Like clockwork, as the days grow progressively longer and warmer, grills emerge from hibernation at just about any opportunity, eager as their owners to host all of the newly sprung vegetables, plus plenty of old favorites.
Summer holidays practically require the presence of a grill, and with Memorial Day just around the corner, it seems like high time to dust that old furnace off. Tossing on veggie burgers and not-dogs, toasting up simple white bread buns to golden-brown perfection, it’s the start of a perfectly “American” meal. But what to serve alongside those main dishes? Perhaps a side of fries or chips, maybe potato salad- Just as long as the lovable spud makes an appearance.
Here’s where my menu takes a somewhat different turn. Potato salad sounds great in concept, but mayonnaise, dairy-based or otherwise, is simply not welcome in this household. Serve something containing even a half ounce of that white glop, and you may very well have an all out revolt on your hands.
Thus, eschewing this vile condiment in favor of a lighter dressing, I tend to favor olive oil, lemon juice, and whatever fresh herbs happen to be on hand. This time though, it felt necessary to start the season off with a bang and spice things up a bit.
Essentially glorified samosa filling freed of its pastry, this starchy side is just the thing to liven up any backyard BBQ spread. Delicious served both warm or chilled, it can easily be made a day ahead of time to give you one less thing to worry about later.
Don’t wait until you have a party to make it though- Any number of savory mains would pair beautifully with these spicy potatoes, and you can keep it for up to a week in the fridge.
Samosa Potato Salad

Essentially glorified samosa filling freed of its pastry, this starchy side is just the thing to liven up any backyard BBQ spread. Delicious served both warm or chilled, it can easily be made a day ahead of time to give you one less thing to worry about later.
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds White New Potatoes
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
- 2 – 3 Large Shallots, Chopped (About 1 Cup)
- 4 Cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
- 1 Inch Fresh Ginger, Peeled and Grated
- 2 Teaspoons Garam Masala
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 1/2 Cups Frozen Peas
- Salt and Pepper
- Fresh Chives (Optional)
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes thoroughly before chopping them into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a large pot, and fill it with cold water so that all of the pieces are covered. Move the pot onto the stove, toss in the bay leaf, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Once boiling, cook with the lid off for 5 – 8 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Discard the bay leaf, drain, and let cool.
- Mean while, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and add in the shallots. Cook for about 3 minutes until somewhat translucent, and add in the garlic and ginger.
- After another minute or two has
passed, incorporate all of the spices and lemon juice. - Add in the the peas, and continue to stir the mixture for 5 minutes or so, until the peas have completely thawed.
- Toss the potatoes and dressing together in a large bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, and top with freshly chopped chives, if desired. Serve immediately if you want it warm, or let cool and chill thoroughly in an air-tight container.
Recommended Products
Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 226Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 73mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 5gSugar: 4gProtein: 5g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.
Brilliant! I LOVE potato salad and, although I love vegan mayo, will definitely try this out for the first barbecue after exams (plus vegan mayo can be expensive if I’m making a lot of potato salad).
What a great idea, Hannah! Might have to add spuds to my grocery list.
This sounds really good, I am definitly bookmarking the recipe. I have never liked mayonnaise (real or vegan) based things either. I like my potato salad with vinaigrette dressings. I made one last week that I posted on my blog actually.
I like the samosa theme, sounds tasty!
now that looks super yum and you get to skip that time consuming step of making dough for samosas.
I’ve never been a fan of potato salad but this version is right up my alley! Perfect timing for Memorial Day :)
Oh-yeah! I love samosas. What a great idea for a potato salad! I’ll have to try it, thanks for the recipe! :-)
glorified samosa filling? i love it!
Potato salad is a weakness of mine… with vegan mayo, just oil and vinegar, I love it all! And this samosa potato salad sounds like one I would love.
oh i love this idea. i LOOOOVE samosas so much but they are kind of fattening with all that (delicious) pastry. I must try this out, thanks for the recipe!!
Oh this looks so good! I love samosas and this salad looks like it would be perfect.
What an amazing idea!! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds delicious! I love samosas. This is a great way to get the same flavors without the extra calories. Thanks for sharing.
This looks really tasty, sounds perfect for a picnic this Summer!!
Fabulous recipe! I love how summer-y it looks =)
Why didn’t someone think of this sooner? What a delicious idea! Now I can enjoy the flavor of samosas even in the summer heat. Yum!
I seriously can’t wait to add some vegan/vegetarian dishes to my next summer family BBQ! :-)
This sounds lovely!
I’m a big fan of non-mayo-based potato salads. In fact, I just made one last week. Now I’ll have to add this recipe to my list :)
Yay!
I love the samosa twist on the salad! I’m a sucker for veganaise potato salads, but I could get behind this one too :)
I definitely need to make this. I love Samosas! Great idea, Hannah.
This is genius! I love samosas; the spices are just incredible! Using them to make your potato salad sounds so fabulous. I can’t wait to try this out. I love that this makes for a lighter, healthier version of potato salad! Fabulous recipe!
Yum! This reminds me of a Samosa Soup I made in the winter. I love mayoless potato salads and this one looks really tasty!
I never liked potato salad because of the mayo. Great idea replacing the icky white stuff with delicious samosa flavor.
Mmm, that sounds just lovely! We love samosa filling as a side!
Yes! I have all of the ingredients! I bought a 5-lb. bag of spuds last week, so this will be perfect. My husband loves potatoes in any form, and who doesn’t love samosas? I think I’ll make this for lunch next week, maybe with a side salad of lettuce and lentils. Mmm… Thanks for the creative recipe!
I like your take on potato salad with all of those spices.
Yummy yummo! I really love the food styling in this photo.
Gorgeous 1st photo there! I love the idea of these flavors in a potato salad. Yep, I’m guilty of making mayo-only potato salads. I’ll have to branch out & try something new!
It looks GORGEOUS!
This is such a great alternative to using Vegan mayo, looks delicious!
This is one I would try to make. I love potato salad, with or without mayonnaise and it is always good to have different recipes to switch things up.
What a great idea — I love samosas! I think I might miss the doughy part a bit, though… :)
I love mayo, but I’m equally as happy sitting down to a wonderful potato salad that doesn’t contain any and yours sounds absolutely divine!
im making this right now.. my hubz HATES mayo with a passion; tomorrow we are going on a picnic.. this is perfect!!!! thanks Hannah! i’ll post it up on my blog sometime this week too so you can see the pics!
: )
Yummm what an insanely awesome idea for a potato salad!
Lovely twist on potato salad and samosa’s :)
I love your take on potato salad. I usually just toss them with a balsamic vinaigrette or something to the likes. Thanks for sharing Hannah!
i’m not a huge fan of mayo either. i like this… i’ve also tried a miso/tahini mixture as a dressing. thanks for the recipe!
ooh, I love when you post savory recipes! And samosa potato salad sounds sooooo like the next variant of potato salad I have to make!
oops, too late for the contest but… I am going to buy a copy of this book for my Niece who has children who need new recipes for all sorts of good stuff. Thank you for reviewing it and also for cooking things from it.
[…] found the recipes for a ‘potato salad’ with no mayo at Bitter Sweet, she referred to it as a ‘glorifed samosa filling’. It was really good, if I do say so […]
[…] Dog, Stuffed Tomato with Eggplant (Patlicani Domates Dolmasi) from Binnur’s Turkish Cookbook, Samosa Potato Salad from BitterSweet, Greek Burgers from Blog Chef, Burger Explosion from Burgatory, Chicken Fiesta […]
i’ve had this on my ‘to try’ recipe for the longest time and WOW it was delicious! i’ll be making this often, i like it much more than regular potato salad (i’m not a fan of mayo).
thanks (:
[…] the 1st recipe this week I made Hannah’s Samosa Potato Salad. (She has some savory recipes on her blog too) You guys know that I love Indian food, so it’s […]
[…] few years now. Typically, I’m the one who provides a side dish for this sort of affair, like samosa potato salad, pesto quinoa salad, or bean dip, but am them relegated to some lame, bland soy pucks that someone […]