Belarus

The dish

Draniki are hash brown pancakes. They’re served with sour cream and chives. You can, optionally, put an egg on top to add even more protein and flavor.

What we thought

I liked them better than normal hash browns. The egg held them together better, and the onion enhances the taste. 4.5/5.

Ingredients and directions

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Idaho potatoes, peeled and grated
• ½ yellow onion, grated
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Squeeze the water out of the potatoes using a paper towel. The less water they have the better they will fry.
2. Mix all of the ingredients in with the squeezed potatoes.
3. Add the oil to the pan and heat it until frying ready (toss a piece of potato in to see if it sizzles. If it sizzles then the oil should be hot enough). You can use as much or as little oil as you want. I didn’t want it deep fried so I filled the pan until the oil was 1/8 inch high. Use more if you want it closer to deep fried.
4. Take about 1/3 cup of the potato mix and shape it into a pancake. Place the potato pancake into the oil, flatten it with a spatula until its about 1/4 inch thick and 4 inches across.
5. Fry until golden brown. Flip the pancake over and fry the other side.
6. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper to taste then serve with hot sauce, ketchup or sour cream.