How to Make Draniki - Traditional Belarusian Potato Pancakes

Draniki are crispy Belarusian potato pancakes with golden edges and a soft, savoury centre. Made from grated potatoes, onion and garlic, they cook in under 30 minutes and cost very little to put on the table.

Draniki are one of the simplest potato dishes there is, and one of the most satisfying. Grated potatoes are drained, mixed with onion, garlic, egg and dried herbs, then fried in hot oil until golden brown on both sides.

The trick that separates good draniki from soggy ones is the potato starch, which settles out of the drained potato water and goes straight back into the mixture. It is cheap, filling, and works just as well for breakfast as it does for a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients for the Best Draniki Potato Pancakes

• Potatoes – Floury or all-rounder varieties work best, as they hold together and crisp up well.
• Potato water – The liquid drained from the grated potato. Left to settle, it gives you the potato starch that binds the mixture.
• Onion – Adds savoury depth and stops the grated potatoes from browning while you work.
• Garlic – Sharpens the flavour and cuts through the richness of the fried pancakes.
• Egg – Binds everything so the pancakes hold their shape in the pan.
• Salt and black pepper – Basic seasoning; salt also helps draw liquid out of the potatoes.
• Dried dill and parsley – Classic herbs for this dish, warm and slightly grassy against the potato.
• Oil for frying – Sunflower or any neutral oil. If you can get salo (lard), the flavour is noticeably better.
• Sour cream – The standard partner for draniki, served cold alongside the hot pancakes.

How to Make Draniki Step by Step

Step 1: Wash and peel the potatoes, then grate them on a fine grater — a fine grater gives a more even consistency, which helps the pancakes hold together. Mix in a pinch of salt, then tip the grated potatoes into a colander set over a bowl or glass, so you catch every drop of the liquid. Press down firmly to squeeze out as much water as you can, then leave the collected liquid to stand for five minutes while you prepare everything else.

Step 2: Peel and grate the onion, then add it to the potatoes and mix. The onion helps keep the colour of the potatoes and stops them browning. Add the minced or grated garlic, the egg, a pinch of salt and pepper, and the dried dill and parsley.

Step 3: Go back to the potato liquid. The starch should have settled as a thick white layer at the bottom of the bowl. Pour off the water above it, scoop out two to three full tablespoons of the starch, and add it to the potato and onion mixture. Combine everything well.

Step 4: Heat three tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Shape the mixture into neat, thin ovals, or simply scoop it with a spoon and drop it into the pan, flattening each one slightly — don't make them too thick or they will stay raw in the middle. Fry uncovered for four to five minutes on each side until golden brown, then transfer to kitchen paper to soak up any extra oil. Serve warm with sour cream, plain or mixed with finely chopped herbs, garlic, salt and spices.

How to Serve and Store Draniki Potato Pancakes

Draniki are best straight from the pan, while the edges are still crisp. Sour cream is the traditional partner, either plain or stirred through with chopped dill, crushed garlic and a pinch of salt. They also work well next to fried mushrooms, a fried egg, cured meats, or a simple cucumber and tomato salad. For a bigger meal, serve them with sausages or braised pork.

Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat them in a dry frying pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side, or in the oven at 180°C, which brings back most of the crispness. The microwave will make them soft, so avoid it if you can. You can also freeze cooked draniki in a single layer, then bag them once solid — they keep for up to two months and reheat straight from frozen in a hot oven. Raw draniki mixture does not store well, as the potato discolours and releases more liquid, so fry the whole batch at once and store what you don't eat.

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What Does a Draniki Recipe Cost to Make?

Potatoes are one of the cheapest things in any supermarket, which is why draniki have stayed a staple for so long.

• In the UK, a batch works out at roughly £1.20–£1.60 in total, around 30–40p per serving. Potatoes are everywhere — Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's — and a 2.5kg bag of whites costs about £1.50.
• In Ireland, expect around €1.60–€2.10 for the whole dish, or roughly 40–55c per serving. Rooster potatoes from Dunnes, SuperValu or Lidl are ideal here, floury enough to crisp up well.
• In the USA, the total lands around $2.00–$2.80, or about 50–70c per serving. Russets from Walmart, Kroger or Aldi are the closest match to what this recipe wants.
• In Poland, the whole batch comes to roughly 6–9 złoty, around 1.5–2.25 zł per serving. Biedronka and Lidl both sell potatoes cheaply, and lard for frying is easy to find.
• In Belarus, where the dish comes from, potatoes are as cheap as food gets — a full batch is around 3–5 Belarusian roubles, well under 1.25 roubles per serving. Local markets and any Euroopt store will have everything you need, including salo.

Prices are approximate and shift with the season, but the point holds — this is one of the cheapest hot meals you can put on a table.

Tips and Notes for Perfect Draniki Potato Pancakes

• Choose the right potato. Floury varieties like Maris Piper, King Edward or Rooster give the best result, because their higher starch content helps the pancakes bind and crisp. Waxy salad potatoes hold too much water and not enough starch, so the mixture stays loose and the pancakes turn out dense. If all you have is an all-rounder like Desiree, it will still work, but drain the grated potato for slightly longer. The difference between a floury and a waxy potato here is genuinely noticeable in the finished texture.
• Don't skip the starch. The starch that settles out of the potato water is the whole reason this recipe works without flour. Pour off the cloudy water carefully once it has settled, leaving the thick white layer at the bottom of the bowl. Two to three tablespoons is usually enough for five or six potatoes. If you throw the liquid away without letting it settle, you lose the natural binder and the pancakes will fall apart in the pan.
• . Grate the onion, don't chop it. Grated onion releases its juice into the mixture and distributes flavour evenly through every pancake. Chopped onion sits in visible pieces and can burn on the surface of the pan before the potato has cooked through. The juice also has a practical job, slowing the oxidation that turns grated potato grey. If you find grating onion unpleasant, chill it in the fridge for twenty minutes first.
• Work quickly once the potatoes are grated. Raw grated potato starts to discolour within minutes of hitting the air. The onion helps, but it is not a cure — the real answer is speed. Have your garlic peeled, your egg out and your herbs measured before you pick up the grater. If you must pause, press a piece of cling film directly onto the surface of the mixture to limit contact with air.
• Get the oil properly hot before the first pancake. Draniki dropped into lukewarm oil absorb it rather than sealing, and you end up with a greasy, heavy result. Test the oil with a small blob of mixture — it should sizzle immediately and start colouring within thirty seconds. If it sits there quietly, the pan is not ready. Between batches, give the oil a moment to come back up to temperature.
• Keep them thin. A thick pancake browns on the outside long before the middle has cooked, leaving a raw, gluey centre. Aim for around 8mm to 1cm once flattened. If you like a very crisp result, go thinner still and reduce the frying time by a minute a side. Pressing them gently with the back of a spoon as they hit the pan is the easiest way to get an even thickness.
• Don't crowd the pan. Too many pancakes at once drops the oil temperature and creates steam, which is the enemy of a crisp edge. Three or four at a time in a standard 24cm skillet is about right. Leave enough space between them that you can slide a fish slice underneath without disturbing the others. Cooking in batches takes longer but the results are worth it.
• Leave the pan uncovered. Covering the pan traps steam and softens the crust you have just built. Draniki should fry openly, with the moisture escaping into the air rather than condensing back onto the surface. This is one of the main differences between draniki and a potato cake finished in the oven. If you need to keep cooked ones warm, spread them on a rack in a low oven rather than stacking them on a covered plate.
• Salt at the right moment. Salting the grated potato early draws out water, which is exactly what you want before draining. Then taste and adjust the seasoning after the starch and egg go in, because the drained liquid takes some salt with it. Under-seasoned draniki taste flat no matter how well they are fried. A pinch more black pepper than you think you need usually works well against the sour cream.

Draniki Recipe FAQ — Your Questions Answered

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Yield: 4

Draniki — Crispy Belarusian Potato Pancakes

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Draniki are traditional Belarusian potato pancakes, made with grated potatoes, onion and garlic, and bound with the potato's own starch instead of flour. They fry up golden and crisp at the edges with a soft, savoury middle. Served hot with cold sour cream, they make a cheap and filling meal at any time of day.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 5–6 medium potatoes (about 800g / 1 lb 12 oz), peeled
• Reserved potato water (from draining the grated potatoes)
• 1 medium onion
• 2–3 garlic cloves
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon salt, plus a pinch for the grated potatoes
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 3 tablespoon oil for frying, plus more between batches (or lard/salo)
• Sour cream, to serve

Instructions

1. Wash and peel the potatoes, then grate them on a fine grater. Transfer to a bowl and mix through a pinch of salt.
2. Tip the grated potatoes into a colander set over a bowl or glass, so you catch all the liquid. Press down firmly to squeeze out as much water as possible. Leave the collected liquid to stand for 5 minutes.
3. Peel and grate the onion and stir it into the drained potatoes. Add the minced or grated garlic, the egg, salt, black pepper, dried dill and dried parsley.
4. Return to the reserved liquid. The starch will have settled as a thick white layer at the bottom. Carefully pour off the water above it, then scoop 2–3 tablespoons of the starch into the potato mixture. Mix everything together well.
5. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Shape the mixture into thin ovals, or scoop it with a spoon and drop it into the pan, flattening each one slightly. Keep them no thicker than about 1cm.
6. Fry for 4–5 minutes on each side, uncovered, until deep golden brown. Cook in batches without crowding the pan.
7. Transfer the cooked pancakes to kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
8. Serve warm with sour cream, plain or mixed with finely chopped herbs, crushed garlic, salt and spices.

Notes

The potato starch is what holds these together, so don't discard the drained liquid before it has settled. Give it a full 5 minutes and you'll see a firm white layer form at the bottom of the bowl.

Use floury potatoes such as Maris Piper, King Edward or Rooster. Their higher starch content gives a crisper edge and a mixture that binds without flour.

Grated onion works better than chopped here — it releases its juice into the mixture, seasons evenly, and slows the potato from discolouring.

Keep the pancakes thin. Anything much over 1cm will brown outside before the centre has cooked, leaving a raw, gluey middle.

If you can find salo or lard, use it for frying. It has a high smoke point and gives a savoury depth that neutral oil doesn't match. Half lard and half sunflower oil is a good middle ground.