Dolma in grape leaves - 9 classic recipes

Dolma - whose national dish is this? Unfortunately, this fact remains unknown to this day. Many southern countries are still trying to “attribute” the history of the recipe to themselves, among them: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Greece, Georgia, Turkey and many others.

The names of the dishes are slightly different in sound and spelling, and yes, there are differences in the recipes, although not very significant! In the recipe descriptions you can consider in detail how to cook dolma.

At first glance, the process may seem labor-intensive, but in general, preparation time takes no more than half an hour, and preparing dolma from grape leaves will take 2-3 hours.

One has only to try the dish once, and it will forever become a frequent “guest” at family feasts; it is great for special occasions; thanks to it, the whole family will remain well-fed and satisfied. There are many variations, it’s worth trying at least half to understand - dolma is great!

Classic dolma in grape leaves with lamb

A favorite recipe inspired by Southern tradition!

Product components:

• minced lamb – 1 kg;
• rice – 200 g without top;
• onion – 2 heads;
• grape leaves – 15 pcs.;
• mint – 2-3 pcs.;
• salt, ground pepper - to taste.

Preparation:

1. Place the grape leaves in a sieve, pour boiling water over them, and let the water drain.
2. Finely chop the onions.
3. Boil the rice until almost completely cooked, about 10 minutes after boiling. Rinse.
4. Combine chopped onion, minced lamb and rice, sprinkle with salt and spices, and add fresh mint leaves. Mix the composition.
5. Place the filling on the steamed leaves (for 1 bite), roll it up into an envelope.
6. Place the “envelopes” in a cauldron, pour boiling water so that it is 1 finger higher. Cover with a lid and cook for 45-50 minutes.

In just an hour, a delicious treat will be ready!

Useful tips

There are several main secrets:

1. To prevent the dish from burning, place grape leaves on the bottom of the pan or multicooker.
2. We fold the envelopes with the seams down so that they do not unfold during the stewing process.
3. When all the envelopes are placed in the pan, it is best to secure them by pressing them with a plate. In this case, during the boiling process the filling will not come out of the envelopes.

Dolma is considered one of the simplest and most delicious recipes in the world; only young leaves are suitable for the dish. Then the dolma turns out tender and melts in your mouth. This dish is suitable for every day and for the holiday table.

Azerbaijani dolma in fresh grape leaves with beef

This traditional Azerbaijani recipe will be appreciated by everyone without exception!

Ingredient list:

• minced veal – ½ kg;
• grape leaves – 150 g;
• lamb fat – ½ tbsp.;
• rice -1/4 cup;
• coriander - a pinch;
• salt, paprika – 5 g.

Cooking method:

1. Boil the rice until half cooked, mix with paprika, coriander and minced meat.
2. Wrap in fresh grape leaves.
3. Place lamb fat and dolma rolls in rows, almost to the edges, into a thick-walled pan.
4. Place a plate on top and pour in water.
5. Cook for half an hour covered.

You can serve with any side dish and sour cream!

Real Armenian dolma made from pickled or fresh leaves

Using pickled leaves when preparing Armenian dolma will give the dish a unique taste and aroma!

Ingredients:

• minced meat (any) – 0.5 kg;
• round grain rice – 50 g;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• garlic – ¼ piece;
• grape leaves in marinade – 40 pcs.;
• sour cream - 1 tbsp.;
• ketchup – 50 ml;
• water – 200 ml;
• nutmeg (ground) – 1 g;
• herbs, salt, paprika, black pepper - to taste.

Preparation:

1. Remove the stems from the grape leaves and soak in water for 5-7 minutes.
2. Boil the rice for 10-12 minutes.
3. Chop the onions into cubes, pass the garlic through a press, and chop the fresh herbs. Fry in a frying pan with sunflower oil, after 6 minutes add minced meat and spices. Stir.
4. Stuff the leaves and place in the kozan.
5. Separately mix ketchup, sour cream and a glass of water, sprinkle with spices. Pour the mixture into the “envelopes”, press down with a plate, cook for an hour under a closed lid.
6. Let it sit for a quarter of an hour before serving.

If you decide not to soak the leaves, then step 1 should be skipped.

Patsus

Pasus, or Lenten dolma, is another national Armenian dish. As can be understood by its sound, the word “Patsus” comes from “Pass”, which will be translated from Armenian as “Fast”.

It is customary to eat this dolma cold. However, if you suddenly decide to eat it hot, nothing bad will happen, because patsus is very tasty in this form.

You'll want to soak the beans or beans overnight or for eight to ten hours in advance so they have time to soak and will be ready faster when preparing the dish.

Choose seasonings based on your preferences. The good thing about a bean dish is that it is suitable for vegetarians or fasting people, giving them a feeling of fullness for a long time.

The quantity indicated in the recipe below is for four servings. How is the dish Dolma Pasus prepared in Armenia?

Nutritional value per hundred grams of the dish is 55 kcal.

Proteins – 2 grams.

Fats – 3.5 grams.

Carbohydrates – 4.2 grams.

Dietary fiber – 1.6 grams.

Required Products:

• bulgur – 100 grams;
• lentils – 100 grams;
• red beans – 100 grams;
• dry peas – 100 grams;
• chickpeas – 100 grams;
• sauerkraut leaves - from 10-12 pieces;
• curry - half a teaspoon;
• dried garlic – 1 teaspoon;
• ground paprika and ground red pepper - half a teaspoon each.

Step by step recipe:

1. Check that there are no spoiled or bad grains in the cereals.
2. Soak the cereal mixture overnight, then simmer for about an hour and a half until the beans are soft. After removing the water, add salt and seasonings.
3. Take cabbage leaves. To remove excess acid, you can keep them in water for a couple of hours.
4. Straighten the leaf, place a couple of spoons of the filling in the center and wrap it in a cabbage “envelope”.
5. Once the leaves and filling are gone, transfer the dolma to a large, thick-walled bowl, preferably made of cast iron.
6. Pour the broth into the bowl, add paprika and keep the dolma on low heat for about an hour. The finished dish is served cold, as it is considered an appetizer.

Housewives should take note - recipes from Turkish cuisine: types of kebabs (cauldron kebab, doner, Turkish kebab).

Watch the video for preparing pasus dolma:

How to cook dolma with grape leaves from minced chicken

“Dedicated” to lovers of poultry dishes...

Ingredients:

• grape leaves without “tails” - 30-40 pcs.;
• chicken fillet – 2 pcs.;
• steamed rice - ½ tbsp. without slide;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• chicken broth – 1 l;
• chopped walnut kernels - ½ tbsp.;
• butter – 1/8 br. (for filling) + 30 g (for broth);
• mayonnaise – 20 ml.

Cooking method:

1. Place grape leaves in boiling water for half a minute. Then place in a colander and let the liquid drain.
2. Boil rice for 5-7 minutes. Melt a cube of butter in it.
3. Grind the fillet and onion in a food processor, add crushed nuts, salt, and add hot spices.
4. Combine all ingredients together and stir.
5. Stuff the grape leaves and roll them up. Place in tight rows in the pan.
6. Place 30 g of butter and mayonnaise into the meat broth. Pour this mixture into the “envelopes”.
7. Simmer covered for half an hour.

Serve, beautifully placing dolma on lettuce leaves. Original and incredibly tasty!

How to make matsoni

Matsoni, or matsun, is a traditional Caucasian fermented milk drink. At its core, it is milk fermented in a certain way. If you plan to cook dolma only the next day, then the base of the sauce will have time to prepare overnight.

1. For this we will need: black bread, Borodino bread is possible, any fresh milk and good fat sour cream, preferably homemade.
2. Bring half a liter of milk to a boil and cool to 45-50°. It can be easily determined without a thermometer: the milk should be moderately hot, or rather, very warm, but not scalding.
3. Stir in 2 tablespoons of sour cream.
4. Place a crust of black bread.
5. Wrap the container with milk and leave it warm for 6-8 hours.

Vegetarian dolma made from grape leaves with rice and herbs

The unusual presentation of the recipe will appeal to those who monitor their health and completely exclude meat from their menu.

Product composition:

• pickled grape leaves – 20 pcs.;
• bulgur (broken wheat) – ½ tbsp. with a slide;
• soft cheese (brynza) – 200 g;
• fresh mint – 1-2 pcs.;
• turmeric, salt – 5 g.

Detailed description of preparation:

1. Sort out the grape leaves, add hot water and add salt. Leave for 2-3 minutes.
2. Pour boiling water over the crushed wheat and let it swell for a quarter of an hour. Boil for 10 minutes over medium heat.

3. Mash the cheese, add wheat, chopped mint leaves, salt and season with “sunny” turmeric. Stir the mixture until smooth.

4. Place a tablespoon of assorted cheese and cereal onto the grape leaves and shape.

Place the finished “yummy” on a flat dish, sprinkling with freshly squeezed lemon juice!

Recipe for dolma from grape leaves in Georgian

In Georgia, this dish is called “tolma”, but it is no different from the traditional dish of other Caucasian countries.

List of products:

• steamed rice - ½ tbsp. with a slide;
• garlic - 1/3 head;
• salt – 5 g;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• paprika, ground red pepper – 2 tsp;
• minced meat (pork, beef) – 0.5 kg;
• grape leaves – 50 pcs.

Step-by-step preparation:

1. Sort the grape leaves, remove the stems, and place in a saucepan with boiling, slightly salted water. Leave for a couple of minutes. Take it out, rinse it with cold water and leave it like that.
2. Place the assorted meats in a deep bowl, add finely chopped onions, chopped garlic cloves and rice, boiled until half cooked. Stir.
3. Stuff each leaf, shape it, and place it in a thick layer in a thick-walled pan.
4. Place a plate on top of the dolma, and a weight on top of it.
5. Pour in water, cook over low heat for 40 minutes. 5 minutes before readiness, remove the plate with the weight so that the “envelopes” absorb the juice.

Serve with homemade yogurt, sour cream or heavy cream sauce.

How to cook semi-finished dolma from grape leaves: how much time to cook

Dolma can be prepared in large quantities and frozen, and at the right time, taken out and boiled.

Components:

• semi-finished dolma - any quantity;
• boiled and cooled water – 1.5 l;
• salt - a pinch.

Cooking process:

1. Place the frozen “envelopes” on the bottom of the pan, add a little fat.
2. Pour warm boiled water, add salt to taste.
3. Cook for 40 minutes, covered.

Serve with your favorite sauce, allowing the dish to cool slightly.

History of the dish

Dolma is extremely common in the cuisines of the peoples of Transcaucasia, Central and Western Asia, the Balkan Peninsula and even North Africa. All national cuisines have their own special technology for preparing dishes and each of them is special in its own way.

The dish belongs to Armenian cuisine, which has long been famous for its best recipes.

The Armenian people claim that they were the discoverers of dolma, and only later, the dish became popular in other national cuisines.

According to the Armenians, this food was extremely common in the court cuisine of the Ottoman Empire; this is not strange, because the recipe is distinguished by its taste and originality.

Dolma in a slow cooker with minced meat in grape leaves

Today, you can cook anything in a slow cooker. It’s quick, and you’ll also have some free time for yourself.

Product list:

• minced pork and beef – 0.6 kg;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• fresh grape leaves – 50 pcs.;
• rice – 100 g;
• basil (dried) – 15 g;
• salt, paprika - to taste;
• butter – ¼ br.;
• yogurt without additives (homemade) – 1 tbsp.;
• garlic – 3 cloves.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse the rice, pour boiling water over it, and set aside for a quarter of an hour.
2. Boil grape leaves without stems in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain in a colander.
3. Cut the onion into small cubes, pass the garlic cloves through a press. Combine with minced meat, adding steamed rice, softened butter, salt and paprika. Stir.
4. Place the grape leaf with the matte side facing up. Place the aromatic filling and roll up.
5. Line the bottom of the bowl with the remaining grape leaves, and place “stuffed envelopes” on top in 2-3 rows.
6. Pour boiled cooled water, a little more than half a liter.
7. Press down with a suitable flat plate and close the lid tightly.
8. Set the multicooker to the “Stew” mode; the cooking process takes 1.30 minutes.
9. In a bowl, combine yogurt and 2 cloves of garlic, crushed to a pulp.

Place the hot dish on a flat dish, in the center of which there will be a bowl of matsoni sauce.

Ingredients:

• grape leaves - 200 gr.,
• rice (medium grain) – 0.5 cups,
• beef, lean lamb or lean pork - 500 gr.,
• onion - 1 pc. (medium size),
• mint - 1 bunch (medium),
• parsley - 1 bunch (medium),
• thyme (dried) – 0.5 tsp,
• vegetable oil - 1 tsp,
• black pepper (freshly ground) - to taste,
• salt.

We prepare dolma like this:

1. If you prepare dolma in the summer, then wash the fresh grape leaves thoroughly under running water and scald with boiling water. If fresh leaves are not available, you can use canned ones. In this case, wash the leaves in cold water, put them in a bowl and fill them with hot water. After 5 minutes, drain the water into a separate bowl (we will need it later). Wash the leaves again.
2. In a saucepan, bring 300 ml of water to a boil, add butter and salt. Pour rice into boiling water, stir and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes until the rice has completely absorbed all the water.
3. We remove all bones, fat and films from the meat, and then chop it very finely (very convenient with two knives at the same time) or twist it in a meat grinder.
4. Chop the onion and herbs (parsley and mint).
5. Combine rice, meat, onion, chopped herbs and thyme in a separate bowl, add salt and pepper, and then mix everything thoroughly until a homogeneous mass is formed.
6. Place several grape leaves on the bottom of the pan in which we will cook the dolma so that the bottom is completely covered.
   And on the remaining leaves we spread the minced meat filling (1 tablespoon each) closer to the base of the leaf. The grape leaf should lie on the board with the smooth side down, i.e. Place the filling on the inside of the sheet.
7. We form a kind of sausage from a sheet of minced meat, i.e. We wrap the sheet over the minced meat, first covering it (the minced meat) with the wide part of the leaf, and then, tucking in the sides, we roll the dolma into a roll, as shown in the image gallery.
8. Place the rolled dolma rolls in a saucepan and fill with the water that remains after the marinade has soaked the leaves (if the leaves were fresh, then just fill with water).
   The water should only lightly cover the dolma.
9. We put the pan on the stove and heat it with a plate slightly smaller in diameter than the lid of the pan; our goal is to press the dolma to the bottom of the pan.
10. Bring to a boil over low heat, then reduce heat to low and cook for about 1 hour.
11. That's the whole recipe for dolma.
    When serving, dolma must be hot and seasoned with a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice.

Advice

For those who are watching their figure, we can advise you to prepare vegetarian dolma; in this case, the minced meat should be replaced with a mixture of pine nuts and/or boiled eggs, spinach, green onions, mushrooms, tarragon, and cilantro. This dolma can be seasoned with low-fat sour cream or yogurt.

Bon appetit!

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Lenten dolma with rice and mushrooms in grape leaves

An ideal option for those who adhere to strict fasting or carefully monitor their health!

The ingredient list includes:

• mushrooms (ideally champignons) – 100 g;
• long grain rice – 200 g;
• onion – 1 head;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• grape leaves without “roots” - 50 pcs.;
• salt, seasonings - to taste;
• olive oil – 30 ml.

Description of preparation:

1. Steam the rice with boiling water, cover with a lid, and let it cook.
2. Wash the mushrooms and chop into cubes.
3. Chop the onion into medium-sized squares.
4. Pass the carrots through a grater with large honeycombs.
5. Fry the onions and carrots in olive oil, and also fry the mushrooms with seasonings separately.
6. Pour boiling water over the grape leaves, place in a colander, and allow excess liquid to drain.
7. Combine all the necessary ingredients for the filling, mix and add salt.
8. Place 5 g of filling on the leaves and shape.
9. Line the bottom of a metal container with 5-6 grape leaves. Lay out dolma in dense layers, press down with a plate so that the “envelopes” do not unfold.
10. Pour in water; it should be level with the dish.
11. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

As a sauce, you can mix olive oil, crushed walnuts, garlic and spices. The taste and aroma of the dish will be simply unimaginable.

Rich taste and aroma, it’s impossible not to try!