6 best sour cream and garlic sauces for dolma: discover new tastes!

If you like cabbage rolls, then you will probably like dolma. For the filling, ordinary minced meat is used, but the filling is wrapped not in cabbage leaves, but in grape leaves. Prepared semi-finished products are stewed in broth. To make the dish even tastier, prepare and serve the dolma sauce separately. There is no single recipe for making the sauce; there are different options for gravy. But most often, the base of the sauce is fermented milk products. However, you can also make tomato sauce, which will be no less tasty.

Secrets of making sauce

Of course, every good housewife has her own secrets for preparing dolma sauce. But our recommendations will certainly help newbies in the kitchen.

Most often, fermented milk products are used as a base. You can prepare dolma sauce from sour cream, kefir or matsoni. It is better not to use too fatty sour milk; the sauce for the dish should be light. You should also not use products that are past their expiration date; they contain too much lactic acid, and the sauce should not be too sour.

Spices and aromatic herbs are used to add piquancy to the sauce. If desired, you can add garlic. The sauce, which contains cucumber, has a particularly fresh taste. Using fresh herbs is a must. In addition to the usual dill and parsley, you can add basil, mint, and cilantro to the dressing. Choose the types of greens to suit your taste.

Interesting facts: in our country, dolma is prepared mainly from minced meat, but the filling can be very different. For example, only from vegetables, or from vegetables and rice.

How to serve

A delicious dish will turn out if you thoroughly season the baked meat or boiled fish with matsun right in the plate, pouring it generously with or without a side dish.

The sauce should not be warm. The optimal serving temperature is 18-20 degrees. Boiled and stewed vegetables can be mixed with gravy, but it is better to dip each slice into it separately. In this case, the product is served in a special bowl.

The sauce is decorated with chopped herbs, which you can choose based on individual preferences.

Matsoni dolma sauce

The traditional sauce for dolma is made from matsoni. This fermented milk product can be bought in supermarkets, or you can prepare it yourself. For this purpose, a starter is used, which can be purchased in pharmacies. To prepare matsoni, you can use a yogurt maker or a regular thermos. The starter is diluted in warm milk according to the instructions and the milk mixture is kept for several hours.

• 400 gr. matsoni;
• 1 large bunch of mixed greens, use parsley, dill, basil, cilantro. If desired, you can add a sprig of mint;
• 4 cloves of garlic;
• salt, pepper to taste.

Wash the greens thoroughly. It is advisable to use a mixture of different greens to make the sauce more flavorful. Dry and finely chop. There should be enough greens to make the sauce thick.

Peel the garlic. We pass it through a press or chop it very finely. Mix matsoni with garlic and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything. Pour sauce over hot dolma.

History of the sauce

Once upon a time, nomadic tribes discovered that sour milk from cows and goats adds much more flavor than plain milk. People also realized that this product has a very positive effect on their well-being and copes well with hunger and thirst.

The first to realize the wonderful properties of sour milk were in the Caucasus and eastern countries. All nations had their own name for sour milk: Georgians - matsoni, Azerbaijanis - gatikh, Armenians - matsun, Kazakhs - ayran, and Russians have kefir or yogurt.

After a while, they learned to add various greens and pepper to the matsun, which made it much tastier.

Sour cream sauce with fresh cucumber

You can quickly and easily prepare a delicious sauce for dolma from sour cream.

• 200 gr. thick sour cream;
• 200 gr. fresh cucumbers;
• 50 gr. fresh cilantro, can be replaced with parsley;
• 1 lemon;
• salt, pepper to taste.

Wash the lemon well and scald with boiling water. We grate the zest using a fine grater, you don’t need a lot of zest, half a teaspoon is enough.

Sour cream dressing with cheese, garlic and herbs

Sour cream sauce prepared with garlic and herbs has a more piquant taste. In addition, the composition includes hard cheese. You can use any cheese, but it is better to choose a variety with a sharp taste.

• 200 gr. thick sour cream;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 100 gr. cheese;
• 50 gr. greens (we take greens to taste - dill, parsley, cilantro, etc.).

Wash and dry the greens, chop them as finely as possible. It is best to chop on a board with a large sharp knife.

Advice! If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand, you can use any dry aromatic herbs. You can take a mixture of herbs, for example, ready-made Italian Herbs seasoning.

Peel the garlic and chop it. You can chop the greens with a knife in the same way as greens. To make this easier to do, you must first press the clove with the flat side of the knife and slightly flatten it. You can do it easier - pass the garlic through a special press and grind it with a spoon.

Grate the cheese on the finest grater. Mix sour cream with cheese, herbs and garlic. Mix very thoroughly. Season the sauce with pepper and salt. Add salt carefully, as the cheese can be quite salty. Let the finished sauce stand in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes, then transfer it to a gravy boat and serve with hot dolma.

Useful tips

Naturally, every cook, including home cooks who prepare dolma, has his own recipes and sauce secrets. But they, and especially young housewives, will definitely need some useful recommendations.

1. The best sauce base is fermented milk products. Sour cream and/or kefir and traditional matsoni are suitable for preparation. You should not use fatty foods - dolma “loves” a light sauce. It should also be remembered that the gravy should not be overly sour. Therefore, fermented milk that is nearing its expiration date is also not suitable - it contains excess lactic acid.
2. The sauce acquires a piquant taste and aroma by adding herbs , spices and herbs. Garlic is included in most gravies, but you should add it according to your own taste and desire. If you want to add freshness to the sauce, you can include cucumber, lemon zest or juice in the ingredients. And, of course, gravy for dolma cannot be prepared without greens. Moreover, the choice here is limited only by the cook’s imagination - cilantro, basil, and mint will make an excellent company with traditional parsley and dill. Any fresh herbs will only benefit any recipe.
3. It turns out interesting dolma sauce with added raw egg. But he has some cooking secrets.
   The main secret is to cook the gravy in a water bath or at very low heat.

   This is how the dressing acquires a thick, smooth consistency and a unique taste. If the food is overheated, the egg will curdle and will not give the desired result.

Shawarma can be wrapped not only in pita bread, but also in pita bread and cooked in different ways: in the oven, in a frying pan, on coals.

Kefir garlic sauce

If sour cream sauce seems too fatty to you, then you can make gravy from kefir and garlic.

• 200 ml kefir with a fat content of 1-2%;
• 2 tablespoons sour cream 15% fat;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 1 large bunch of dill;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Pour kefir into a mixing container and add sour cream. Mix with a mixer or whisk until smooth. We thoroughly wash the dill and shake off any drops of moisture. Then dry it. The easiest way is to wrap a bunch of greens in a paper towel; it absorbs moisture very well.

With mint

This sauce is quite versatile and harmoniously complements the taste of dolma. That's why it is so popular in oriental cuisine.

To prepare it you will need:

• 200 g sour cream (preferably thick);
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• feather bow;

• half a bunch of dill;
• a little mint and salt.

Preparation

1. It is noteworthy that none of the ingredients require heat treatment, which means that preparing our sauce will take no more than ten minutes. First, you need to transfer the sour cream into a deep bowl.
2. Then add salt and sprinkle with pressed garlic.
3. At the end, mix with chopped herbs and chopped mint, let it brew, and serve in a plate with dolma.

Mayonnaise sauce

Mayonnaise dressing is suitable for dolma. You can simply pour mayonnaise over the dolma, but it is better to prepare a dressing based on this cold sauce. You can make your own mayonnaise if you wish. With a blender on hand, you can make mayonnaise in just five minutes.

• 100 gr. mayonnaise;
• 25 gr. green salad;
• 250 gr. spinach leaves;
• 1-2 sprigs of tarragon;
• 2-3 sprigs of parsley;
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar;
• salt, citric acid.

Thoroughly wash the greens - lettuce, spinach, tarragon and parsley. If you use frozen spinach, you must first defrost it.

Boil water, add a pinch of salt and citric acid to the water. Place the greens in water and blanch for a couple of minutes. Then drain the liquid, and pour the greens in cold, preferably ice water. When the greens have cooled, chop them very finely.

Mix the green mass with mayonnaise, add wine vinegar. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Nutritional and energy value:

Tomato sauce with basil

Aromatic tomato sauce with basil, perfect for dolma. The sauce cannot be stored, so you should prepare it in enough quantity to eat at one time.

• 3 tomatoes;
• 2-3 sprigs of basil (it is better to use green basil, but you can also use purple);
• 2 tablespoons olive oil;
• 1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper;
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar;
• salt to taste.

Wash the tomatoes thoroughly. Cut each fruit in half. Turn the tomato cut side towards the grater and grate. In this case, the tomato skin will remain in your hands and can be thrown away.

We wash the basil, tear off the leaves; we will not use the stems in this dish. Finely chop the leaves. Mix the tomato mixture in a glass or porcelain bowl. Add basil and olive oil. Salt to taste, add sugar and pepper. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to allow the sauce to infuse. Serve with dolma.

Advice! If desired, you can add finely grated garlic to the tomato sauce.

Cooking with tomatoes

Let us repeat once again that any fermented milk product can be used for oriental sauce. It can be kefir, natural yogurt, matsoni, sour cream. There is also a recipe based on egg yolks and butter.

But there is an option for preparing dolma in tomato sauce. It is not served separately, like other types, but the main dish is stewed in it.

Ingredients:

• five fresh tomatoes (or a jar of canned ones);
• a bunch of cilantro;
• three onions;
• 30 g hops-suneli;
• spoon of granulated sugar;
• bouillon cube.

Cooking method:

1. Lightly fry the chopped onion in a frying pan for seven minutes.
2. Chop the tomatoes. If using fresh ones, remove the skin from them.
3. Add the pulp to the onion along with the sweetener, hops-suneli, pepper and bouillon cube crumbs. If there is not enough salt, then add some salt.
4. Simmer the sauce for five minutes, then pour it over the dolma and simmer the dish for 40 minutes.

Sauce for dolma with walnuts

The sauce prepared with the addition of walnuts will give dolma an amazing taste. In addition, nuts are extremely healthy; they contain valuable vegetable oils. The base of the sauce is cream. They must be fresh, but you can choose the percentage of fat content to your liking. But it is not recommended to take too fatty ones, since nuts already contain a lot of fat. The optimal solution is cream with a fat content of 15%.

You can use any cheese; white cheeses, such as Adygei, are perfect. But you can also take hard cheese.

• 1 glass of cream;
• 120 gr. peeled walnuts;
• 120 gr. cheese;
• 1 bunch of greens;
• salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste.

We clean the nuts and dry them in a frying pan. There is no need to fry them, just dry them slightly. Place the nuts in a blender and grind. There is no need to grind until pureed; small pieces of nuts will make the taste of the sauce even more piquant.

Wash the greens thoroughly, dry and finely chop. You can take one dill, but it is better to use a mixture of different greens - parsley, dill, basil, cilantro. Finely chop the greens and mix with nuts. Grate the cheese on the finest grater. Mix all ingredients, dilute with cream. Add salt to the sauce, season to taste with nutmeg and pepper. Let the sauce sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Benefits and harms

Matsun sauce is a very healthy dish not only for adults, but also for children. Rich in beneficial microflora, proteins, fats and carbohydrates, the product can be used for dietary nutrition without causing health problems. It contains the daily dose of amino acids, vitamins and minerals necessary for humans. Substances included in the sauce contribute to:

• increasing immunity;
• improving the functioning of the heart and blood vessels;
• prevention of musculoskeletal diseases;
• improving metabolism;
• smoothing out nervous diseases;
• rejuvenation

However, this product is contraindicated for people suffering from chronic diseases of the stomach or pancreas during relapse or acute form, as well as allergic reactions.

Creamy mushroom sauce

This is a version of hot sauce for dolma. If it has cooled down by the time it is served, it needs to be reheated in the microwave.

• 100 gr. onions;
• 350 ml heavy cream;
• 500 gr. fresh mushrooms, you can take champignons;
• 40 gr. butter;
• salt, ground black pepper to taste.

Peel the onion and chop it into small cubes. Wash the champignons and cut into small slices. If wild mushrooms are used, they must not only be peeled, but also boiled for 15-20 minutes in salted boiling water. Cool the boiled mushrooms and cut into small slices.

Advice! Porcini mushrooms are ideal for making this sauce; you can also use any other wild mushrooms.

Melt the butter and fry the onions and mushrooms in it. You need to fry until there is no liquid left in the pan. Then cool the fried mushrooms and onions slightly and turn them into puree using a blender.

We dilute the resulting puree with cream, pour it back into the saucepan and heat until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the dolma hot.

For stewing dishes

If you stew minced meat with rice wrapped in grape leaves in this tomato sauce, you will get a tender, incredibly tasty and spicy dish.

Products for sauce:

• 1 can of canned or 4-5 fresh tomatoes;
• 3 medium onions;
• 1.5-2 tbsp. l. classic seasoning khmeli-suneli;
• 1 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
• 1 briquette (cube) of instant broth;
• salt, ground black and red pepper to taste.

Prepare the sauce as follows:

1. Chop the onion.
2. Place a frying pan over medium heat and heat the oil in it.
3. Add the onion and sauté for 7-9 minutes.

4. Chop canned tomatoes or grate fresh ones.

5. Place the resulting mass in a frying pan with onions.
6. Add the crumbled bouillon cube, season with pepper and suneli hops, add sugar and, if necessary, add salt.
7. Pour in 200-250 ml (1 glass) of water.
8. Simmer for 5-6 minutes.
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9. Pour the prepared sauce over the dolma placed in a deep bowl. Simmer over low heat, covered, for 35-40 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for another 10-12 minutes.