandoori chicken recipe– this one could be your new favourite
Tandoori chicken . With a side of tandoori chicken. I can think of worse things. But that’s not why this is here.
Not all tandoori chicken recipes are the same. It took me a long time to figure this out. Took a trip to Bangalore in fact.
Here’s what I learned. Leave the yoghurt out of your tandoori marinade. Just don’t add it.
Crazy talk. I know. But it’s true. I am consistently disappointed with restaurant tandoori chicken. And they have a tandoor to play with.
It’s never great. And I think the yoghurt is part of the problem. I think ridiculously long marination times is the other problem.
Yoghurt denatures protein. Makes it “tender”. To me “tender” is a nice word for mushy. So you need to blast it at 900F in a tandoor to fix it. Flaw upon flaw.
You are probably scratching your head at this point. Who’s the lunatic behind this blog?
I know. It goes against conventional thinking. It goes against most of the internet. But it works.
I got this one from a famous Indian kebab restaurant in Bangalore. The concept anyway.
I tried it. And I was instantly converted. Haven’t looked back since. It’s a game changer. Try it. You’ll see.
Make your next backyard BBQ special
Backyard BBQs are a bit sacred. I know. There are rules. I’m not saying throw them out. Not at all.
I love the whole experience of smoking brisket. Everyone loves brisket. And ribs. I can eat pulled pork until I hurt. And I think a really well executed burger is a magical thing.
Thing is – everyone does it. Maybe not the brisket. But the rest. Great. But not that uncommon.
I like to mix things up. Surprise my guests. They aren’t complaining. A tandoori chicken feast always gets rave reviews.
Tells me that maybe people want something new. Something different.
Tandoori chicken. And now you can answer the question – what to serve with tandoori chicken.
Indianish potato salad. Or gunpowder potatoes. Slaw. Or kachumber. Chana chaat. A little mint raita. And lots of cold drinks.
All that’s missing is the sun. You’ll need to find that on your own.
