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Another classic Czech recipe: bramboraks (Potato Pancakes) / Bramboraky

bramborak yahoo imageBramboraky (Potato Pancakes) are my all-time favorite! They are really easy to make and the cost is about 5 cents per person πŸ™‚ The only downside of this dish is that they don’t make very good leftovers. Hence prepare them, fry them, and eat them all on the spot! Oh, and also, warning for the meat lovers: no meat in this one! Sorry!

Ingredients:

  • 6 large potatoes, pealed
  • 1 egg
  • 5 cloves of garlic, grated
  • 1/4 cup of milk
  • 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tsp of dried marjoram
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • about 4 Tbs of oil


Method:

  1. Grate the potatoes
  2. Pour warm milk over those grated potatoes so that they will not go brown
  3. Add in the garlic, egg, salt and pepper, marjoram and mix it all together
  4. Gradually mix in the flour
  5. Pour part of the mixture with a ladle onto a hot and well-oiled frying pan ( the thickness and size of the pancakes depends on one’s preference; I personally like them thin and crispy!)
  6. Fry each side of the pancake until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side
  7. Serve

The whole batch feeds about 4 people.
PS: if you like you can add bits of fried bacon or cut-up salami into the bramborak mixture

PPS: also, don’t forget the golden rule: “The more garlic, the merrier” – I usually use twice the amount of garlic

If you liked this post buy me a coffee! (Suggested:$3 a latte $8 for a pound) Thanks!

18 comments… add one
  • Lenka November 8, 2007, 6:34 am

    Valassky bramborak is with meat. So for meat lovers. Make the bramboraks mix and when you put it fry, put less and than put tenderized pork chop seasoned with salt and pepper, and than cover up with more bramborak mix. Fry on both sides.

    PS. if fried on pork fat, the bramborak will be crispier and also better taste than on oil.

  • Tanja November 8, 2007, 4:57 pm

    Thanks, that’s a great idea. I am sure even if you substitute pork with chicken it will taste great as well…Diky za tip!

  • Petr Vita June 6, 2008, 8:14 pm

    To be honest, my father has been experimenting a lot with them at home. Improved ‘bramborak’ was done with addition of curry spice and advanced ‘bramborak’ Mk II was created with addition of sauerkraut (I think in US it is a slaw). Definitely try it!

  • Petra July 27, 2008, 6:48 pm

    I am so with you on the “doubling of garlic”. My dad and I used to make bramborak all the time when I lived at home. We would fry up one, taste it and add more garlic and salt, then fry up another one to taste again.
    Also, at our house this usually wasn’t a “sit at the dinner table” type of meal. We would just sneak them as they were getting done. By the time the last one was fried, we were all stuffed!

  • Jenn October 15, 2010, 1:33 am

    Doubling of garlic and fine grating them is best. These are an amazing recipe! MMMMMMMMMMMMM

  • Tina July 26, 2011, 9:21 am

    Good morning!
    I am hoping you may know of a recipe that my grandmother made for us in the mornings. We called them potato pancakes but they are not the traditional ones. These are made from riced potatos and when put together are rolled out like a log and then cut into pieces that are rolled out paper thin like crepes and fried then placed on a paper towel to drain and filled with jam. My dad is in his 80’s and the only living relative that would have the recipe and he can’t remember or find it. I was hoping you may have some insight, as it may be just a family recipe, but I just had to ask!

  • Tanja July 26, 2011, 9:55 am

    The only other breakfast pancake I can think of is vdolky or livance but they are not made out of potatoes πŸ™ Sorry I could not be more helpful, maybe someone else will here will be able to help you a bit more.

  • Petra July 26, 2011, 5:23 pm

    I think what Tina is talking about are “opelky”?
    My grandma used to make them, but she cooked them directly on the top of a wood burning stove. You could do the same with just a dry non-stick frying pan.
    I know many people fill them with jam or stewed apples. We used to layer them into a bowl, sprinkle generously with milled poppy seeds and sugar and poured over melted butter, or even better – melted lard! Then we’d just sit around the table with the bowl in the middle, reach in, roll up one of these delicious treats and it went straight into the mouth – no more dishes to clean up after!!!!
    Here’s a link to something similar: http://www.mimibazar.cz/recept.php?id=73725

  • Tina July 26, 2011, 9:09 pm

    Petra! This looks just like them. Are they made with potatos? I don’t
    read Czech. My Dad is 1st generation Czech/American and the language passed
    on with my Gran. Dad could possibly translate but we live on opposite sides
    of the country and he doesn’t do computers. So, is it possible to impose on
    a bit of translation for this recipe? Most grateful and extatic, Tina
    Sredl-Niedzwiecki

  • Tanja July 26, 2011, 9:16 pm

    Petro, is opelky the same as bramborove placky?

  • Petra July 26, 2011, 9:16 pm

    Tina, everyone makes the potato dough a bit different. But these are the key ingredients, and you just add more flower to make the consistency right:
    Potatoes – boiled in skin and peeled when cool, riced
    Flower – the coarse kind, which can be difficult to find in regular stores (some people also use Semolina I think)
    Eggs
    Salt

  • Tina July 26, 2011, 9:40 pm

    Thank you. Is it possible that it can be made with Farina in addition to the flour? I am remembering her using that, but maybe I am confusing the dough for the peach dumplings she made……

  • Tenzin Burgess October 20, 2011, 4:54 am

    Ahoj all πŸ™‚
    Are you supposed to boil the potatoes before you grate them? I seem to remember my students telling me specifically not to do that.
    Best wishes
    Tenz
    ps @Tanjo- Myslim “Tanja” neni typicke ceske jmeno jste z Slezko nebo Morava?

  • Frances June 5, 2012, 8:47 am

    I’m not even the slightest bit Czech, so I can’t pretend any familiarity with this recipe whatsoever, however I have a friend that is marrying a Czech girl and claims that it was this dish that made him fall in love with her. Curiosity piqued I decided to look it up and give it a try, leading me to your website. This is a fantastic dish, I can see why it had him raving! I fully agree with doubling the garlic, and my friends also suggested adding a LOT more marjoram. At their advice I tried serving it with blue cheese and a meat fried in spices (or if you are a veggie like me, then quorn instead) and it went down at treat at my impromptu dinner party. Delicious and very easy to make – thank you for the straight forward instructions! I feel inspired to try my hand at more Czech dishes now!

  • Tanja June 5, 2012, 1:50 pm

    Frances, bramboraky are also my all time favorite. Definitely scroll through all of the recipes, most of them are equally delicious but also equally unhealthy πŸ˜‰

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