When my family moved to Virginia when I was a young'un, we were surprised to find there was such a thing as "southern" hash browns. They were lumpy and usually had a sauce to them In fact, you can buy something like it today in the frozen food section.

When she was grown my sister always made hash browns (western style)by grating raw potato.

But what I grew up with is a way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. My mother, having a large family, even made extra mashed potatoes the night before.

It sounds quite a bit like the latkes that Bee mentioned.

With the potatoes in the bowl break an egg or two (depending on how much potato) into it, a spoonful or two of flour, salt and lots of pepper. (Eggs are for flavor and texture, the flour is used as a binder) Stir it up, dump it onto a greased hot griddle and let it sizzle. As Amos (and others) said, turn it only once. You want it crunchy and golden on the outside but tender and moist on the inside.

Serve with apple sauce.