Boulanee are fried potato and meat turnovers that go very well with yogurt sauce. They are pretty tasty, and work well as a party dish, but they can be rather oily. I decided to make them because they seemed rather simple, and the potato-and-ground-meat filling reminded me of meat pie, one of my favorite feel-good dishes.

I followed the original recipe pretty closely, but I found that the potato-meat ratio was too heavy on the side of the potatoes. If I was to make it again, I would use 1 or 2 large potatoes at a maximun. More potatoes, of course, extend the use of the meat making it a more economical dish.

My other change was to the folding method. Originaly, the boulanee are supposed to be large triangular turnovers (see picture). However, I was unable to seal the egg-roll wrapping just by wetting the edges and pressing them together. Instead, I decided to close them as you would an envelope and then flattening them with my hand. By doing so I was able to make smaller pastries, which were well-sealed and easier to dip. The flattening allowed for more even frying. I tried baking them, but the results were not satisfactory as the egg-roll skin did not acquired that golden-brown color it gets from frying. Please note that the egg-roll wrappers soak in quite bit of oil, making the boulanee not very healthy.

I don't forsee cooking this dish again. While my husband really liked it, I found it rather boring; they were certainly not interesting enough to justify the high fat.

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Marga's Modified Boulanee Recipe

Ingredients

1 Package square eggroll wrappers

Corn oil

Mashed Potatoes

1 or 2 large potatoes

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

4 green onions, chopped.

Beef

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. coriander

Instructions

Boil potatoes on their skin until soft. Peel and mash. Add salt, coriander, cayenne pepper, cilantro and green onions and mix.

Meanwhile:

Brown ground beef with pepper, salt and coriander.

Mix ground beef with mashed potatoes. Let cool.

Take an eggroll wrapper and place a spoonfull of filling in the middle. Wet the edges of the wrapper and close, making a triangle. Fold the ends of the triangle into the pastry, making a small envelope. Flatten with your hand.

Heat oil and fry the boulanee until brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes.

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Original Boulanee Recipe

From Afghan Web

Ingredientes

Potatoes

Cilantro

Coriander

Corn Oil

Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Black Pepper

Eggroll Skins

Ground Beef

Green Onion

Instructions

Start by washing four large potatoes, and then boil them until they are tender (approx. 20min.) Next, brown one pound of ground beef with one-half of a teaspoon black pepper, one-half of a teaspoon of salt, and one-half of a teaspoon of coriander. When the potatoes are are done, drain the water, peel them, and mash thoroughly. Mix the meat with one-half teaspoon of salt, one-half teaspoon of coriander, one-quarter teaspoon cayenne pepper, one-half of a bunch of cilantro, and one-half of a bunch of chopped green onions.

To wrap the Boulanee, place the eggroll skin on a flat, clean surface. Place a portion of the filling in the middle of the eggroll skin. Dip a finger into water, and lightly wet the edges around the eggroll skin. Fold the eggroll in half to make a triangle, and seal the edges. Be careful not to fill the eggroll skin with too much filling. Heat about 1 tablespoon of corn oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Saute boulanee for about 4 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned. You may add a bit more oil to the pan when necessary. Serve this dish with tomato sauce or yogurt sauce.