Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: Potato-stuffed flatbreads from my new Afghan friends

Bolani are flatbreads stuffed with potatoes, vegetables, and herbs and remind me of Irish potato cakes 

Food is such a fantastic way to get to know people, isn’t it? It is a wonderful insight into other cultures and traditions, and a great way to connect and bond with other people. Even when language separates us, we can find connection in sharing a meal. In recent decades the range of foods available to us has become fantastically diverse, both when we travel and when people from other places come to live here with us. I love that. I love the excitement of discovering new flavours, new ingredients, and new cooking styles. But I also love how often I see as much commonality in all those wildly varied food cultures as I see difference. It shows that for all our perceived differences, we have more in common than we sometimes imagine.

I was reminded of that again this week. For the past several weeks I have been working with many others to help people at risk in Afghanistan get to safety. The efforts of so many people here in Ireland and around the world have saved the lives of many people. I am proud to say that Ireland has been exemplary in this effort. Our government has worked closely with NGOs and people from all across society to help bring people who needed protection to safety here and to then begin the process of helping them rebuild their lives.

I was talking to a group of young people who had recently arrived in Ireland about their lives back in Afghanistan. As often happens, the conversation turned to food, to the things they loved to eat at home and that they were missing the most. One of them told me about Bolani, a popular street food dish in Afghanistan. Bolani are flatbreads stuffed with potatoes, vegetables, and herbs. As he described them, I was reminded of Indian Samosas, but also of Irish potato cakes. All three dishes use potato and flour as their base ingredients, with seasoning and other ingredients added for flavour. Samosas are deep fried, whereas Bolani and potato cakes are cooked in a griddle pan or skillet. It all seemed very familiar, and sounded delicious, so I just had to make them.

I researched a few recipes and came up with this one. The dough is unleavened, a combination of just flour, oil, salt, and water. The filling also uses just a few very familiar ingredients. These take very little effort to prepare and cook, but the result is absolutely delicious. Serve your Bolani with a dip made from 250g of Greek yoghurt, some finely chopped cucumber, half a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a little chopped fresh mint.

Bolani: Stuffed Afghan flatbreads

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Bolani are a popular street food in Afghanistan: flatbreads stuffed with potatoes, vegetables, and herbs

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Afghan

Ingredients

• For the dough:

• 400g plain flour

• 200ml water

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• For the filling:

• 800g potatoes

• 2 bunches of spring onions

• 1 small green pepper

• 30g fresh coriander

• 1 tbsp ground coriander

• 1 small green bell pepper

• 2 green chillies

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Method

1. Bake the potatoes. You can do this in a microwave if you wish to save time. Get those on to bake while you make the dough, cooking them until they are soft all the way through.

2. Combine the flour, salt, and olive oil in the bowl of a mixer or food processor. Using your dough attachment, gradually add the water with the mixer running until the dough comes together in a smooth ball. Knead it in the machine for just a minute or two. You can mix the dough by hand and knead it for a few minutes on your worktop if you prefer. Once the dough is made, cover it in cling film and let it rest for thirty minutes.

3. Wash the green pepper and chillies and remove the stalks and seeds from both. Chop them finely. Wash and chop the spring onions, you should get about 140g from two bunches. When the potatoes are baked, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash it. Do not add any butter or milk to the potato, just mash it roughly. Warm a pan over a high heat and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the green peppers and chilli. Cook them for three minutes or so until they are a little soft and add the ground coriander. Cook for another minute before adding the chopped spring onion. Continue to cook for about two minutes, and then add everything to the bowl of mashed potato. Mix well, and season with salt and pepper. When the mixture has cooled a little, chop the fresh coriander, leaves and stalks, and mix that in as well. Taste and add more seasoning if required.

4. Next, divide the dough into six equal balls. Spread a little flour over your worktop and the dough. Now roll one ball of dough into a disc about 20cm in diameter. Divide the filling into six equal portions. Spread one portion of filling over one half of your disc of dough, leaving a border of about 2cm around the edge. Next, fold the other half of the dough over the top of the filling and seal the edges. You can just crimp them with your fingers to seal them shut. Repeat until you have made up all six portions of Bolani.

5. Heat a frying pan over a high heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and reduce the heat to medium. Shallow fry the Bolani, one at a time, cooking them until they are crisp and golden on one side, before turning them over and cooking them on the other side. Press them down a little with a spatula to ensure you get them cooked evenly to ensure they are crisp and golden all over. Keep the cooked Bolani on a wire rack while you finish the rest.

6. Serve your Bolani with a dip made from 250g of Greek yoghurt, some finely chopped cucumber, half a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a little chopped fresh mint.