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Bolani - Afghan Stuffed Flatbread
1 hr + 40 min
Snack
Side
10 ingredients or less
Bolani
Total
1 hr + 40 minPrep
1 hrCook
40 minContains
gluten
Free from
soy
peanut
tree nut
sesame
Ingredients
Dough
-
1 cup (240 mL)lukewarm water
-
1½ Tbsp (22 mL)vegetable oil
-
1½ tsp (9 g)salt
-
½ tspactive dry yeast
-
3 cups + 1 Tbsp (420 g)bread flour
Filling
-
2large potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 cm cubes
-
6stalks green onion, sliced †
-
1 cup (16 g)fresh cilantro, chopped
-
1green chili pepper, minced
-
1 tsp (2 g)ground coriander
-
1 tsp (6 g)salt
-
½ tspground turmeric
-
½ tspground black pepper
-
2½ Tbsp (37 mL)vegetable oil, for frying
Serves well with
Make your own
Directions
- To a large bowl, add the water, oil, salt, and yeast. Stir.
- Then add the flour. Mix well.
- Then knead the dough for a few minutes, until soft and elastic*. Add a bit more flour as needed if the dough is too sticky. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling water for 15 minutes. When the potatoes are fully cooked through, drain and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the green onion, cilantro, chili pepper, and spices to the bowl as well. Use a fork or potato masher to mash everything. It's okay if a few lumps remain.
- Cut the dough into 8 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball with your hands. Dust each ball with flour.
- Sprinkle flour on your working surface. Use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a thin circle about 20 - 22 cm in diameter, about as thin as a tortilla. The thinner the better, but not too thin that it will rip if handled.
- Gently lift the rolled-out dough and re-flour your working surface. Spread ⅓ cup of the potato filling over half of the dough, leaving a ½ inch (1 cm) border along the edge. Dip your fingers in water and spread the water along this edge, only on one half of the circle.
- Fold the dough in half, over the filling, to create a half-moon shape. Press out all the air bubbles, then pinch the edges with your fingers to fully seal the bolani.
- Add a bit of the oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the bolani to the pan. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Meanwhile, use a silicone pastry brush to brush some more oil on top of the bolani.
- When the bottom is golden, flip, and let cook on the other side until golden. Then transfer to a cooling rack. Continue with the remaining bolani.
- Cut the bolani in triangles and serve with green chutney. Enjoy!
Notes
- †Approximately 1 cup of sliced green onion per 6 stalks.
- * This recipe can be massively sped up if you'd prefer not to make your own homemade dough. Growing up, my mum simply placed the potato filling inside of tortilla wraps and folded them in half, then fried them in a bit of oil. Easy-peasy!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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Watch it step-by-step!
Nutrition info
Focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. For specific nutrition needs due to a medical condition, consult a dietitian or physician. While we strive to provide accurate nutritional information, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. See our disclaimer for details.
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To be honest, I haven't tried your recipe yet but today I was fed a bolani feast by some new Canadian friends who arrived from Afghanistan a year ago. Some with a leek filling, some with just potato, some with both. Hard to stop eating them. I received a lesson afterward in how to make them and it was exactly what you describe here (except YOU give measurements! - they were more from the "until it looks right" school of preparation. Hmmm.) Anyway, your photos look like what I was shown so you have increased my confidence and my wish to try this. Btw, they used a big flat griddle/electric fry pan - took it outside to keep the heat out. One of the daughters rolling and filling, the other manning the griddle. And the men eating and filling our plates again and again ... and again. Yikes. Thanks very much. I'm working my way up to mantu (which appear to be the same as what you call aushak??)
As someone who loves carbs and cilantro I LOVED this dish!
This one is so lovely, I've made it a lot. Especially my mom is obsessed with these and the chutney. I will have to warn you, I tried bolani from a local Afghan restaurant and they were so disappointing, I now know I can make them better at home.
Thank you for this delicious recipe. The store made Bolani, I have been buying has become very cost prohibiting, but I crave and miss them. So tonight I tried making them on my own with wonderful results, thanks to you. For Pennie’s on the dollar, this will now become a staple meal. I look forward to trying other recipes from your beautiful site. Mahalo, Michelle
Have made these before several times and really enjoyed them, they are also really versatile. I have made them with butter beans instead of the potatoes to try and increase the nutritional value, really tasty. It’s also a great if you don’t have fresh cilantro in, I once substituted with some spinach and upped the ground coriander.
One of our favorites ❤️
These were actually really easy and super fun to make! Did it all (with the chutney) over wine with friends and we could not stop eating!! 💕❤️
Just made these today for lunch and my whole family loved them. I did use tortillas to speed things up. :) Very easy, tasty and quick to make. Thank you!
Very tasty, cheated with store-bought fresh pizza dough.
Just made them for our new year's party - super delicious!! I wish I could've added more filling to each of them but I ran out pretty quickly (which led to me filling one with mashed carrot/broccoli/potatoes for my spice-averse toddler, which he loved 🤭). Any idea how many grams (ish) are in your usual two large potatoes? Oh and do you have any experience with making them in advance and freezing them?
I made them with granary tortillas as I was short on time, and they were still so delicious!! I will definitely take the time to make the dough next time, thank you pick up limes…!
The filling is very delicious! Great and easy recipe.
This looks absolutely delicious. Do you think it would work with fresh pizza dough, which i can find at bakeries here in Italy? Thanks
I will try it soon my wife afghan will be surprised
This was super nice!!
In love with this recipe! *_*
Bacione, from Italy
تشکر سعدية جان
سلام از تاجیکستان، موفق باشید
So delicious!
I have made this bolani recipe at least 10 times now – and the filling is just infinite! We also have experimented with baking them at 350 for 12-14 mins, and they're so delish. My family absolutely loves them!
So excited to try this! Funny reading the other comments and relating to them: I also came here for IFTAR! :P
Absolutely delicious! My husband loves bolani and this was my first attempt, he said they were professional. Also, we just had them for iftar, so may you share the blessing. ❤️
I loved your video and I am going to make the Bolani and chutney for my book club guests this evening. We have been reading ‘My Pen is the Wing of a Bird,’ short stories written by Afghan women. Offering some traditional Afghan food should help us to get into the discussion and make the evening special. Thank you for the clear instructions and a brief insight into your family culture.
OMG!!!! I LOVED this recipe and so did my hubby!!!! Making your own doe is definitely the best thing here. 🤤💕💕💕
i loved witnessing your journey making Afghani food - one of my favourite videos for sure! thank you for trusting us enough to share this part of yourself <3
They taste amazing 😍😋 i have a lot of friends that i met this year who r from Afghanistan, and i can't wait 2 show them what i made, and if they like how this recipe is! It's a simple recipe that takes time, but the outcome is outstanding! I cut them before frying them, but idk if that's better or not... Be cautious with the tumeric cuz it will stain ur hands yellow 😂 the bread is awesome, and the filling is 2 die 4! Luv these 💗🫶🏻
Hi! Can i put them in the freezer?
Another dish I made to embrace beautiful Afgan cuisine.. simple and delicious.. i made with with both white potatoes and once with sweet potatoes.. and they were just delicious. Thanks. :)
I made these for our monthly foodie group lunches. We always have a theme and the 8 members bring a dish. I prepared the Afghan bolanies which everyone enjoyed and we had them as a starter, with a yoghurt,lemon,garlic and cucumber dip. Back home they received a mixed reception! I am about to make some more, at the request of a friend, who wanted something unusual as a side dish to her big bbq party. I am adding some pulsed home grown tomatoes and some yoghurt to the filling as I found it a tad dry first time around.
This bolani recipe is one I will use more often! It's quite easy to make, it has great taste and it's also easy to take with you! Worth the effort! It's yumm. Especially with the chutney!!
We love this recipe!!! It’s simple to make and it’s delicious. My whole family throughly enjoyed. I made a cilantro chutney (Indian ) and they paired well. I also brushed oil after pressing the bubbles and pinching the edges and placed that side on a greased pan. I felt the oil was evenly distributed. Thank you for making our lives easier with such simple and tasty recipes. Keep rocking
We love ❤️ this recipe! Tastes delicious 😋
My whole family loves this recipe, including my three year old, which is high praise indeed. Thank you for sharing this!
I made these for my family of four along with the Afghan chutney. They were delicious and even my two fussy children eat them.
Hi! I am an ESL teacher at a high school in Portland, Oregon. I made this and the accompanying chutney for my student, who moved here without his family from Afghanistan last summer. He mentioned bolani as one of the dishes from Afghanistan he misses the most. He said your version was very authentic and gave me full approval! The other students in my class (from Mexico, Honduras, and South Korea) also enjoyed them! It is so fun to share culture through food. Thank you for the recipe! It was easy to follow. I will make it again for my family.
The food tastes disgusting my grandma makes better food.
Absolutely amazing
Take your jewelry off when you cook, especially when working with dough. You're just transferring a lot of gunk into foodstuff, not cool.
I made this with tortillas tonight. So delicious!! My littles usually reject new foods the first few times, and they both loved it and asked me to make it again. I’m hoping to make the dough next time ♥️♥️ Thanks so much for sharing!
As you mentioned we can use all purpose flour as an alternative. Does this mean we wouldn’t need the yeast?
I just bought all the ingredients to make with my 4 year old after we got super excited watching your video for this! Can't wait to try it. You mentioned pumpkin and red lentil fillings - would love to see the recipe for those filling alternatives, as well! Thanks for all of your beautiful content. It always inspires me to get in my kitchen!
How many would this recipe make ?
Love your channel!!
I love this dish so much! Made it for the first time at the weekend and it's already a firm favourite. We will definitely be eating this on a regular basis. Thank you so much!
A few months ago, when the video came out, my sister and i made an Afghan feast with several recipes from the video for our mom, aunt and cousins. We loved all the recipes and Bolani were eaten in a few minutes! We will make them again for sure.
Bolani reminds me of 'aaloo paratha' we eat here in India. I'm gonna try it
Thanks so much for this recipe! My 8 year old son loved it! Looking forward to making your vegan chocolate 🍰
Omg! this is so similar to aloo paratha and green chutney in our indian food! So nice to see that afghan and indian food matches so well :) Wonderful recipe!
WOW, I made bolani for the first time this afternoon and have fallen head over heals! I still can't get over how flavourful the filling is ! I did substitute the cilantro for chamnamul 참나물 (a leafy green plant that is common in the mountains here in Korea) as I couldn't find any cilantro in the supermarkets. I ate two whole bolani myself for my dinner; and am holding myself back from devouring the remaining two! This is my first time eating Afghan food and I am so excited to try more of the recipes and dive into the flavour profiles. Thank you for sharing your culture; food definitely unites us!
I´m planning on making this next week but I have a question. The recipe mentions green onions, do you mean leeks? (that is what my mom uses). Are you planning on making mantu? My family makes two types; one with pumpkin, carrots and onion and the other with potato instead of pumpkin.
Also for anyone who is remaking the recipe add 2-3 thin slices of tomato or make a filling with sauteed grated pumpkin that is spiced up. So good!
Hope you have a wonderful January! :D
So delicious and super easy to make, my family love them. Thank you for this recipe! :D
I made this (using the shortcut with the tortilla) and the Afghan chutney for dinner last night, and my whole family loved it! It was so easy too. Thank you!
Would I be able to make this with gluten free cup for cup flour? I'd love to try it but we're super allergic to gluten!
To all the members of the PUL Team
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious comfort food recipe! I just tried to make Bolani for the first time, my first time ever eating anything of the Afghan cuisine, and I absolutely love it! My favorite part of this recipe (of any recipe from your site, really) is that you not only make it seem mouthwatering delicious in vibrant pictures and videos, but your way of leading through the recipe makes me feel like even I can do it. Every time I cook something from here it makes me feel super accomplished and somehow good about myself. So for that as well: thank you!
Can‘t wait to try Aushak next.
These were so good we ate all of them in one sitting (for lunch)! We did have leftover dough and I added brown lentils to the filling. That was tasty as well.
I will definitely be making these again!
Hey PUL team,
Can you please help me with the name of bread flour in Dutch? After a lot of frugal attempts at googling and stepping into a lot of supermarkets in NL, I still haven't found it!
Would really help if you could share the information. Thanks!
So I stumbled across bolani and your website and am blown away at your philosophy, the magnificent aesthetic, the incredible easy to use website and especially your video about Afghanistan.
We are feeling so helpless in the face of all this and cooking bolani today made me feel like somehow I connected to the Afghan people.
The bolani and chutney were delicious and even my very picky kids were fans!
Thanx for the amazing site and content
I am so excited to have stumbled across your lovely website! This recipe takes me back to a trip to Sonoma Valley with my best friend, oh maybe 20 years ago?! We stumbled across this small farmer's market where there happened to be an Afghan family selling Bolani with chutney. It was hands down one of the most delicious things I've ever had in my life! I'm so excited to recreate the experience. I made your mom's Afghan Green Chutney recipe today (SOOOOO DELISH!) and will make the Bolani tomorrow. Thank you for your recipes, your lovely website, and beautiful videos. You're an internet gem!
This was surprisingly easy to make, even the dough! I made this for my family, and my mom especially enjoyed it. I am not the most competent cook so I didn't add enough spices and salt (my mistake), but it still tasted delicious and was easy to reheat the next day. I would try the chutney as well next time. Definitely worth making again!
Delicious! Thank you for posting your family recipes! You can taste your appreciation and love.
I made this recipe tonight and I adored it! It looked really good in the screen and it tasted just as good as I imagined. A little suggestion : after closing the bolani, if you roll them just a little more they become thinner and they are even better.
I paired them with the chutney (I didn't put any chiles and I didn't use cilantro because I hate it, I only used parsley), which tastes quite like a traditional Italian sauce called "salsa verde" (literally green sauce, it is made also with boiled egg and bread) - a very familiar taste, but it was weird to find it in an Afghan recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I will definitely make it again in the future.
so simple yet so amazingly delicious
Yes! I loved exploring the Afghan recipes. Anything outside the same old vegan recipe box. Loved the heat of the chutney! I kept the seeds cuz we like it hot.
This is so delicious! I made the dough myself, but next time I might try the quick tortilla method to save some time.
It was a hit at our Friday Night Ladies gathering :)
Just made this and the rice dish with mung beans ohhh so delish. It made 8 huge breads i probably could have made 12 perfect sizes. Very easy the dough was so easy thanks for the recipies
We absolutely loved these!! My dry, dry Alberta flour took 1 1/4 cups of water to 3 cups flour in order to form up the dough.
Delicious! I made the chutney the day ahead of the Bolani and you're right it just gets more flavorful. I didn't brave the dough yet, I used the flour tortillas hack. I look forward to trying to make the dough next time.
Thank you for the delicious recipes!
Very delicious ! Thank you for introducing us to the Afghan culture :)) I'd also recommend making your own dough - it's quite easy and you can already prepare the filling while it has to rest !
The bitter potato filling of the bolani was perfectly balanced alongside the salty dough and acidic green chutney. Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful recipes so I can appreciate the depth of Afghan culture from across the world!
Thank you for sharing your family, culture and this recipe! You are my favorite Vegan youtuber and blogger! I made it for my family and everyone enjoyed it. I will be making these many times over.
amazing, delicious! had to make it the day I watched this video. Super fun to make too and my husband and I had fun and devoured them. made a sweet "dessert" one with homemade apple butter inside with the last 1/8th of dough because I ran out of filling ;)
Took longer than expected though it being our first time! (should have read the direction saying 1:40... the video made it look so simple and quick). And had some issues with the dough not being stretchy enough/too stiff. maybe not enough water? not sure. I used regular all-purpose flour so i don't know if any of the ratios needed to change based on that. will continue to experiment! thank you!
I did this dish with leftover tacobread and potatoes, then som frozen herbs. It is perfect leftover food! So yummy! I am so excited to try a recepie from Afghanistan.
These are delicious having them second time this week
Made this and was so so easy. Ate it too without chutney. Took pictures and shared them. Will make it often. <3
Made for my family for lunch today with your chutney. I am amazed at how such humble ingredients make such an AMAZING dish. I didn't add peppers to the mash because my kids would complain. I used a blend of Russett and gold potatoes because it is what I had on hand and cooked those in the instant pot. I have uncooked flour tortillas that I ended up using and cooking in the same fashion as the recipe recommended. I can't wait to try the dough from scratch but just wasn't in the mood today. Tell your parents thank you from my family of 5. We all loved it and plan on making it at least weekly.
Made bolani with green chutney for dinner today....I can tell u how much my family enjoyed....thanks for sharing...keep up the amazing work..
Cette recette va devenir une base chez nous, simple et délicieuse ! Hâte de tester différentes déclinaisons ^^
So yummy!!
I hate cilantro, so I made it with parsley, but I'm gonna try cilantro next time. Love this for a birthday party :)
Thank you for sharing these recipes and for inviting some of your family members to participate in the video.
We've made this recipe today but were out if potatoes so we used sweet potatoes instead, and it was delicious. Can't wait to try with white potatoes next time. The whole household agrees that this needs to become a regular food at home.
Oh my goodness! Just finished making this and it is SO DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe. We made the chutney and ate it right away, but saved a bunch for later use. Wowowowow I'm on cloud 9!
These are so delicious! They are great warm, cold, morning or evening. Even our one-year old loves it ;)
Sadia I am beyond impressed with your display of all these amazing afghan recipes, I am so excited to try and have already made your dumplings! Onto this bolani recipe. Thanks again for sharing your culture and I hope to see you dive into more ethnic recipes around the world and bring in more of your own.
I am so excited to try this recipe. My family and I love bolani. They used to have this brand called Bolani at my local whole foods and Costco, but sadly they discontinued them. We usually just liked the spinach one and ate them without sauce. I am very curious about the taste of this one. I do have a question the green chili, I know when you remove seeds it tones down the spicy factor,but is it okay to omit this or does it change the final outcome. I also love that you\your mom provided a hack with a tortilla, who would have guessed. I can't wait to try this out and the dumpling recipe for sure. Thank you for this wonderful video. It was so interesting to learn about the food you grew up with and to meet your parents.