🍽️ DINNER
Draniki
Crisp-edged potato pancakes fried golden and served with a generous spoon of sour cream.
Belarusian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 25 min
~412 cal · 8g protein · 44g carbs · 23g fat · 6g fiber · 5g sugars · 14g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Draniki are the potato pancakes of Belarus, a country so devoted to the potato that its people are affectionately nicknamed bulba, the local word for the tuber itself. Raw potato and onion are grated, seasoned simply, and fried in hot oil into lacy, golden cakes with crisp edges and a tender middle.
They are humble and everywhere: a weekday supper, a filling breakfast, a side to meat, eaten by the plateful across the country. The classic accompaniment is a cool spoon of smetana, sour cream, though they are also served with fried pork cracklings or a rich mushroom sauce.
Simple as they are, draniki are fiercely claimed as the Belarusian national dish, and the details, grating rather than blending, frying them thin and crisp, spark the kind of friendly argument only truly loved food produces. Cheap, comforting, and unpretentious, they are Belarus on a plate.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 2 lb starchy potatoes, grated
- 1 onion, grated
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sour cream (smetana), to serve
- for frying oil
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
Instructions
- 1Grate the potatoes and onion, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can through a cloth.
- 2Mix with the egg (or flour), salt, and pepper into a loose batter.
- 3Fry spoonfuls in hot oil, flattening slightly, 3-4 minutes a side until deep gold and crisp.
- 4Drain briefly on paper.
- 5Serve hot with plenty of cold sour cream.
Minsk tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Minsk. Minsk is devoted to the potato, above all draniki, grated pancakes fried crisp and served with sour cream. Belarusian cooking leans on rye, mushrooms, salted pork fat, and slow-baked pots of meat and root vegetables.
🗺️
Belarus. Belarusian food is potato country at its purest, draniki pancakes, hearty stews, and dark rye bread. Mushrooms, pork, and dairy anchor a resourceful, cool-climate Eastern European table.
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Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Belarus
Manna KashaSmooth semolina milk porridge, lump-free and lightly sweet, topped with jam or butter.
MachankaA rich pork and sour-cream gravy for dunking soft potato pancakes, a filling Belarusian country dish.
KulagaA thick, warm berry and rye porridge sweetened to a jammy pudding, an old Belarusian forest-berry dessert.
Browse all Belarus recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Best fresh and hot. Keep batter covered in the fridge for up to a day, and rewarm cooked ones in a dry pan.
Make it a Belarus meal
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Frequently asked questions
What is Draniki?
Crisp-edged potato pancakes fried golden and served with a generous spoon of sour cream.
Where does Draniki come from?
Draniki is a Belarusian dish from Minsk, Belarus.
Can Draniki be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Draniki recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Draniki safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Draniki take to make?
About 45 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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