Recipe

AFGHANI BOLANI - POTATO AND GREEN ONION STUFFED FLATBREAD

By Chef de Cuisine

Serves: 4

Cooking time: 20 minutes .

Also known as Perakai or Poraki, this Afghanistani bread is prepared either by baking or frying and has a vegetable stuffing made of different types of ingredients like potatoes, pumpkin, chives, lentils, and leeks. Bolani can be served with coriander chutney or mint yogurt

Ingredients

For the dough:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (580g)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups water (300g)
For the filling:
1 1/2 pounds (680g) baking potatoes
2 cups (140g) packed sliced green onion
2 cups, (60g) packed cilantro
1/2 cup (60g) chopped green pepper or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
Additional oil for shallow frying

Preparation

For the dough:
Combine flour, salt, and oil in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the dough comes together in a ball. It should not be too sticky or too dry. You may use a little more or less water than 300g.
Remove the dough from the processor and knead on a floured counter to form a ball. Wrap in plastic and let rest about 20 minutes.
For the filling:
Wash potatoes, prick with a fork, and microwave until soft, approximately 10 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes. Potatoes are done when you can easily pierce them with a knife and they feel soft.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and coarsely mash with a fork.
Roughly chop the cilantro.
In a skillet, heat olive oil.
Sauté green pepper for 3 minutes.
Add green onion and sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Turn off the heat and stir in chopped cilantro, salt, and pepper.
Gently stir in the potatoes.
To form the bolani:
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into balls. Keep them covered on the counter while you roll them out.
Divide the filling into 8 equal portions.
Roll out a ball of dough on a lightly floured surface to form an 8-9 inch circle.
Put a portion of filling on the top half of the circle, leaving a half inch border around the edges.
Fold the bottom half up over the top half and seal the edges, pressing firmly all around the edge to seal it. A little water may help to seal the dough.
Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.
To shallow fry:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet on medium high.
One by one, shallow fry the bolani one one side until golden brown. Flip and fry on the other side until golden brown. Press down gently on the edges of the bolani while cooking to ensure that they brown evenly.
Place cooked bolani on a metal rack.