Deruny (Ukrainian Potato Pancakes)

Name: Deruny (Ukrainian Potato Pancakes)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients: 1000 g potatoes; 1 piece yellow onion; 1 piece large egg; 3 tbsp all-purpose flour; 1.5 tsp fine salt; 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 3 tbsp neutral oil; 0.5 cup sour cream; 2 tbsp fresh dill

Crisp-edged, tender-centered grated potato pancakes—classic Ukrainian street-food/snack served hot with sour cream and fresh dill. Simple, inexpensive, and quick to fry in batches.

AI image

35 min

start to finish

15 min

hands on

Easy

difficulty

servings

4 servings

Ingredients

1000 g potatoesabout 3–4 large (peeled)
1 piece yellow onionmedium, peeled
1 piece large egg
3 tbsp all-purpose floursee tips for gluten-free substitute
1½ tsp fine salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp neutral oilsunflower, vegetable or canola; more as needed for frying
½ cup sour creamfor serving
2 tbsp fresh dillchopped, for serving(optional)

Contains dairy, egg, gluten. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Roughly, per serving

380 kcal8g protein50g carbs12g fat

An estimate, not a lab analysis.

Method

Peel the potatoes and onion and grate them on the coarse side of a box grater into a large bowl.
Gather the grated potato-and-onion in a clean kitchen towel or a fine-mesh sieve and squeeze out as much liquid as you can (press and twist until mostly dry).
Removing liquid is key to crisp deruny. Reserve the squeezed liquid in a jar — if it sits 5–10 minutes the starch will settle; you can pour off the water and stir the starch back into the mix for extra binding.
Return the squeezed solids to the large bowl, add the egg, flour, salt, and pepper, and stir until evenly combined.
Heat 1–2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering.
Drop rounded 2-tablespoon mounds of the potato mixture into the pan (leave 1 inch between each), then flatten each mound with the back of a spatula to about 1/4 inch thick.
Work in batches to avoid crowding; you should be able to fit 4–6 small pancakes per batch depending on pan size.
Fry until the underside is golden and crisp, then flip and cook the second side until golden and the center is cooked through.
Cook about 3–4 minutes per side over medium heat; pressing gently with the spatula for the first minute helps a firm crust form.
Transfer cooked deruny to a paper towel–lined plate to drain and keep warm while you fry remaining batches, adding more oil to the pan if it becomes dry.
Serve the deruny hot with sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped dill.

Worth knowing

If the mixture feels very loose, add 1 more tablespoon flour or 1 tablespoon cornstarch to help bind.
For gluten-free deruny, use 3 tbsp cornstarch or potato starch instead of flour (measure same volume).
A food processor with a coarse grating disc speeds prep; grate the onion and potatoes separately if you prefer less onion flavor intensity.
To keep finished pancakes warm while you fry, set oven to 200°F (95°C) and place a sheet pan inside; transfer cooked deruny there.

Make it yours

Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.

VegetarianBudgetQuickOne pan

More Ukrainian cooking

An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Ukrainian cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be vegetarian as listed.