How to cook potato pancakes: with minced meat, onions and zucchini

The subtleties of cooking potato pancakes are best known to Belarusian hostesses. Potato dishes, as you know, are the basis of Belarusian cuisine, where zrazy, zeppelins and even Ukrainian dumplings with mushrooms and potatoes are very popular. However, potato pancakes are also present in the diet of Jews, Poles, Romanians, and, of course, Russians. Because it’s easy to cook them, and the dish is tender, tasty, aromatic.

The classic recipe for potato pancakes with onions is a minimum of ingredients and, as a result, low pancakes, which are usually served “with heat, with heat” must be sour cream or butter. Therefore, the science of how to cook potato pancakes is not difficult to master!

Classic potato pancakes recipe

You will need:

• 6-7 large potatoes (approximately 700 grams),
• 2 onions,
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons of flour (30 grams),
• vegetable oil,
• salt pepper.

Cooking process

1. Peel the onions and potatoes.
2. Grate the ingredients on a fine grater.
3. Stir in the egg, salt, and reproach.
4. Pour in flour and mix thoroughly.
5. Heat a pan with vegetable oil. Gather a lot with a large spoon and put in a pan. When the potato pancakes brighten, turn over. After the second side is ready, remove them from the pan and lay out the following.

As you can see, everything is simple! But you should take into account several nuances, which we dwell on in detail.

Secrets of making perfect pancakes

• Grind potatoes with onions, so you will not allow the darkening of the mass.
• It is better to use a combine or a blender to chop potatoes with onions. So you save time and make the mass more uniform, without pieces.
• Do not make a lot of potato and onion stuffing. Usually no more than 4 pancakes fit in a pan. And you do not have time to fry everything until the mass begins to darken. If its color changes before the time of frying, your dish will have not a golden, but a blue color.
• To the question of how to fry potato pancakes, there is one answer: do not spare the oil! There should be a lot of it so that the pancakes are well prepared and not burnt. Fry them on a medium-sized burner, but do not reduce the heat. Readiness is checked by purchasing a golden crust on each side.
• So that potato pancakes are evenly fried and cooked quickly, level the mass when laying on the pan.
• If you cook a dish for children, you can slightly change the recipe for potato pancakes. For example, grate them on a coarse grater, then you will get funny “hairs”. And after the pancakes are ready, do not immediately remove them from the pan, but reduce the heat and put out a couple of minutes under the lid.
• Be sure to lay the dish on a napkin after frying. Draniki always absorb a lot of vegetable oil, and in order to remove its excess, you need to put them on a napkin on one side, then send it to the other plate with a napkin on the other side. And only then serve.

Now let's step back from the classics!

It is difficult to find a traditional recipe for national cuisine, which would not have changed over time. We offer you 2 recipes on how to cook potato pancakes with interesting ingredients.

Zucchini and potato pancakes

A great dish that will add variety to the summer menu. Such potato pancakes differ from potato in a more delicate structure and splendor.

You will need:

• 3 large potatoes (approximately 300 grams),
• 3 zucchini (approximately 400 grams),
• 1 egg
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of flour (30 grams),
• vegetable oil,
• salt pepper.

Cooking process

1. Peel potatoes, grate with zucchini.
2. Drain the liquid from the resulting mass, but do not wring it out.
3. Add the egg and garlic, passed through the press, salt, pepper. Add finely chopped greens, if desired. Shuffle.
4. Pour in flour and mix again.
5. Fry in the usual way.

Potato pancakes with minced meat

In Belarus, this dish is also called "sorcerers", probably hinting at the special ease of its preparation. As if by magic, you will get tender potato pancakes with delicious meat filling!

You will need:

• 6-7 large potatoes (approximately 700 grams),
• 2 medium onions;
• minced pork and beef (300 grams),
• 2 eggs,
• 2 tablespoons of flour (30 grams),
• vegetable oil,
• salt pepper.

Cooking process

1. Peel the onions and potatoes. Grate potatoes with 1 onion. Beat in eggs, salt, pepper, mix. Add flour and mix again.
2. Add finely chopped onion, salt, pepper to the minced meat, mix.
3. In a frying pan heated with vegetable oil, lay the potato mass, smooth. With a dessert spoon, collect the minced meat and put it on a potato cake. Top with another spoonful of potato mass.
4. Fry until golden, turn over and fry for a couple of minutes. Then reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer the potato pancakes for at least 5 minutes.

Now you know exactly how to make potato pancakes. And in your daily menu this simple and tasty dish is sure to appear!

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