Pancakes from grated raw potatoes are best obtained from Belarusians. Therefore, the word draniki is known to the whole world, at least the Slavic one.

Belarusians in terms of potato dishes in general can give odds to all other nations. There are a lot of potato dishes in Belarusian cuisine: sorcerers, zrazy, dumplings, drachen, babka, etc. From raw potatoes with juice, from potatoes with squeezed juice, from boiled and crushed potatoes ... Potatoes are added to pancakes, pies are made from it, and they are not only used for filling, but also for dough. So you can safely trust Belarusians in potato matters.

How to get very tasty pancakes with a crispy crust? There are several tricks.

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Preparation

All products for potato pancakes must be taken out before cooking. Prepare everything so that the dough is done as quickly as possible. Do not forget the gauze for squeezing potatoes and a grater.

So that the potatoes do not turn black

You have to rub it last. Squeeze quickly and immediately add a little milk or sour cream. And then add the dough blank, made in advance, to the potatoes.

To make pancakes tender

Potatoes should be grated on the smallest grater. Grate the onion along with the potatoes. Mix. The onion juice will keep the potatoes from browning.

Instead of flour

Draniki will turn out even better if the squeezed liquid from the potatoes is defended, then drained, and the settled starch is added to the dough. And in this case, you can not put flour in the dough.

Even easier

You can fasten the potato mass not with a whole egg, but replace it with two proteins. The pancakes will turn out to be very lush, and although it is somehow strange to remember the calorie content when frying potato pancakes in lard, they are slightly lighter for the stomach and liver than it could be when using yolks.

What to fry

Draniki are best made in lard. It warms up better than meat, and it grabs the potato dough better. And in general it goes very well with the taste of potato pancakes. But, unfortunately, many people cannot stand the smell of roasting fat.

In this case, you can take either odorless vegetable oil or ghee. Regular butter is bad. When heated, it will hiss and “spit”, since water is present in it, and additional impurities, everything that is melted out of the oil, will burn and give a black precipitate.

Preheat the pan

Draniki should be laid out on a very well heated pan. And the fat on it should also warm up, so after you pour the oil (if you cook on it), wait a couple of minutes and lay out the potato mass.

What to serve with

Very hot pancakes with very cold sour cream. If fried in bacon, then you can still sprinkle with cracklings.

Traditionally

The classic Belarusian recipe for potato pancakes does not include eggs and flour. Only potatoes, onion, salt, fat for frying. But now most often eggs are added to pancakes. Usually about 1 egg for 4-5 medium potatoes.

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Draniki

5 potatoes

1 bulb

2 tbsp flour

4 tbsp vegetable oil

Some soda

1 cup sour cream

Salt and pepper

Step 1. Peel potatoes and onions, grate. Drain the juice or squeeze through cheesecloth.

Step 2. Add egg, flour, soda, salt and pepper. Mix everything well.

Step 3. Pour oil into the pan, heat it up properly and lay out the pancakes, forming them with a spoon.

Step 4. Fry over medium heat on both sides, if necessary, add oil.

Step 5. Serve with sour cream.

Draniki with meat or sorcerers

5 large potatoes

1 bulb

2 tbsp flour

200 g minced meat

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil

Step 1. Wash potatoes and onions, peel, grate on a fine grater. Add eggs, flour, salt and pepper.

Step 2. Salt and pepper minced meat.

Step 3. Heat up a frying pan with oil. Spoon portions of potato dough onto it, flatten to make pancakes.

Step 4. Put a little minced meat on top of each pancake and cover with a spoonful of potato mass.

Step 5. Fry on both sides, then close the lid, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream.

From potatoes you can cook a lot of delicious and satisfying dishes. And one of them is pancakes. And what is it, and how to cook such a dish?

What are draniki?

Draniki are basically potato pancakes. Such a dish is considered, but it is also found in the cuisines of other countries of the world.

So, in Ukraine, potato pancakes are called pancakes or potato pancakes, in - latkes, in Sweden - ragmunks (which translates as "bristled monk"), in the Czech Republic - bramboraks, in America - hashbrowns, and in Lithuania such a dish is called potato pancakes. By the way, the word draniki is translated from Old Russian as “rub, tear”, so we can assume that the name contains the whole essence of the dish.

A bit of history

It is not known exactly when and where potato pancakes were first used in the form in which they are known to us. After all, potatoes began to be cultivated a long time ago, and, probably, a wide variety of dishes were prepared from it. Thus, the first mention of potato pancakes dates back to 1830.

And some believe that they appeared under the influence of German cuisine. But if Belarus is still considered the birthplace of the dish, then here initially the potatoes were not grated (then there were simply no graters), but on the board.

In those days, they ate potato pancakes for breakfast. And there was also such a tradition: before the main meal, you had to eat a piece of black bread. Draniki are always eaten only hot with sour cream, lard or butter.

Ingredients

Today, there are many different recipes for potato pancakes, but in its original form, such a dish consisted of only a few components. We list the ingredients that are used most often and in most cases:

• Potato. It is worth talking about it separately, because it is he who is the main and most important ingredient. The taste of the finished dish depends on his choice. It is worth choosing varieties with a high starch content, because if there is not enough of it, potato pancakes will not be juicy and soft or will burn during the frying process. it is better not to use it, there is little starch in it.
• Eggs play the role of a connecting element, so many people add them too. Usually there is 1 egg for 4-5 potatoes.
• Onion. Onion, firstly, makes potato pancakes more juicy and gives them a pleasant taste. Secondly, onion juice protects the potatoes from browning and allows the potato mass to be stored longer.
• Flour or starch. If you can't find starchy potatoes, then add starch during the cooking process. It can be replaced with wheat or corn flour.
• Instead of onions, some use kefir, which also prevents browning.
• Salt and pepper are added to taste. As for other seasonings, they are not traditionally used. But you can add garlic or dill or parsley.
• If you like to experiment in the kitchen, you can make stuffed pancakes or just mix potatoes with vegetables or minced meat.

How to cook?

How to cook delicious potato pancakes? You need to remember some rules. Here are the main preparation steps:

1. First peel and wash the potatoes.
2. Now you need to start grinding. How to grate potatoes? It all depends on your preferences and tastes, as well as on what potato pancakes you want to end up with. If you plan to cook tender and uniform potato pancakes, then use a fine tearing grater. If you want potato pancakes to be fried and crunchy, then grate the potatoes on a medium or even large grater. If you have little time, then you can use a blender or meat grinder to grind.
3. Then you need to squeeze out excess juice from the potatoes. In general, you can not do this, since the juice also gives the dish a special taste. By the way, the mass with juice is called tarkovannaya. There is also a clinked mass (in this case, the juice is squeezed out) and boiled. In the latter case, the potatoes are first boiled and then chopped in boiled form.
4. Now mix the potato mass with the egg, add the onion or other ingredients, as well as salt and pepper. Knead the dough. By consistency, it will resemble not too thick sour cream.
5. Now start cooking. It is best to fry pancakes, in this form they will be crispy. But you can also use the oven, slow cooker and even a double boiler. By the way, melted fat or butter is best suited for frying, but you can also use ordinary vegetable oil (preferably refined).

Recipes

We offer you several recipes for potato pancakes.

Recipe one

These are the simplest potato pancakes. Cooking Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes;
• 1 small onion;
• 1 egg;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Peel potatoes and grate. Squeeze out excess juice if necessary.
2. Also peel the onion and either chop it finely, or grate it, or chop it in a blender.
3. Mix potatoes and onions, add egg, salt and pepper. Mix everything well.
4. Heat oil or fat in a pan.
5. With a spoon, spread the mass on a preheated pan, leaving free space between the potato pancakes (at least 1 centimeter) so that they do not stick together.
6. Fry the pancakes until golden brown on each side.

Recipe two

If you cannot imagine your life without meat, then cook meat pancakes. Here's what you'll need:

• 100 grams of pork;
• 100 grams of beef;
• 700 grams of potatoes;
• 1 onion;
• 3 tablespoons of kefir;
• 1 egg;
• 3 bunches of green dill;
• pepper and salt to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse the meat, clean from the veins and pass through a meat grinder. You can immediately pass through a meat grinder and peeled onions.
2. Peel the potatoes and grate on a medium grater. Squeeze out excess juice and mix potato mass with kefir and egg.
3. Chop the dill with a knife, after washing and drying.
4. Add minced meat, chopped dill, pepper and salt. Mix everything thoroughly.
5. Fry potato pancakes in butter.

Recipe three

Very tasty pancakes with mushrooms. The list of ingredients is:

For pancakes:

• 600 grams of potatoes;
• 300 grams of fresh champignons;
• 2 eggs;
• 2 onions;
• 2 tablespoons of flour;
• salt and pepper to taste.

For sauce:

• 200 grams of sour cream;
• 2-3 cloves of garlic;
• dill greens;
• salt.

How to cook? Everything is very simple:

1. Get started with mushrooms. Wash them well and cut into small pieces.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the mushrooms.
3. Now grate the previously peeled potatoes on a fine grater.
4. Peel the onion and finely chop it or chop it in a meat grinder or in a blender.
5. Combine the potato mass with mushrooms and onions, add flour, eggs, pepper and salt. Mix everything well.
6. Spread the mass in a pan, fry potato pancakes on each side for 4-7 minutes until golden brown.
7. Now prepare the sauce. To do this, peel the garlic and grate it on a fine grater, chop the dill with a knife (do not forget to wash it). Add dill with garlic to sour cream, salt everything and mix.
8. Serve hot pancakes with sauce.

A few useful tips for cooking potato pancakes:

• If you decide to cook pancakes with filling, then make the filling in advance, it should be completely ready. So, if you use raw mushrooms, they will not be fried.
• Start frying potato pancakes immediately after preparing the dough. Grated potatoes are not stored even in the refrigerator.
• Spare no oil. It should cover half of the pancakes. If there is not enough oil, then potato pancakes will not be crispy and golden.
• To remove excess oil after cooking, blot potato pancakes with paper towels.
• Cook potato pancakes at once, as they will no longer be so tasty when heated. It is better to serve such a dish directly from the pan.

Now you know everything about cooking potato pancakes. Delight your household and guests with this simple but delicious dish!

Cooked potato pancakes? Have you been visiting? And in a restaurant? Yes, in a restaurant.

For some reason, it is believed that potato pancakes are a dish of special simplicity, and making it, let's say, is a spit. But that's just what has a bluish tint and a sticky consistency - these are not potato pancakes. These are clumsily cooked potato pancakes.

By the way, several world cuisines argue about whose dish this is. It somehow happened that it is considered a traditional Belarusian dish. But the Ukrainians will correct you and say that these are not draniki at all, but potato pancakes and the dish belongs to their cuisine, and the Jews will answer that latkes (this is potato pancakes again) is one of the main dishes for Hanukkah, and you can order it in the most prestigious restaurants. These are not simple ones, draniki, or terunets, or kremzliks, or ...

If you do not get (or get as described above with blue) potato pancakes, then read carefully, strictly follow the recipe and get the right, tender, sunny potato pancakes.

Since there are so many cooking recipes, we will narrow this circle down to a basic recipe, then we will complicate it a little, and then change it slightly. The main goal is to understand all the principles and subtleties of cooking potato pancakes. Join, it will be exciting, because you will learn a lot of secrets.

Basic recipe for potato pancakes

Be that as it may, potato pancakes are grated potatoes. That's the whole secret.

Recipe Ingredients

• potatoes - 5 large
• onion - half
• flour - 2 tbsp. spoons
• eggs - 2
• salt, pepper to your taste
• vegetable oil for frying

How to cook potato pancakes

Grate potatoes and onions on a fine grater (with the smallest round holes). If you have an assistant (combine), then the task of making a lot of potato pancakes is greatly simplified.

First, grate the onion and put it in a bowl.

Secret one. Onion, oxidizing, does not allow the potatoes to darken. Therefore, firstly, the finished potato pancakes will turn golden, and, secondly, there is no need to rush, fearing that the potatoes will darken.

Second secret. Draniki is also called potato pancakes, hence the misconception that the consistency of potato pancakes should be similar to the consistency of pancake dough.

We will not be mistaken, therefore, we will remove all the liquid from the potatoes and other products that will be used.

To do this, throw the potatoes with onions into a colander, and when the liquid drains, squeeze it out - there should be only a “dry residue” at the exit. Add salt, pepper, egg and flour, mix thoroughly.

Fry in a preheated pan with vegetable oil, spreading potato pancakes with a tablespoon.

Don't make them too thick, smooth them with the back of a spoon.

Secret third. Fry over medium heat - the potatoes should be well fried inside.

Fourth secret: put potato pancakes on a paper napkin, which will take away excess oil, because they are best served with sour cream, and so much fat content is not very healthy, although tasty.

The fifth secret: if you want to get crispy potato pancakes, do not stack them, lay them out in one layer.

Serve pancakes immediately, while they are hot. With sour cream, in which be sure to cut the greens.

ADVICE. If you need to serve a large number of fried potato pancakes to the table, then turn on the oven (t 120-140), cover the baking sheet with parchment and put pancakes from the pan on it. When everything is overcooked, put the baking sheet in a warm oven until serving, but not too long so that the potato pancakes do not dry out.

Stuffed potato pancakes

Yes, if you add the filling to the basic recipe, you get a new dish. And although potatoes never get bored, you still want variety. What stuffing to take? Imagine boiled or fried potatoes, what would you eat them with? Yes, with anything. It is precisely this “anything” that can be an addition. For example, Belarusians prefer to add meat, a great addition is a variety of vegetables: eggplant, sweet peppers, garlic, mushrooms, zucchini and others. Or sauerkraut.

Replace the flour with starch to make it look like a potato.

Recipe Ingredients

• potatoes - 3 pcs.
• onion - 1
• sauerkraut - 130 grams
• egg - 1
• potato starch - 1 tbsp. spoon
• vegetable oil for frying

How to cook stuffed potato pancakes

Finely grate the onion and potatoes, drain in a colander.
Chop the cabbage very finely.
Squeeze potatoes and cabbage and place in a bowl.

Break the egg into a small bowl, shake it up and pour it into the potatoes. Add starch, stir.

Fry as in the first case, in vegetable oil, medium heat. Lay out on a napkin.
Serve hot.

BONUS. A related recipe is a delicious potato babka.

Potato pancakes with carrots

Why with carrots? Because she and potatoes are a very tasty combination. Carrots give tenderness and sweetness to potatoes, and potatoes give carrots satiety.

But so that life does not seem like a culinary paradise, we will make pancakes grated on a coarse grater.

Recipe Ingredients

• potatoes - 4
• carrots - 1 medium
• herbs, salt, pepper - to taste
• egg - 1
• flour - 2 tbsp. spoons

How to cook potato pancakes with carrots

Grate carrots and potatoes on a coarse grater. Place in a colander, then squeeze and transfer to a bowl. By the way, there is much less liquid from coarsely grated potatoes.

Add the egg and finely chopped greens, salt and pepper. Stir.

Add flour and mix well again.
Fry over medium heat in vegetable oil.

Serve hot with sour cream.

Having tried variations with finely and coarsely grated potatoes, you will understand which one you like best. But this is not a reason to stop, because you can combine, for example, finely and medium grated potatoes - you get a soft center and a crispy top.

If some vegetables do not rub well on a fine grater, pass them through a meat grinder.

P.S. It seems that we have diligently revealed all the secrets of cooking potato pancakes, and they are clearly visible on your monitor. Or we forgot something. Then please remind in the comments everything that you think is necessary, important and useful.

Draniki (or potato pancakes) are the most popular potato pancakes in Belarus, which have firmly entered the cuisine of neighboring countries: Ukraine and Russia. Grated potatoes with garlic, onion and egg are fried in a hot frying pan in oil or animal fat. It turns out a very satisfying and simple dish. The main “partner” of hot potato pancakes is sour cream. Of course, this dish cannot be considered dietary, because the calorie content of potato pancakes is 170 kcal per 100 g, and if there is flour in the dough, then all 199 kcal are obtained. But this does not reduce their popularity in any way, and they will never lose their people's love.

A step-by-step recipe for potato pancakes will teach you how to cook real Belarusian pancakes.

Required Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 10 pcs;
• Egg - 2 pcs;
• Salt - to taste;
• Oil for frying.

How to cook potato pancakes:

The best recipes for potato pancakes

Having studied the classic recipe for potato pancakes, you can proceed to its more complex options. After all, they are cooked with vegetables and meat, fried in a pan or baked in the oven. So it turns out that a simple and hearty dish is fraught with many secrets.

All recipes for potato pancakes are very similar, but sometimes a minor detail significantly changes the taste of the dish.

Vegetarian pancakes with vegetables

Strict vegetarians also love Belarusian cuisine, especially its potato pancakes. By adding various vegetables to the dough, potato pancakes without eggs turn out to be lean, but very bright.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 8 pcs;
• Carrots - 1 pc;
• Onions - 2 pcs;
• Salt, spices - to taste;
• Onion - 2 pcs.

Cooking:

1. Peel and rinse medium-sized potatoes, large carrots and onions in water.
2. Grate all vegetables on a fine grater into one bowl. Grate the potatoes last, so as not to darken too much. Salt the mixture and season with spices to taste. excess liquid.
3. Pour the oil into the pan and heat up. Spread the mixture only in hot oil, giving the shape of cakes. Make potato pancakes not very thick, as the middle may not be baked.
4. Fry the potato pancakes on each side until golden brown appears.

Pancakes with cheese and ham

Potato pancakes with cheese are not only appetizing, but also very satisfying. And if you add a little ham and greens, you get a full dinner without any side dishes.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 6 pcs;
• Onion - 1 pc;
• Ham - 200 gr;
• Cheese - 200 gr;
• Egg - 2 pcs;
• Dill - 1 bunch;
• Flour - 4 tbsp. spoons;
• Salt and spices - to taste.

Cooking:

1. Peel onions and potatoes. Finely chop the dill. Grate all vegetables, cheese and ham. In this recipe for potato pancakes, all the ingredients should be rubbed on the largest grater to avoid the mushy state of the products. Drain excess liquid.
2. Add eggs, dill and flour to the mixture. Mix everything and salt to taste.
3. Spoon the mixture into the hot skillet with oil, shaping it into a pancake shape. Fry until golden brown on each side.

Analogue of pies with minced meat

Departing from classic recipes, you can cook potato pancakes in the form of pies with minced meat.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 60 pcs;
• Onion - 1 pc;
• Egg - 2 pcs;
• Minced meat - 200 gr;
• Salt and pepper to taste;
• Flour - as needed.

Cooking:

1. For the potato mixture, the vegetables must be grated on the smallest grater. Salt the potatoes and season with spices to taste. Drain the liquid that appears. Crack the eggs into the mixture and mix everything. If you get a liquid consistency, then you need to add a little flour.
2. Minced meat can be used any, but it is better to take a fine grind and without a lot of fat. Add the grated onion to the minced meat and season with spices. Mix everything until smooth.
3. These potato pancakes with minced meat are fried only in hot oil. Spread a thin layer of the mixture with a spoon, and put a little minced meat on top. Spread the minced meat over the entire surface of the pancake. Put a thin layer of potato mixture over the filling again. As soon as one side is browned, carefully turn the potato pancake over, trying so that the filling does not fall out.
4. Such meat pancakes are cooked under a closed lid so that the minced meat has time to steam while the crust forms.

Recipe for multicooker

You can cook potato pancakes not only in a pan, but also in a slow cooker. With this option, a minimum amount of oil is required, which is very useful for a healthy lifestyle.

Ingredients:

• Potato - 1 kg;
• Onion - 1 pc;
• Egg - 2 pcs;
• Flour - 3 tbsp. spoons;
• Salt and spices to taste.

Cooking:

1. Peel onions and potatoes. Grate vegetables. Drain the resulting liquid.
2. Whisk the eggs. Season everything with spices. Add flour and mix thoroughly until the mixture is smooth.
3. Lubricate the multicooker bowl with oil. Form potato pancakes with a spoon and put them on the bottom of the bowl.
4. Cook on the “Baking” or “Frying” mode for 20 minutes on each side.

With mushrooms and pork belly in a pot

Cooking potato pancakes has long been no ordinary procedure. Fantasy and the desire to search for new tastes lead to the fact that even simple dishes change beyond recognition. Such potato pancakes with mushrooms and pork belly in a pot may well become a decoration of the festive table.

The dish is based on classic potato pancakes, which must be prepared in any convenient way.

Ingredients:

• Classic potato pancakes - 15-20 pcs;
• Champignons - 300 gr;
• Onions - 2 pcs;
• Pork belly - 500 gr;
• Sour cream - by product yield;
• Greens, cheese - optional;
• Salt and spices to taste.

Cooking:

1. We believe that the potato pancakes are ready.
2. Cut the brisket into oblong sticks and fry in a dry frying pan until tender. 15-20 minutes will be enough. Put the meat on a plate, leave the melted fat in the pan.
3. Cut the champignons into plates, and the onion into thin half rings. Put everything in a pan and simmer until soft, 5-7 minutes.
4. Place 2-3 potato pancakes in portioned oven pots at the very bottom. Brush them with sour cream. Put a layer of mushrooms with onions on top, and then the brisket. Close the top with 2 potato pancakes, which are also greased with sour cream. Cover the pot with a lid.
5. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes.

Potato pancakes in the oven are much more tender and softer than in a pan, because. excess moisture does not go away, but is absorbed into the dough.

So that the pancakes do not fall apart during baking, during the cooking process, be sure to drain all the liquid and add flour to the dough.

Potato pancakes with meat is an original dish, an interesting taste of which is obtained by adding chicken fillet to the dough.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 6 pcs;
• Onion - 1 pc;
• Eggs - 2 pcs;
• Salt - ½ teaspoon;
• Flour - 3 tbsp. spoons;
• Chicken fillet - ½ pc.

Cooking:

1. Cut chicken breast into small flat pieces.
2. Peel and wash vegetables. Grate them on a grater of any size. Season with salt and pepper to taste, combine with the fillet. Drain off excess water.
3. Whisk in the eggs and mix gently. If the dough is too liquid, add flour. Mix the whole mass until smooth.
4. Fry potato pancakes in a hot oil pan over medium heat or slightly stronger. Spread with a spoon in portions, giving a rounded thin shape. So that the meat does not remain raw, pancakes should not be thick. When a golden crust appears on both sides, remove the fire a little and cover the pan with a lid for 3 minutes. In this case, the chicken fillet is definitely cooked.

Unusual pancakes with crab sticks

By adding new ingredients to the main recipe, you can get an amazing taste and unusual richness of color. Potato pancakes with an original filling of crab sticks will surprise and delight at the same time.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 4 pcs;
• Onion - 1 pc;
• Garlic - 2 cloves;
• Egg - 2 pcs;
• Crab sticks - 4 pcs;
• Flour - 4 tbsp. spoons;
• Greens - 1 bunch;
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking:

1. Finely chop the greens. Fresh green onions will add spring color and brightness to the dish.
2. Grind crab sticks by cutting them into small cubes or grating them.
3. Grate potatoes and onions on a medium grater. Remove excess water.
4. Add eggs, greens and crab sticks to vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Fry potato pancakes in a hot frying pan on both sides until golden brown.

Potato zucchini recipe

Do you want something interesting?

In the summer, when young zucchini are just appearing, it's so nice to treat yourself to fresh vitamins. Yes, and children will eat zucchini in this form much more willingly.

And this recipe will tell you how to cook potato pancakes in a very unusual way with oatmeal and semolina.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 2 pcs;
• Zucchini - 1 pc;
• Onion - 1 pc;
• Semolina - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• Oatmeal - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• Flour - 3 tbsp. spoons;
• Cheese - 50 gr;
• Vegetable oil - 2 teaspoons;
• Salt to taste.

Cooking:

1. Peel potatoes and onions. If the zucchini is young with a thin skin, then it can not be cut off. Grate all vegetables the same size. Be sure to remove excess liquid.
2. Add semolina, flour and finely ground oatmeal to vegetables. Mix everything well. If the liquid reappears, get rid of it again.
3. Pour 1 teaspoon of oil into the mixture. Salt to taste and mix everything.
4. It is best to fry such potato pancakes on a non-stick coating. For such a frying pan, the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil will be enough. When the pan is hot, spoon the mixture into the pan, giving it the desired shape.
5. Fry pancakes on both sides until a pleasant golden color and crisp. With this cooking process, pancakes are fried longer than in a large amount of oil, but they turn out to be more dietary.

What do potato pancakes eat with?

In order to appreciate potato pancakes and fully feel their taste, it is necessary not only to cook them correctly, but also to serve them correctly. What do potato pancakes eat with? Yes, with anything!

1. Sour cream and sauces based on it are the most common dressing for potato pancakes. You can make sour cream sharper by squeezing 2-3 cloves of garlic into it through a press. Fresh herbs are also good. Finely chop a few sprigs of dill and 2-3 green onions and mix with sour cream. And any other sour cream sauce will go well with potato pancakes.
2. Mushroom sauce is the second most popular. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry 2 tbsp. tablespoons flour until caramelized. Pour in 2 cups of mushroom broth and bring everything to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. In the finished sauce, you can chop the greens.
3. Mild homemade ketchup is ideal for pancakes with minced meat.
4. As a very original addition, you can serve thick apple or cranberry sauce with potato pancakes.

To ensure that potato pancakes always turn out fluffy and crispy, and not just boiled potatoes in a crust, use a few helpful tips.

• What is the best potato to use? Draniki are prepared only from old potatoes. Those. from what lay at least 2 months after digging. Young potatoes do not make such a tasty dish.
• How to make pancakes crispy? Be sure to squeeze the potatoes and onions from excess liquid, because. it makes the dish more cooked. Also, excess flour reduces the crunch, making the dough more rubbery.
• How to fry potato pancakes? The main thing is not to spare oil so that the pancakes do not burn. And for even cooking, they should be leveled when laid out in a pan.
• How to speed up the cooking process? To make potato pancakes faster, you can use a blender or a food processor. This kitchen appliance will save you a lot of time.
• How to make potato pancakes less high-calorie? To reduce calories, you can bake potato pancakes in the oven or cook them in a slow cooker. In these cases, almost no oil is used. When frying in a pan, ready-made pancakes should be laid out on a paper towel so that it absorbs excess fat.

One of the most recognizable dishes of Belarusian cuisine, potato, is well known outside the republic. Of course, similar dishes are found in many other cuisines of the world. These are Ukrainian potato pancakes, and Russian Terunians, and Czech bramboraks, and even American hashbrown. And yet, potato pancakes have become the standard of these delicious fragrant potato pancakes. At first glance, there is nothing complicated in cooking potato pancakes. Judge for yourself, the simplest traditional recipe for this dish includes only potatoes and a pinch of salt. And yet, cooking even such a simple dish requires knowledge of little tricks and secrets. Secrets to help you make truly delicious traditional potato pancakes. Today let's try to figure it out together and remember how to cook potato pancakes.

Like any other popular folk dish, potato pancakes are famous for a huge variety of cooking recipes. From house to house, from region to region, the preparation methods and ingredients of this delicious dish change. Someone rubs potatoes for pancakes exclusively on a fine grater, while others recognize only those potato pancakes for which the potato mass was cooked on a coarse grater. Somewhere grated potatoes are mixed with a small amount of salt and simply fried. In other houses, they do not forget to add an onion to the potatoes, and the fried potato pancakes are additionally simmered in a stove or oven. And of course, additional ingredients are not limited to onions alone. Minced meat and pieces of minced poultry, vegetables and mushrooms, fresh herbs and a wide variety of spices, all these and many other additives allow skilled housewives to diversify the taste and aroma of ready potato pancakes.

And even the potato mass itself can be cooked in three different ways. Distinguish mass tarkovannaya, using grated potatoes along with the released juice; clinked mass, filtering off excess potato juice in a cone-shaped linen bag; and boiled potato mass, preparing potato pancakes from crushed boiled potatoes. Traditionally, draniki are made from sliced ​​mass, but in modern Belarusian cuisine, all three types of potato mass are used separately or mixed and combined, trying to achieve an even greater variety of tastes from such a seemingly simple dish.

Today, "Culinary Eden" has collected and recorded for you the most important tips and cooking secrets, supplementing them with proven recipes that will surely tell even novice housewives how to cook potato pancakes.

1. Starting the preparation of potato pancakes, it is very important to choose the right potatoes. The fact is that Belarusian potatoes differ from Russian potatoes in a high content of starch. Thanks to this, ready-made potato pancakes retain their shape better. When choosing potatoes, pay attention to strong, mature tubers with a rough skin and a yellowish center. Be sure to ask to cut one tuber. Potatoes with a high starch content will immediately sparkle in the cut with starch crumbs contained in its juice. But it is better to refrain from buying young potatoes - the low starch content in it will not allow you to cook tasty and strong potato pancakes. If, contrary to expectations, the purchased potato contains an insufficient amount of starch, you can always add one or two teaspoons of starch to the finished potato mass.

2. As mentioned above, traditional potato pancakes are made from bagged potato mass. To prepare such a mass, peeled raw potatoes are grated. Depending on the recipe and personal preference, you can use a fine grater, a regular fine grater, or even a coarse grater. If you are lucky enough to visit Belarus, be sure to look in local stores for a special grater for hash browns. Squeeze out excess moisture from the finished potato mass and mix with additional astringent ingredients. The most commonly used ingredients are wheat flour and potato starch. Modern cuisine also allows the use of finely ground cornmeal. Such flour will give your pancakes a beautiful golden hue. One tablespoon of cold milk or kefir added to raw potato mass will help your potato pancakes to avoid an unappetizing gray tint. The finished dough should be quite liquid, but at the same time viscous.

3. Pancakes are fried by spooning a small amount of potato mass into a frying pan with hot oil. The most delicious and fragrant are pancakes cooked in good ghee, but the vegetable oil will not spoil your potato pancakes, just do not forget that only refined vegetable oil is suitable for frying. Pour the oil into the pan so that the potato pancakes are covered with it to half their thickness. Heat the oil over high heat, spread the tarkovanny mass with a spoon so that at least one centimeter of free space remains between the potato pancakes, and quickly fry the potato pancakes on both sides. Be extremely careful, try not to burn yourself with hot oil splashes!

4. Let's try to cook the simplest traditional pancakes with onions! Grate one onion and six large potato tubers on a fine grater. Squeeze out excess vegetable juice, add one raw egg, one tbsp. a spoonful of kefir, salt and black pepper to taste. Thoroughly mix the potato mass and fry your potato pancakes on both sides, spreading them in small portions in hot ghee or vegetable oil. Ready pancakes immediately serve to the table. Serve sour cream separately.

5. Unusual pancakes with pumpkin are very tasty. Peel and grate on a fine grater 500 gr. potatoes, one onion and 100 gr. pumpkin pulp. Squeeze out excess vegetable juice, add one minced garlic clove, one raw egg and one tablespoon of sour cream. Add salt and black pepper to taste and mix thoroughly. Fry in vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown. Serve hot with sour cream or pork rinds.

6. Those who can't imagine their meal without meat will definitely like potato pancakes with minced meat. Peel and grate on a fine grater 700 gr. potatoes and one large onion. Pass through a meat grinder with a fine grate for 150 gr. lean pork and beef. Mix the vegetable mass with minced meat, add one egg, one tbsp. a spoonful of kefir, two tbsp. tablespoons flour, salt and black pepper to taste. Thoroughly mix the resulting mass and fry potato pancakes in ghee or vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown. Serve with sour cream, fresh herbs and vegetables.

7. Delicious pancakes with mushrooms will decorate your Lenten menu. Soak one cup of any dried mushrooms for 20 minutes in a little cool water, then rinse thoroughly and boil in three cups of water for 15 minutes. Pour the mushroom broth into a separate bowl, and finely chop the mushrooms. Finely chop one onion and fry it in a small amount of vegetable oil until golden brown. 700 gr. grate the potatoes on a fine grater and squeeze out excess moisture. Mix potatoes, onions and mushrooms, add 4 tbsp. tablespoons of flour, salt and black pepper to taste and mix everything thoroughly again. Fry potato pancakes in vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown. Prepare the mushroom sauce separately. In a saucepan, heat 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, add 2 tbsp. spoons of flour and mix thoroughly. Then, stirring constantly, add 2 cups of boiling mushroom broth and bring the sauce to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and, continuing to stir, cook your sauce until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the finished sauce to the potato pancakes.

8. Draniki with cheese are very fragrant and tasty. Peel and grate on a fine grater 500 gr. potatoes and one onion. Grate two hundred grams of any hard cheese on a coarse grater. Mix vegetables and cheese, add 5 tbsp. spoons of flour, two raw eggs, 4 tbsp. tablespoons of milk, salt to taste. Mix the dough thoroughly and fry potato pancakes on both sides in vegetable oil over medium heat until golden brown. Serve hot with any hot sauce and fresh herbs.

9. Extraordinarily tasty, fragrant and tender potato pancakes are obtained, additionally baked in the oven. Grate on a fine grater 500 gr. potatoes and one onion. Squeeze out excess juice and add one egg, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of flour, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and fry potato pancakes as usual. In a separate skillet, heat 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, add two onions, cut into rings, and fry until golden brown. When the onion is ready, add 200 gr. pork belly, cut into small cubes, salt and black pepper to taste. Fry the meat until cooked through for 15 minutes, stirring often. Lay the finished potato pancakes in layers in a cast-iron pot or a deep baking dish, alternating them with layers of fried meat with onions. Pour everything with one glass of sour cream and bake in an oven preheated to 180⁰ for 30 - 40 minutes.

10. On weekends, pancakes with cottage cheese can also be served for breakfast. Grate on fine grater 500 gr. potatoes and squeeze out excess moisture. 200 gr. wipe low-fat dry cottage cheese through a rare sieve or colander. Mix potatoes with cottage cheese, add one raw egg, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of flour, one pinch of soda and salt. Mix the mass thoroughly and fry the potato pancakes over medium heat in vegetable oil until golden brown. Serve with sour cream or any sweet and sour fruit sauce.

And on the pages of "Culinary Eden" you can always find even more proven recipes and original ideas that will definitely tell you how to cook potato pancakes.