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Afghan

Bolani

Vegetarian

بولانی · Bolani

Thin, half-moon flatbreads stuffed with mashed potato, spring onion and coriander, then pan-fried until blistered and crisp. A beloved Afghan snack served with yogurt.

Bolani is an Afghan bread from Afghanistan, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, potato and spring onion. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A plate of Bolani with herbs and different types of sauces
Photo: Tunshi / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
30 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
30 min
Total
1 h 25 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
453

Ingredients

4 servings (8 bolani)

For the dough

For the filling

For frying

To serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, salt, oil and enough water into a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth, cover and rest for 30 minutes.

    • 8 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Mix the mashed potato (opens in a new tab) with the spring onion (opens in a new tab), coriander, chilli, pepper (opens in a new tab) and salt.

    • 5 min

  3. Step 3

    Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll each very thinly into a 20 cm round. Spread filling over one half, fold over and press the edges to seal.

  4. Step 4

    Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the bolani 2–3 minutes per side until golden and blistered, adding oil as needed. Drain and cut in half.

    Food safety: Take care with hot oil when flipping.

  5. Step 5

    Serve hot with garlic yogurt (opens in a new tab).

    • 1 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Afghanistan · Well documentedMore food from Afghanistan
Dish
Lunch · Snack · Breads & flatbreads · Street food · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method
Shallow-fried, Pan-fried
Taste
savoury, herby, mild
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Portable / lunchbox · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Potato · Spring onion · Coriander leaves · Green chilli
Techniques
Pan-frying · Shallow-frying · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom yogurt
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

453 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 251 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 9%
  • Carbohydrate 67%
  • Fat 24%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy453 kcal180 kcal
Protein10.2 g4 g
Carbohydrate76.2 g30.4 g
Net carbohydrate71.6 g28.5 g
Sugars1.5 g0.6 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.6 g1.8 g
Fat11.8 g4.7 g
Saturated fat1 g0.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium885 mg353 mg
Salt equivalent2.2 g0.9 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
561 mg
Calcium
41 mg
Iron
4.6 mg
Magnesium
45 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
12 µg
Vitamin C
26 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
244 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: yogurt.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Roll the dough as thin as you can — bolani should be mostly crisp crust.

Common mistakes

  • Overfilling — a thin layer of filling keeps the bread crisp and stops it tearing.

Serve with

  • Serve with chakah (garlic-mint yogurt) and green chutney.

Storage

  • Best fresh; cooked bolani can be frozen and re-crisped.

Reheating

  • Re-crisp in a hot dry pan.

Variations

  • Bolani gandana: Filled with chopped Afghan leeks and chilli.
  • Pumpkin bolani: Filled with spiced, mashed pumpkin.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

For the dough

Used in steps 1, 2, 4

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 30 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 30 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 25 min

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Start to finish: about 1 h 25 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
All-purpose flourFlour300 g100%
WaterWater180 g60%
Neutral vegetable oilFat14 g4.5%
SaltSalt5 g1.5%
Total flour
300 g
Hydration
60%
With milk, eggs…
60%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
  • Salt 1.5% — normal for bread.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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