Potato pancakes (classic step-by-step photo recipe)

Snacks

2019-11-092019-11-12 Khrumka

Hi all! Today we will talk about our favorite potatoes. My family loves it fried or stewed with chicken. But eating it like that all the time gets boring. That's why I'm looking for different recipes. And recently we got hooked on potato pancakes with onions. The dish is easy to prepare, but it turns out tasty and satisfying.

You can prepare potato pancakes from a standard set of potatoes + onions. Or you can get creative and add carrots, minced meat to the dough, or make it with zucchini.

Our favorites are the classic pancakes. Moreover, I like to eat them without additives, so as not to interrupt the taste. My husband and son love it with mayonnaise and garlic. Either way, this is a great option for breakfast or a snack throughout the day. And so that you don’t get tired of such a breakfast, you can experiment not only with additives, but with different herbs and spices. Below I will offer you my variations of the dish, and you cook and share your impressions in the comments.

Draniki: cooking secrets

Draniki, delicious, tender potato pancakes with a golden-brown crispy crust, are considered a Belarusian national dish, although German gourmets were the first to master their preparation. Draniki are loved in many countries, but they are called differently. Ukrainians prepare potato pancakes, tertiukhi and kremzliks. Poles fry plyatski, Czechs fry bramborak, and in different regions of Russia potato pancakes are known as kakorki, teruntsy and derik. The technology for preparing potato pancakes is simple - potatoes are crushed, mixed with eggs, flour, onions, garlic and seasonings, and then fried in oil like pancakes. Both adults and children love juicy, appetizing potato pancakes, and preparing this dish is easy, quick and enjoyable.

First secret: good potatoes

New potatoes are not suitable for potato pancakes, since they are not very starchy and the potato pancakes may spread or burn. In this case, starch or eggs are added for the binder, which are sometimes replaced with beaten egg whites. For 1 kg of potatoes, 2 eggs or 1–2 tbsp are enough. l. starch. By the way, some chefs believe that eggs make pancakes too dense, so it all depends on tastes and preferences.

So, peeled potatoes are grated on a fine or coarse grater or ground in a food processor, blender, or meat grinder. It is no coincidence that potato pancakes are called teruns - from the word “to rub” or, in the Ukrainian manner, “to tear”. Sometimes in recipes there is advice to grate half the potatoes finely and half coarsely. They say that this way the potato pancakes retain their shape better. For some reason, it is believed that for potato pancakes you need to chop the potatoes by hand, but this is not at all necessary. After all, we live in the 21st century, and the most difficult work in the kitchen has long been performed by equipment.

Secrets regarding roasting

Potato pancakes on a coarse grater have a distinctive taste due not only to a special grinding method, but also to the principle of frying. The secrets are quite simple, but effective:

1. To prevent potato pancakes from sticking to the surface of the frying pan, you should place the potato dough only in well-heated oil.
2. Overdrying of potato pancakes can be avoided only by observing the frying time. On each side, heat treatment is carried out for no more than 2–3 minutes.
3. Draniki should be fried exclusively over medium heat so that the potatoes are evenly baked.
4. To remove excess fat after frying, place the pancakes on a paper towel or napkin for a few minutes.
5. When potato pancakes are fried on the first side, it is strictly forbidden to cover the frying pan with a lid - the potato pancakes will simply fall apart when turned over. While frying on the other side, the lid can be used for no more than 1 minute.
6. To save sunflower oil and not oversaturate potato pancakes with fat, you should use a special sprayer that screws onto the bottle with the product.

Second secret: less flour

A large amount of flour spoils the taste of potato pancakes, and they become rubbery. If the potato mixture turns out to be liquid, place it on a sieve and allow the liquid to drain. At the same time, starch will remain at the bottom of the cup with potato juice, which is added to potatoes instead of flour and eggs. The crust of these potato pancakes turns out crispy and tasty. If you don’t have time to strain the potato juice, instead of flour you can add semolina, which absorbs excess liquid and makes potato pancakes tender, juicy and fluffy. For 1 kg of potatoes usually take 1-2 tbsp. l. flour or 3-4 tbsp. l. decoys.

Diet pancakes on a coarse grater

Deruny on a coarse grater can be, oddly enough, a dietary dish that can be eaten by those who are watching their figure.

The principle of preparing a light analogue is simpler than the standard version. At the same time, the recipe for potato pancakes on a coarse grater will not change at all in relation to the set of products.

The dough is prepared in accordance with the recipe already presented. The peculiarity of the preparation of pancakes itself is that the dish will be baked in the oven.

Preheat the oven in advance at 180 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper. You can lightly grease the surface with vegetable oil. Using a spoon, form potato pancakes and place the dish in the oven. You can use special baking dishes.

The baking time depends on the thickness of the potato pancake. It is worth focusing on the color of the dish. If a ruddy, slightly golden crust appears, then you need to turn off the oven and let the potato pancakes stand inside the baking device for another 10 minutes.

The third secret: seasonings and proper frying

One of the subtleties of preparing classic potato pancakes is seasonings and spices. Along with the potatoes, onions are also ground in a blender, which prevents the potato mass from quickly darkening. In addition to salt, garlic, black pepper, dried herbs and favorite spices are added to the potatoes. Fry potato pancakes only in a hot frying pan with a large amount of vegetable, melted butter or melted lard. If you cook pancakes in a warm frying pan, they will look like boiled potato cutlets. The finished potato pancakes are placed on a wire rack or on a paper towel to remove unnecessary fat, and served with sour cream, mayonnaise, ketchup, meat and mushroom sauce. Belarusian housewives prepare traditional machanka sauce for potato pancakes, which contains meat trimmings, sausage, lard and onions.

Step-by-step preparation of the dish

The recipe with a photo of potato pancakes on a coarse grater can be seen below. When preparing them, you must follow basic culinary techniques:

1. You need to peel the potatoes and onions. Wash the vegetables well under running water.
2. Grate the potatoes on a coarse grater, set aside for ¼ hour to then remove excess moisture that will be released during this time.
3. Then you should grate the onion. It is better to use a slightly finer grater for this than for potatoes.
4. When the vegetables have settled a little, you need to mix them together.
5. Add eggs and spices to the mixture. Mix the ingredients well.
6. Then add flour. Knead the mixture until there are no lumps left.

The pancakes are formed using a spoon.

Unusual ways to prepare potato pancakes

In western Ukraine, they make potato pancakes the size of a large pancake, fry them on both sides, put meat, mushroom or vegetable filling on one side and decorate the top with sour cream. It is enough to eat one such potato pancake to fill you up for half a day. Sometimes, during the process of kneading the dough, fried onions and mushrooms, grated cheese, cereals, minced meat, pieces of chicken, fish and vegetables, seafood, squeezed cottage cheese, an apple are added to it, and if the mass turns out to be dry, it is diluted with a small amount of milk or sour cream. There is an interesting recipe for Swiss Rösti pancakes made from boiled potatoes with cheese, fried like cutlets and served with herbs and sour cream sauce. If you are on a diet, learn to cook potato pancakes in a slow cooker without fat. They, of course, will not be so juicy, but the calorie content of the dish will decrease several times. “Lazy” pancakes are usually prepared by bachelors by grating the potatoes along with the skin, but otherwise the recipe does not differ from ordinary pancakes.

Stuffed potato pancakes, reminiscent of zrazy, are very tasty. Place minced meat, fish, vegetables or mushrooms on a potato pancake, place a little dough on top to cover the filling and fry on both sides. Draniki with meat are called sorcerers in Belarusian cuisine. This option is not dietary, but very appetizing.

Draniki are often baked on a baking sheet with sour cream or in pots, sandwiched with meat, mushrooms and vegetables. In the oven they simmer under the cheese cap and become even softer and more tender than fried ones.

The advantage of this recipe

The taste of potato pancakes directly depends on what grinding method was used during the cooking process and how large the potato chips turned out. Sometimes a blender or even a meat grinder is used to prepare potatoes. But the ideal cooking tool remains a grater. In this case, it is better to use the larger side, since hash browns on a coarse grater have the following advantages:

1. The potato chips are evenly distributed throughout the frying process, making them soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.
2. The texture of the finished potato pancake allows the dish to be evenly soaked in sauce.
3. The texture is much nicer than the heavily crushed version of potato chips.
4. The appearance of potato pancakes made from large potato chips is much more appetizing.
5. During the process of kneading the “dough”, less potato juice is released, which allows you to maintain the juiciness of the finished potato pancake. The oil does not shoot out during frying.

Draniki with seeds

Grate 600 g of peeled raw potatoes, 1 onion and 1 clove of garlic or chop in a food processor. Squeeze the potatoes or let the juice drain on its own. Add 3 eggs and 200 ml of hot milk to the mixture, mix well and pour in a handful of seeds, which can be crushed a little beforehand. Season the dough with salt, pepper, fresh basil and fry in a hot frying pan. You can serve these pancakes with a poached egg.

Hearty potato pancakes with minced meat

If we talk about adding to potato pancakes, then minced meat is probably a classic.

Products for cooking:

• 1 kg. potatoes.
• 500 gr. any ready-made minced meat (it is best to use a mixture of pork and chicken or just minced pork).
• 2 onions.
• 2 eggs.
• Pepper and salt to your own taste.
• A spoonful of starch or flour.

Cooking potato pancakes

Peel the onion heads, chop finely, mix with the prepared minced meat.

Grate the peeled and washed potatoes on the finest grater, squeeze out the existing liquid, add pepper and salt to taste.

Beat the eggs into the mixture, add flour, stir and immediately begin preparing pancakes. If you leave the prepared mixture for at least half an hour, the potatoes will release starch, which in the light will simply begin to change color, and as a result the mass will turn black.

To prepare, heat a frying pan and add a little oil.

Take a spoonful of the potato mixture in your hand, place a spoonful of minced meat on it, cover the meat with the second part of the grated potato, form a kind of cutlet and fry it on both sides until golden brown.

Draniki with minced meat can be prepared differently. Place the potato mixture in the pan, place the meat on top and cover it all with another part of the potatoes. When the bottom part of the potato pancake is browned, turn the product over to the other side and fry in the same way until a nice crust.

Serve the finished dish piping hot with milk or sour cream.

Draniki with oat flakes

Pour boiling water over 1 glass of rolled oats and leave for 10–15 minutes. Grate 2 peeled potatoes, squeeze and combine with 1 finely chopped onion, mix with steamed oatmeal and a pinch of oregano. Next, we form pancakes, fry and serve with sour cream.

Draniki are a universal homemade food that can be varied in any way you like. This dish always turns out delicious, so even a novice housewife can master it. It is not necessary to serve potato pancakes as a side dish; they are also good as an independent dish. Ruddy and crispy potato pancakes, melting in your mouth, sometimes disappear from the plate before the family gathers at the table. And for any housewife this is the best recognition of her culinary skills!

Sauce for potato pancakes

Draniki on a coarse grater are a completely independent dish that combines many flavors. But, like any other culinary masterpiece, potato pancakes should be supplemented with other elements. The sauce is an ideal accompaniment to this type of dish.

Delicious and simple sauces for potato pancakes:

1. The simplest option would be sour cream, which is mixed with finely chopped herbs. Garlic can make this sauce piquant.
2. A sauce of mayonnaise and fresh cucumber will add freshness and lightness to the dish. The cucumber needs to be grated and simply mixed with mayonnaise. An alternative to fresh vegetables can be pickled cucumber.
3. Mix a glass of cream with pre-fried onions and mushrooms, which have already been chopped using a blender. Add spices.

Any creamy sauce goes perfectly with potato pancakes.