YEA Cookbook: Belarusian Draniki 

Prep Time: 15 min   |   Cooking Time: 30 min   |   Servings: 8

These potato pancakes are the perfect comfort food, and a Belarusian staple which was made popular in the nineteenth century. The word ‘draniki’ comes from old Belarusian, meaning ‘rubbing’. Make these when hosting your friends for a dinner party!

Ingredients:

15 medium potatoes

5 eggs

5 tbsp of cornstarch

2 medium onions 

Salt and pepper 

Cooking oil (vegetable oil or olive oil)

1 bunch spring onions

450ml sour cream 

Directions:

Wash and peel the potatoes and grate them on the large-sized grate.

Squeeze out the liquid from the grated potatoes until they are quite dry (this is necessary to remove the excess water and make it easier to fry the draniki later).

Chop the 2 onions.

In a separate bowl, break 5 eggs and whisk them together with salt and pepper.

Chop the spring onions. You also can add dill, parsley or any other herbs of your preference.

Take a large bowl and add the squeezed grated potatoes, chopped onions, 5 tbsp of cornstarch, the egg mixture, and the spring onions (and/or other herbs). Mix well.

Spread a little vegetable or olive oil across your pan (or any other oil of your choice).

Add a few spoonfuls of the prepared mixture on the pan and form a pancake, cooking until golden brown, then flip the pancake to the other side and pan fry the same way.

Once done, put your draniki on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.

Serve your draniki with sour cream (you can add salt, pepper and herbs to your sour cream for a better taste).