Traditional Russian Potato Pancakes Recipe for Draniki or Deruny in Ukrainian. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Russian Potato Pancakes Recipe for Draniki to Celebrate Maslenitsa or Pancake Week

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My Russian potato pancake recipe for draniki makes yet another delicious Russian pancake for you to cook for Maslenitsa or Pancake Week, which runs from 11 March and until Sunday 17 March this year. Maslenitsa is a Slavic celebration that marks the end of Spring. Even if you’re not Russian, it’s as good an excuse as any to make pancakes.

This potato pancake recipe makes one of my best pancakes recipes. If you enjoyed my Russian blini recipe in the style of French crepes and my recipe for buckwheat pancakes with smoked salmon, dill, sour cream, and caviar, you’ll love draniki or deruny in Ukrainian. Pancake lovers should also see this collection of pancake recipes from around the world.

If you need an excuse to make pancakes, then use the Eastern Orthodox festival of Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week, the Slavic Shrovetide which has started and runs until Sunday. Dating back to the 2nd century AD with its origin in pagan traditions, Maslenitsa marks the last week before Great Lent and the end of winter and start of spring.

Before I tell you about my Russian potato pancake recipe for draniki, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-funded. If you make this recipe or any of my Russian dishes or other recipes and you like them, please consider supporting Grantourismo so we can continue to publish recipes and food stories.

You can click through to this post for suggestions for ways to support Grantourismo such as purchasing something from our online shop at Society6, where we have gifts for food lovers created from Terence’s photographs.

You might also wish to consider becoming a supporter of our epic original Cambodian culinary history and cookbook on Patreon or purchasing something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks by Australian women chefs, cooks, bakers, and writers, James Beard award-winning cookbooks, cookbooks for foodie travellers, or classic cookbooks for serious cooks.

Now let me tell you about this classic Russian potato pancake recipe for draniki or deruny in Ukrainian.

Russian Potato Pancakes Recipe for Draniki to Celebrate Maslenitsa or Pancake Week

Russians love their pancakes or ‘blini’ – which is the plural; ‘blin’ is singular – and there are countless kinds of pancakes. I read that one Maslenitsa event in Moscow last year offered over 200 types of pancakes.

I’ve also got a recipe for syrniki, ricotta cheese pancakes, which are traditionally made with tvorog or farmer’s cheese, but can also be made with cottage cheese, and I’ll soon be adding a recipe for oladyi, which are small, thick, fluffy pancakes made with kefir.

While the ongoing war with Ukraine and recent death of Navalny will deter many Russians from celebrating Maslenitsa this year, which generally involves much eating, drinking, dance and song, many will still flip pancakes at home this week, as I will here in Australia with my mother.

Tips to Making This Russian Potato Pancake Recipe

I only have a few tips for making this Russian potato pancakes recipe for draniki (in Russian) or deruny (in Ukrainian). I mention that these are also made in Ukraine because every time I post a Russian recipe we hear from someone telling me it’s Ukrainian. Food travels, people.

This potato pancakes recipe is super easy – and it’s versatile, too. You can finely grate the potato and onion and use more rather than less flour for a light pancake that’s similar in texture to a pikelet or the mini buckwheat blini I recently shared (link above).

Or you can grate larger pieces of potato, finely chop or slice your onion, and use less flour – just a few tablespoons – if you prefer more texture and crunch, and something more akin to a German kartoffelpuffer. If you haven’t made potato pancakes before, do experiment.

I use a kitchen grater with a storage container attached, but you can use any grater – from a simple box grater to a food processor with a grating or shredding attachment.

Call me old-fashioned, but I like my potato pancakes to look home-made and rustic, and am happy just to spoon the mixture directly into a fry pan or skillet.

Terence prefers to use silicon egg rings, which will give you perfectly round discs. If you’re a perfectionist like my husband, you might also like to try one of these non-stick pancake pans with moulds.

If you follow this Russian potato pancakes recipe to the gram, they will still result in a slightly crispy pancake on the outside, but you will need to serve them immediately as they will soften as they cool down.

So make sure that while the potato batter is resting, you use that time to pop some sour cream and fresh dill, spring onions/scallions and/or chives in bowls, so you’re ready to eat once they’re done.

Russian Potato Pancakes Recipe for Draniki

Traditional Russian Potato Pancakes Recipe for Draniki or Deruny in Ukrainian. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Russian Potato Pancakes Recipe for Draniki

This Russian potato pancakes recipe for draniki in Russian or deruny in Ukrainian makes a delicious potato pancake that is crispy on the outside and soft within. The recipe is versatile: finely grate the potato and onion for a light pancake, or grate larger sized pieces for a crunchier pancake. Once ready, serve and eat immediately – before they get soft – with sour cream and fresh dill, spring onions/scallions and/or chives.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Breakfast, snack, appetizer, side dish
Cuisine Russian, Ukrainian
Servings made with recipe24 Pieces
Calories 35 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 550 g potatoes
  • 100 g white onion
  • 1 egg
  • 200 g all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • Cooking oil
  • Sour cream

Instructions
 

  • Peel the potatoes and onion, then grate them. For a rough crunchier pancake exterior, go for larger-sized grated potato and onion pieces, but for a lighter finer pancake, opt for smaller grated pieces. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
  • Crack an egg into a separate dish, whisk until combined, then add it to the bowl, along with the salt and pepper, and combine the ingredients.
  • Gradually add the flour to the mixing bowl, and combine the ingredients well. The batter should be thick, chunky and wet but not runny. Add a little more flour if necessary, then let the batter rest for 15 minutes.
  • While the batter is resting, finely chop your fresh dill, spring onions/scallions and/or chives, pour some sour cream or crème fraiche into a dish, and lay some paper towels onto a wire rack to drain the pancakes after their fried, as you’ll need to serve the pancakes immediately once they’re done.
  • Heat a medium-sized fry pan or skillet to medium-high heat and add enough cooking oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Drop a little mixture in the pan; if it sizzles it’s ready.
  • Turn down to medium heat then drop a tablespoon of batter into the pan, using the spoon to quickly flatten it and shape it into a circle before it sets and the edges starts to brown.
  • Repeat until you’ve filled the pan. You should be able to do 4 or 5 in one batch. By the time you finish shaping the fourth or fifth pancake, the first one should be ready to turn over. Each batch should take around 5 minutes to cook.
  • Using a turner or spatula, flip the first pancake over. If it’s not brown yet, then leave the others for another minute or so, then turn one over. If it’s nice and brown and crispy, then turn the others over one by one, and flip the first one over again so it’s brown and crispy on both sides.
  • Transfer the pancakes to the wire rack to soak up any excess oil, then repeat until you’ve used up all the batter.
  • Serve immediately while still crispy with extra salt and pepper, fresh dill, spring onions/scallions and/or chives, and sour cream. If you don’t serve the pancakes straight away they will start to soften.

Nutrition

Calories: 35kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 197mgPotassium: 19mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 10IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg

Published 8 March 2021; Updated and Republished 11 March 2024

Do let us know if you make our Russian potato pancakes recipe for draniki as we’d love to know how they turn out for you.

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A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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