Bolani is the stuffed flatbread of Afghanistan: dough rolled thin, filled, folded into a half-moon and fried until blistered and golden. It is sold hot from carts and stalls, and this version, from Malistan in the Hazara highlands of Ghazni province, is also a dish for Ramadan evenings, Eid and visitors. The filling is mostly green, leek and garlic chives cooked down with golden onion, green chilli, peas and a little mashed potato. At home it would be gandana, the Afghan leek grown in most provinces; abroad, leek and garlic chives together come close. Every region has its own bolani. Serve it hot with a sharp chutney and a glass of doogh.
Zone: Silk Road Table
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kg plain flour
- 1½ tsp active dried yeast
- 1 tbsp salt (for the dough)
- about 550ml warm water
- 3 medium potatoes (peeled, boiled and roughly mashed)
- 1 large brown onion (finely chopped)
- 4 spring onions (finely chopped)
- 750 g leek (finely sliced (with the chives, in place of gandana))
- 250 g garlic chives (finely sliced)
- 150 g green peas
- 3 large green chillies (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp salt (for the filling)
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (plus more for shallow frying)
METHOD
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion slowly until golden brown. Add the salt, pepper and chillies and cook for a minute.
- Add the spring onions, leek, garlic chives and peas and cook until the greens have wilted right down. Stir in the mashed potato, mix well and leave to cool.
- Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water gradually, mixing by hand, until it comes together as a soft dough. Cover and rest for 60 minutes.
- Divide the dough into large handfuls and roll each into a ball. On a floured surface, roll each ball out into a thin circle.
- Spread a spoonful of filling evenly over one half of a circle with the back of a spoon. Fold the other half over to make a half-moon and pinch the edge closed. Pat flat and dust with a little flour.
- Heat a shallow layer of oil in a frying pan and fry the bolani one at a time for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until golden.
- Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot, with chutney and doogh.
NOTES
UK adaptation: Leek and garlic chives stand in here for gandana. If you find gandana at an Afghan grocer in Southall, Hounslow or Ilford, replace both with 1kg of it, finely sliced; Afghan grocers also sell the seed, and it grows well in a British garden. Garlic chives from Wing Yip, See Woo or any Chinese grocer. Frozen peas. Everything else widely available.
US adaptation: Leeks and garlic chives from H-Mart or any Asian grocer; gandana at Afghan grocers in Northern Virginia, Fremont and Queens. Frozen peas. Everything else widely available.
Cook’s note: Let the filling cool completely and squeeze any liquid out of the greens before it goes in. Wet filling softens the dough and the bolani tears in the pan.
Cook this differently? Share your family’s version — or tell us what we’re missing.
Contribute