Tribe: Recipe for afghan Flatbread ‘Bolani’

Bolani is a traditional Afghan flatbread that is easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious!

The homemade dough is stuffed with potatoes, cilantro and garlic. This recipe was provided to us from the Galway Ascend women and is a staple food in their diet in Afghanistan. Bolani can be used as a main course or as an accompaniment to other dishes.

We hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 3 ½ cups plain flour (580g)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp yeast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ¼ cups water (300ml)

For the filling:

• 1 ½ pounds potatoes (680g)
• 2 cups, packed sliced white onions (140g)
• ½ cup of diced green pepper
• 2 cups, packed and roughly chopped cilantro (60g)
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• Additional oil for shallow frying

Instructions

For the dough:

1. Combine flour, yeast, salt and oil in a large bowl. Add water slowly until the dough comes together and away from the edge of the bowl. Dough should not be too sticky or too dry so add or reduce water accordingly.
2. Turn the dough out and knead for a couple of minutes.
3. Wrap in cling film and set aside to allow the dough to rise for approx. 20 mins.

For the filling:

1. Peel potatoes, chop into small chunks and add to boiling water, (lightly salted), until tender – When cool, coarsely mash with a fork.
2. In a skillet, heat the olive oil, add the onions, green pepper and garlic and saute for 2 minutes or until the onions appear translucent.
3. Turn off the heat and stir in chopped cilantro, saltand pepper.
4. Gently stir in the potatoes.

To form the bolani:

1. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into balls. Keep them covered on the counter while you roll them out.
2. Roll out a ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface to a 8-9 inch circle.
3. Put a portion of filling on the top half of the circle, leaving a half inch border around the edges.
4. Fold the bottom half up over the filling and seal the edges by pressing firmly all around the edge to seal shut.
5. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough

To shallow fry:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. One by one, shallow fry the bolani on one side until golden brown. Press down gently on the edges of the bolani while cooking to ensure that they brown evenly.
3. Place cooked bolani on a metal cooling rack while the others finish cooking so they remain crispy.

Bolani can be served with cilantro chutney or mint yogurt, but it’s just as delicious on its own too!