Dolma (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
Dolma is a main course from the Middle East. It's really delicious, and can be eaten for days. For a pot of dolma, 1–3 other people are recommended to help.
- Prep
- 32 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 15 min
- Total
- 1 hr 47 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Blanch the grape leaves by placing them in a pot of boiling water, covering with a towel, and cooking for about 3–5 minutes.
Procedure
Cut each onion at the bottom root and slice ½-inch lengthwise. Boil for 5–10 minutes or until soft, then separate each layer without tearing.
Procedure
Slice zucchini and squash lengthwise, and hollow them out.
Procedure
Core cabbage and boil for 10 minutes, then pull leaves apart to prepare for stuffing.
Procedure
Hollow out hot peppers, tomatoes, and peppers while keeping their tops.
Procedure
Combine all of the stuffing ingredients in a large bowl.
Procedure
Stuff the grape leaves: Lay each leaf shiny side down. Place 1 tablespoon of stuffing at the bottom center of the leaf by the stem. Fold the bottom of the leaf up to cover the stuffing. Fold in the sides and roll up in a cylindrical fashion.
Procedure
Stuff the tomatoes and green pepper, and replace their tops.
Procedure
Stuff the other vegetables, placing the zucchini and squash on their side and onions (rolled tightly) and tomatoes upright.
Procedure
Layer the stuffed vegetables in a pot, alternating grape leaves and vegetables. The top layer should be grape leaves.
Procedure
Mix citric acid and water, and pour over the dolma to just barely cover the top layer of grape leaves.
Procedure
Put a small plate (inverted) directly on top of the pot of dolma as a weight.
Procedure
Cover the pot, and cook over high heat for 10 minutes or until it boils.
Procedure
Once the dolma boils, lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 40 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice and meat are cooked.
Procedure
Remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes.
Procedure
Remove lid and plate. Place a large platter on top of the pot, and using oven mitts, flip dolma pot onto the platter on top of a table.
Procedure
Arrange dolma on platter as desired and serve.
Notes, tips, and variations
Stuff all the vegetables a bit loosely to allow rice to expand while cooking.
Notes, tips, and variations
Bulghur may be substituted for rice in any dolma recipe.
Notes, tips, and variations
1 cup lemon juice can be substituted for the citric acid.
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · CC BY 2.5 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5 · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 20 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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