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Persia and the Caucasus · Volume 60, The Palaw, the Dumpling and the Winter Meat

Bolani

Afghanistan, everywhere; Herat lists it, the Pashto encyclopaedia lists it

Bolani, a thin dough folded over potato or gandana and fried until blistered: three large thin half moon turnovers stacked and fanned on a round metal tray, their surfaces blistered and spotted gold and brown from the pan.

Illustration

Time
2 hours

Bolani is a thin dough folded over a filling of potato or gandana and fried in a little oil, or slapped on the tandoor wall. It is made across the country: Herat's Doorbin magazine lists it, and so does the Pashto encyclopaedia. Doorbin fills it with potato or, the list says, wheat, which is likely gandana mistranslated. A video titled "bolani with potato and gandana as made outside Afghanistan" suggests the two fillings together are a diaspora habit.

As tradition built it

Serves 4. About 2 hours, including an hour for the dough to rest.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Mix the flour, warm water and salt to a soft dough, knead it 5 minutes and rest it an hour.
  2. Mix the mashed potato or the gandana with the fried onion and the turmeric, black pepper and chilli.
  3. Divide the dough into six, rest the pieces 15 minutes, and roll each thin.
  4. Spread filling on one half, fold, and seal the edge.
  5. Fry on a low heat in a little oil until both sides are blistered and gold, or slap them on the tandoor wall. Serve with yoghurt.

Notes

The dough and potato are Humaira Ghilzai's, from Afghan Culture Unveiled (2009); the onion is Asif Sultani's, from SBS Food, who seasons with salt and black pepper only, so the spice is left to taste.

What a modern chef changes

A thinner skin, a hotter pan

Rungs 3 and 4

Method

  1. Roll the dough to a millimetre on a floured board and let it relax before folding, so it does not spring back and thicken.
  2. Dry the potato in the pan before mashing it; a wet filling steams the dough from inside.
  3. Fry in a dry, very hot pan with the oil brushed on the dough itself, and press with a spatula so it blisters.
  4. Serve with chakah thinned with a little of the fried onion's oil.
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