Nice and light - that's the taste of these Turkish potato balls with garlic yogurt and sauce. The combination is reminiscent of manti, but tastes lighter and is easier to prepare. This Turkish born recipe is also perfect for those days when you don't feel like eating anything but are hungry. A typical summer dish, because the potatoes are filling and the yoghurt is refreshing. What's more, this potato borani is also a perfect recipe for using up leftovers. If you have potatoes left over from the day before, simply use them for this Turkish borani.
In Turkey, however, this recipe with potatoes tends to be served as a starter or side dish. It therefore goes down well if you have lots of guests. And because this Turkish dish is vegetarian, it is suitable for (almost) everyone.
What is borani anyway?
Borani originally comes from Persian cuisine and is also a vegetable variation with garlic yoghurt in Turkey. Spinach borani is particularly well-known. However, the Turkish dish is also often served with chard or in combination with bulgur.
Incidentally, the best thing about running a food blog about Turkish cuisine is that you get to discover SO many new Turkish dishes. Sure, we've been arguing from hour one that Turkish food is more than just kebabs. However, when researching great Turkish recipes, even we are constantly surprised.
A special type of borani, for example, is said to come from Sanliurfa in south-eastern Turkey. And we would never have guessed it: it is truffle borani! This borani is a stew with lots of truffles, lamb, clarified butter, bulgur kofta and garlic yoghurt. If we get the chance, we will definitely cook it. Until then, however, we'll make do with our potato borani.
How is this Turkish borani prepared?
This Turkish Potato Borani is quick and easy to prepare. It is best to use leftover boiled potatoes from the previous day, which makes this potato dish perfect for using up leftovers. The potatoes are mashed, mixed with glazed onions, formed into balls and served with garlic yogurt and butter sauce. It couldn't be simpler.
Incidentally, the recipes for garlic yogurt and butter sauce are usually identical. Whether for manti, pasta with yogurt or our Turkish spinach - the combination is always the same. The ideal ratio is 2 cloves of garlic per 500 grams of yogurt and plenty of salt. In our opinion, a lot of butter, a lot of paprika powder and very little Turkish tomato paste* are best for the butter sauce. But you can also experiment yourself. In addition to this recipe with potatoes, you will need this combination for many Turkish dishes. And now for the potato borani!
Potato borani recipe: potato balls with garlic yogurt and butter sauce
Ingredients
- 2 boiled potatoes
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsp oil
- Paprika
- Salt and pepper
For the garlic yogurt
- 300 g firm yoghurt (Greek yoghurt)
- 1 clove of garlic
- Salt
For the butter sauce
- 0.5 tbsp butter
- Paprika powder
- 0.5 tsp tomato paste (salca*)
Preparation
Step 1: Grate or mash the boiled potatoes.
Step 2: Chop the onion and fry it in a pan with the oil until translucent. Add the mashed potatoes and season them with salt, pepper and paprika powder. Leave the potato dish mixture to cool.
Step 3: Prepare the garlic yogurt by mixing all the ingredients together. For the sauce, melt the butter in a pan and roast the paprika powder in it. Add the tomato paste* and stir in 1 tablespoon of water.
Step 4: Form balls from the cooled potato mixture and pour the garlic yogurt and sauce over them. Optionally, garnish everything with chopped parsley.
Write a comment