COPPERBolani recipe
A thin Afghan flatbread folded over a gandana leek and potato filling and cooked dry on a tawa, served with garlicky yogurt.
Ingredients
- 400 g leeks
- 500 g potatoes
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 300 ml water
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 4 green onions
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 250 g plain yogurt
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 tsp salt
How to make Bolani
- Knead 500 g flour, 2 tsp salt and about 300 ml water into a soft dough; cover and rest 30 minutes.
- Boil 500 g potatoes for 20 minutes, peel them and mash coarsely.
- Slice 400 g leeks (gandana in Afghanistan) very thin, salt them, leave 10 minutes and squeeze the water out. This green is the classic filling, not plain potato.
- Mix the leeks with the potato, 4 chopped green onions, a bunch of chopped cilantro and 1 tsp chili flakes.
- Divide the dough into 6 and roll each piece into a 25 cm circle, as thin as you can get it without tearing.
- Spread filling over one half, fold the other half over and press the edges firmly shut.
- Cook on a hot dry tawa or heavy skillet 3-4 minutes per side, brushing on a little of the 3 tbsp oil only at the end. Bolani is griddled, not deep fried.
- Serve hot with 250 g plain yogurt whisked smooth with a pinch of salt.
What is Bolani?
Bolani is a traditional dish from Afghanistan, cooked in a pan, and takes about 1 hour and 25 minutes from start to finish. It is built around potatoes, all-purpose flour and leeks. The recipe below uses 10 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Bolani take?
At 85 minutes it is quicker than 65% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 59 dishes built on potatoes. The method runs to 8 steps, the longest being 30 minutes.
Any tips for making Bolani?
Salt the sliced leeks and squeeze their water out before mixing the filling, then cook the bolani dry and brush on oil only at the end.
How Bolani compares
Hard to find elsewhere: chili flakes (2) and leeks (3).
Cooked with the same thing elsewhere
Other traditional dishes built on chili flakes, from other countries.
Copper documents Afghanistan alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.