Have You Ever Tried Bolanis? A Wonderful Discovery While Shopping At Whole Foods. Flatbreads, Spreads And Dips From East & West Gourmet Afghan Food.

These bolanis come in spinach, pumpkin, potato and lentil.

Their sauces are great on the bolanis. All but one is vegan.

Their sweet jalapeno dipping sauce is amazing.

What A Lucky Find!

I stopped off at Whole Foods the other day for a last minute pick up and this nice lady had a big table covered with samples from East & West Gourmet Afghan Food. I generally walk past these sample tables because they are usually covered with things I wouldn't eat. But I was particularly hungry, having skipped lunch for a dental appointment, and hoping for the best. What a bonanza!

First there was a nice selection of vegan bolani. I had never heard of bolani before. It's a stuffed Afghan flatbread (looks like a quesadilla) and these were stuffed with spinach, pumpkin, potato and lentil. One was more delicious than the other. They were also unbelievably low in calories and fat.

But you don't just eat the bolanis by themselves. You cover them with their amazing spreads. The vegan flavors included cilantro pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto, lentil curry, eggplant pesto, hummus, sun-dried tomato hummus and basil pesto. The garlic mint spread contained yogurt. The hummus was my favorite but I didn't particularly care for the eggplant pesto.

But you don't just eat the bolanis covered with the amazing spreads! You top them off with their sweet jalapeno dipping sauce. Oh my, what a combination! But there are infinite combinations of their wonderful foods.

I think these will make gorgeous appetizers for my friends and family over the holidays. I also think they will become a popular lunch item in the future when I want to make something fast, simple and, of course, healthful.

Where to Buy

East and West participates in many farmers' markets around the bay area and are now found in Whole Foods and Andronico's. If they are not in your area, you can buy their food by contacting them on their website. I believe they are going to have a regular store front but it seems to be under construction right now.