Spinach Bolani - Afghan recipe

[honeyb]

I just sampled and purchased at a local farmer's market, the afghan-style Spinach Bolani -- a flatbread filled with spinach, simply made with flour, spinach, green onion, canola oil, cilantro, salt, and spices per the ingredient list.
Thin as a crepe, with a spinach filling.
Does anyone have a recipe for this?

Thanks!

- HoneyB

Picture of bolani with other dips and sauces made by and sold by East & West Gourmet Foods of Concord, CA at the farmer's market.

 

[Yakuta]

That looks good. I buy the plain afghan bread (not the seasoned one you mention). It's actually a nice flat bread with a slight hint of sweetness. I have seen the stuffed version but never tried it.

I think the spinach bread is actually a mixture that is stuffed in between the flat bread that is so popular in that cuisine. It is similar to a paratha that is common in Indian cuisine.

It uses a mixture of spinach, garlic, mashed fava beans, some cream cheese, cilantro and green onions, salt and pepper which is made into a paste and then spread to the flat bread that is carefully split in half and then wrapped tightly. You can warm it lightly in the oven to heat it up.

A lot of the middle eastern, east indian and other asian cuisines use similar spices to make stuffed bread.

 

[minerble]

Hey I was lookin for the same thing, my friend says it is similar to indian spinach parantha so I am goin to try a recipe for that and serve it with a mixture of yogurt and cream chz and some jalepeno jelly I made let me know how your search goes and I'll let u know how it turns out. I also called east west, thier # is on the label, to ask them about commercial kitchen rental, I'm trying to start a business of my own and I need a kitchen for production, let me know if u know of any in contra costa thx

 

[honeyb]

Ingredients for parantha seem very similar, but it appears parantha may be just a bit thicker. I like how thin the bolani these guys at East & West make them; the closest description of their bolani is a cross between a crepe and a flour tortilla folded over with a filling - a good description is found on wiki. A search on the internet will get you a bunch of parantha recipes, just can't find bolani. I see people mix "bolani" up with other recipes with similar spelling.

 

[mish]

HoneyB, that sounds delish. I've had spinach stuffed bread/phyllo, but nothing like you mentioned. Hope someone comes up with a recipe.

 

[The KB]

Bolani

I purchased the same Bolani that Honey B was asking about on 12/9/06. This is so delicious. It would be very easy to make. Buy some very fresh Lavash Bread and saute with a bit of olive oil some fresh spinach, cilantro, salt & Pepper and maybe some cumin and garlic. Let cool a bit chop finely and put on half of a pice of Lavash. Fold top over and press together tightly. Serve with some of your favorite indian sauces or do what I did and spread some store bought spicey hummus over the top. Very yummy snack low in carbs and calories.

 

[sanfran_fem]

Seeking Nutritional Information for Bolani

I bought the spinach and pumpkin Bolani at the farmer's market yesterday here in SF. I'm trying to figure out:

1) How many portions per piece
2) Calories per portion
3) Fat per portion
4) Fiber, if any, per portion

That info will help me figure out the WeightWatcher points. Of course I ate an entire piece of both types, which is probably 10000 calories, but I still want to track it! Even if it does say "low fat"....

Thanks for your help.

P.S. I did email them directly with this request, but may not hear back from them.

 

[quicksilver]

Welcome, sanfran fem. Oh, and The KB, and minerble, and honeyb.Glad you all found us.

 

[Jeekinz]

I bought the spinach and pumpkin Bolani at the farmer's market yesterday here in SF. I'm trying to figure out:

1) How many portions per piece
2) Calories per portion
3) Fat per portion
4) Fiber, if any, per portion

That info will help me figure out the WeightWatcher points. Of course I ate an entire piece of both types, which is probably 10000 calories, but I still want to track it! Even if it does say "low fat"....

Thanks for your help.

P.S. I did email them directly with this request, but may not hear back from them.

If you go to Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com, you can register and use the website to analyze a recipe.

For the portions, I would use something simmilar to compare like a tortilla and go from there. I can't tell from the pics how big they are but I would guess there's 2 servings there.

 

[Jeekinz]

Actually I just found it.

bolani Recipe from Calorie-Count.com

 

[Jeekinz]

Hmmm. I just entered this recipe without the water and came up with this:

 

[sanfran_fem]

Holy calories batman

According to the revised numbers, you are supposed to get 6 servings out of 1 piece of bolani. Not quite sure how that is possible. And if Jeekinz numbers are correct, that means each serving is 7 points, making an entire piece of bolani 42 points. Chocolate cake isn't 42 points so something is off.

 

[Jeekinz]

The recipe I entered was for 6 servings, which I guess is 6 bolani's. How big are they anyway? Diameter in inches.

 

[sanfran_fem]

12 inches around - circular

 

[sanfran_fem]

If the above numbers are divided by 6, then the points come down to 1 per serving. MUCH better!

 

[Jeekinz]

A 10" flour tortilla is one serving. 1/2 cup of unsalted frozen spinach is 32 calories.

 

[Jeekinz]

Hmmm. I just entered this recipe without the water and came up with this:

This means 308 calories per serving. The recipe I entered to analyze makes 6 servings so the whole recipe would be 1848 calories.

 

[Jeekinz]

Wait...I might need some help here.

It says one tortilla is 70 grams, but the Nutrition Facts says 264 grams for one serving. I don't get it. Is the bolani like a small quesadilla with a top and bottom bread?

 

[jennyhill]

Hi honeyb,

Spinach Bolani is good to have for breakfast. I have tried it twice, tastes yummy.

 

[sanfran_fem]

Great link. Thank you.