Bolani (

Dari Dari (; endonym: ), Dari Persian (, , or , ), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language;Lazard, G.Darī – The New Persian ...

: بولانی), also called Periki (

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

: پارکی) is a stuffed flat-bread from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, fried with a filling. It has a thin crust and can be stuffed with a variety of ingredients, such as

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es or

leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

s but also grated

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

, chives, red lentils or with minced meat. It can be served with plain yogurt or mint yogurt and is usually served with a

doogh Doogh () is a cold and savoury Iranian drink. It is made with fermented milk. Unlike its sister beverage of Turkish origin, ayran, Doogh is not diluted yogurt. According to the Iranian Ministry of Food Standards, Doogh "is a drink resulting fr ...

drink. Bolani is made for special occasions like birthday parties, engagement parties or holidays. It is widely sold on the streets in Afghanistan, particularly in cities such as

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...

and

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

Variations

Egg-roll wrapper method

The method of using eggroll wrappers instead of making the dough for the bolani is a time saving convenience often used in Western countries. The edges of the eggroll wrappers are lightly brushed with water to allow for sticking. The wrappers are then filled half way either diagonally or lengthwise with the preferred filling. Each side is then fried until golden brown. This method is the easiest and fastest way of preparing bolani.

Baked dough method

Another popular method for making Bolani is baking them. Although frying is the most popular method for special occasions, baking is becoming very popular amongst the western crowd. While Bolani was originally baked to cut back on fat, it is now becoming popular due to the unique flavor it imparts. Baking allows for a thicker crust that leads to a fluffy pastry filled with toppings. Some argue that baked Bolani is not traditional due to its thick nature and meat stuffed variations. Regardless, it remains as one of the most popular methods of preparing Bolani in America.

Fried dough method

Bolani dough can also be fried. Using this method, the dough is made from a mixture of flour, salt, vegetable oil, and water. After the dough is flattened, fillings are added, then the dough is folded to cover the fillings, and the food is fried on a pan.

Gallery

File:Afghan-Bolani.jpg, Bolani

References