I was recently at a friend's house for a study-dinner date. My friends are two Afghan sisters who wanted to introduce Afghan food to me. I absolutely love Indian and Nepalese food so I knew I was probably going to enjoy Afghan food as well! Since its August, the Muslim community is observing Ramadan by fasting while the sun is up. So at about 8 PM, we broke fast with bolani! Bolani is this delicious, buttery (without actual dairy) flatbread stuffed with various vegetables like potatoe and spinach. Although the bolani was most memorable, we also munched on Afghan meatballs, spicy potatoes and garlic, Afghan bread, and shrimp fried rice. My friends wonderfully sent me off with some bolani for Justin - and he was absolutely in love! Since then, Justin's been asking me to figure out how to make bolani but I do not have any tools or ability to make bread (maybe after med school?). Thankfully - I found my way out of having to make bread when I was visiting a local farmer's market this morning! The Afghan booth had four different flavors of bolani and all were vegan! :)
If you are looking to try bolani, check for a local Afghan store or at the farmer's market. If you are looking to make your own bolani, you can purchase phyllo dough (with dairy) or make a dairy-free bread. With a bread maker, add 3 cups prepared bread flour and 1 cup water and follow the instructions from your bread maker. While your bread is preparing, boil water and cook 1 lb of potatoes. Roll a small amount of dough thin (about the thickness of a tortilla) and about 10-12 inches across. Spread about 1/4 cup of potato mixture (as well as any other vegetables you want) and fold in half. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and brown the bolani on both sides. Serve with plain yogurt or chutney. I heated 1/4 of bolani with a garlic and roasted bell pepper hummus spread for lunch below :)
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