Dolma is cooked - minutes.
Dolma is cooked in a double boiler for hours, in a slow cooker on the "Stew" mode.

How to cook dolma

How to cook dolma in a saucepan
1. Put grape leaves tightly into a saucepan with a thick bottom, put dolma, fill with water (water should cover the dolma with a margin of 1 centimeter).
2. Cover the top with grape leaves.
3. To prevent the rolls from unfolding, cover with an inverted plate, smaller in diameter than the pan. Close the pan with a lid.
4. Put on the smallest heat and cook for 45 minutes.

How to cook dolma in a slow cooker
1. Pour water into the multicooker bowl, and put dolma into the container intended for cooking.
2. Set the "Quenching" mode and cook for one hour.
3. If the leaves are still tough.

How to cook dolma in a double boiler
1. Pour water into a double boiler, put dolma into a double boiler bowl.
2. Cook dolma for 1.5 hours.

How to cook dolma in the microwave
1. Put dolma in a thick layer in a deep dish suitable for microwave oven.
2. Salt a little, pour melted butter (50 grams) on top and a glass of water or broth.
3. Close the top with a microwave lid or other plate.
4. Turn on the microwave at 800 W for 15 minutes.
How to cook semi-finished dolma
In a saucepan
1. Put dolma into a saucepan in 1 layer, pour in water or broth so as to cover the frozen semi-finished product.
2. Put on a low heat and cook for 20 minutes.

In the microwave
1. Put dolma on a plate, pour in 1 glass of broth, cook for 10 minutes at 600 watts.

How to cook dolma at home
Products
Salted grape leaves - 7-8 leaves
Lamb - 300 grams
Bow - 1 large head or 2 small
Rice - 70 grams
Sour cream - 150 grams
Garlic - 4 cloves
Parsley, dill, cilantro, celery, black pepper, red pepper, salt - to taste

Cooking dolma
1. Pour salted grape leaves in boiling water and soak for 12 hours to release excess salt.
2. You need to cut off a stalk from each of the sheets.
3. Rinse the rice, pour hot water, pass the lamb and onion through a meat grinder a couple of times, cut and add herbs, spices to taste.
4. Add rice soaked for 10 minutes to the minced meat, mix well.
5. Put a grape leaf on the table, on top of it - half a tablespoon of minced meat and gently twist to make small sausages.
6. Put dolma in a thick-walled saucepan, cover with grape leaves, put a plate on top so that the dolma does not open during cooking.
7. Carefully pour in cold water so that the top grape leaves are slightly covered.
8. Boil dolma over low heat for 45 minutes.
Serve hot boiled dolma with sauce and herbs.

Dolma Sauce Options

Classic dolma sauce
Peel and rub the garlic, mix with sour cream / yogurt, mix well.

Dolma sauce with dried apricots
Onions, dried apricots, tomato paste, a tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, half a teaspoon of pepper and the same amount of cinnamon, mix. In a frying pan, fry the onion in oil, add water, chopped dried apricots, simmer under the lid for 10 minutes, then add tomato paste, salt, sugar and spices.

Dolma mint sauce
Mix 100 grams of sour cream and 100 grams of kefir, add pine nuts and 5 sprigs of dried mint. Mix, leave in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Dolma kefir sauce
Add garlic and your favorite herbs to a glass of 100 ml of kefir.

Fusofacts
- If dolma does not float when flooded with water, you do not need to cover it with a plate.

Armenia is considered the homeland of dolma, and the name "tolma" comes from the word "toli", which means "grape leaves".

You can use fresh or salted grape leaves to make dolma. It is better to choose fresh leaves in light colors from white grape varieties: the lighter the leaf, the younger it is, which means that the dolma will turn out to be more tender. Large, fleshy grape leaves are not suitable for dolma: they will make the dish too tough.
Large and dark leaves are not recommended. Fresh leaves can be purchased only in markets, unlike salty ones, which are sold both in markets and in supermarkets. The price of salted leaves in Moscow is from 200 rubles / half a liter (on average in Moscow as of June 2017).

The traditional minced meat for making Yerevan dolma is minced meat from young lamb, onions, herbs and pepper. Dolma can be cooked from mixed minced meat (lamb + beef + pork) or only from beef. Also, minced turkey dolma turns out to be no less tasty. You can add some pumpkin and carrots to the minced meat for a delicious taste. Instead of minced meat, you can use rice with vegetables (tomatoes, onions, herbs).

Cabbage or eggplant leaves can be used instead of grape leaves. The closest "relative" of dolma is stuffed cabbage, where the minced meat is wrapped in cabbage leaves. There are also recipes for tomatoes, onions, peppers, sorrel leaves, apples, eggplant and even beetroot leaves. Depending on the shell, the shape and taste of dolma changes.

To make the leaves softer and more elastic, before wrapping the minced meat, it is better to scald them with boiling water. If the leaves are large and old, boil for five minutes.

So that when cooking dolma is steamed, and not fried, it is better to put several layers of grape leaves at the bottom of the pan. So, the rolls will be juicier.

When cooking dolma, instead of water, you can use broth cooked on bones or from meat (lamb, beef or chicken). You can also use the Bone broth cube, which must be diluted in water before cooking.

Depending on the proportions and the meat used, the calorie content of dolma varies from 140 to 190 kcal / 100 grams. The calorie content of dolma made from minced lamb is 180 kcal / 100 grams.

The cost of products for making dolma at home is 450 rubles per kilogram (as of June 2017, on average in Moscow).

Dolma can be served as a standalone hot dish with sauce, or cold, as a snack. In any case, it is recommended to serve lemon and herbs with dolma.

Half of the world is fighting to claim the recipe for this dish as traditional for their people. The most ardent fighters in this competition are Armenians and Azerbaijan. They cannot share among themselves which side the original recipe for dolma belongs to and cannot calm down to this day. In 2017, Azerbaijan even recognized this delicacy as an intangible cultural heritage of this people. As for history, here the path goes to the Ottoman Empire. It is believed that this dish was served at court, to highly placed people, a kind of delicacy.

Of course, there are a great many recipes for this dish and the varieties are becoming more and more every day. Only in Azerbaijan during the festival there are about 300 species, but I will tell you in detail and show you the most key, delicious, practical and simply soulful recipes, and most importantly, I will tell you the subtleties in cooking that will make your dish truly the best. And people, having tried it, will consider you a professional and will visit your home more often.

So, in today's article, we will analyze the best, classic recipes for dolma in grape leaves. And I also recommend to cook and very tasty

Dolma in Grape Leaves in Armenian - Step by Step Recipe

Ingredients:

• Grape leaves - 500 gr.
• Minced meat - 500 gr. (pork with beef)
• Onions - 1 pc.
• Rice - 200 gr.
• Butter
• Spices and herbs to taste.

Cooking method:

Put greens and onions in a blender, chop. We add this to the minced meat, also rice, spices, mix thoroughly, you can add a little water (for better taste, use chicken broth).

The grape leaves need to be washed, cut off the tails and steamed in hot water for 2 - 3 minutes.

We take the pan to its bottom in one layer, lay out the leaves, set aside. Take the plate, put the sheet, with the glossy side down.

Put a little minced meat, an elongated sausage, wrap it up and put it in a saucepan.

After one layer has been laid out, add butter, lay out the second layer and also on top of a little butter, and on it there are leaves in one layer.

We cover everything with a saucer so that they do not fall apart during cooking.

Pour water into a saucepan (I remind you need chicken broth for the best taste) set on fire for 1.5 - 2 hours. When everything is ready, when serving with a dish, you can make a sauce of sour cream or yogurt with seasonings to taste. Bon Appetit.

Classic recipe in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

• Bulb onions - 2 pcs.
• Rice - 200 gr.
• Minced meat - 500 gr.
• Grape leaves - 700 gr.
• Spices to taste.

Cooking method:

Chop the onion into small pieces and mix it with washed rice and minced meat, add spices.

Wash the grape leaves, cut the tails and steam in warm water for 2 minutes. We put the unfolded sheet with a gloss on the bottom, take a little minced meat, put it in the sheet and wrap it up (the sheet has 5 limbs, like the fingers on the hand, so the method of wrapping, how to clench a fist, first we hold the thumb, then the little finger, and then the index, ring and average).

When all the dolmushki are ready, put them in a slow cooker and cover with a plate so that they do not fall apart. Fill with water, so that only the tips stick out, set the extinguishing mode to 100 degrees for 1 hour.

When everything is ready, when serving with a dish, you can make a sauce of sour cream or yogurt with seasonings to taste.

Dolma baked in the oven

Ingredients:

• Bulb onions - 700 gr.
• Vegetable oil - 100 ml.
• Oil top
• Meat (minced lamb) - 1.5 kg.
• Turmeric, salt, black pepper, ground cumin, mint and arigana
• Grape leaves - 800 gr.
• Rice - 200 gr.
• Chicken leg - 2 pcs.

Cooking method:

1. Take a small saucepan and cook the chicken. The main thing is to get more broth, we will need it.

2. Boil the rice for 5 minutes, then remove from the stove and drain the water.

3. Cut the onion into squares and into a frying pan. Add vegetable oil and ghee there in full, since lamb is lean meat.

4. Bring the onion until golden brown and add turmeric, salt, black pepper, ground cumin, mint, arigan and minced lamb.

6. Lay in lightly boiled rice. Stir, cool and our minced dolma is ready.

7. Take the leaves and steam them in hot water for 3 minutes. And we lay out on the table with the glossy side down. We take exactly one teaspoon of our filling and spread them over the leaves. Wrap and put on a baking sheet.

8. Before sending them to the oven, pour the remaining chicken stock and send to 100 degrees, for 2 hours.

If you follow all the instructions, you will get just a divine dolma. Bon Appetit.

Delicious recipe in Azerbaijani

Ingredients:

• Lamb meat - 600 gr.
• Bulb onions - 1 pc.
• Round rice - 150 gr.
• Dry mint - 1 tsp
• Dill - 1 bunch
• Water (hot) - 50 ml.
• Grape leaves - 300 gr.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Wash grape leaves and steam in hot water for 2 - 3 minutes.

2. Mix our mince ingredients, finely chopped dill, onion and mint.

3. Add water, spices and mix thoroughly.

4. The filling is ready, take the leaves, remove the stems and wrap the minced meat in them a little - a little bit (the leaves should be glossy at the bottom).

5. If you want to make a smaller dolma, then you need to take larger leaves in advance and divide them into 3 equal parts obliquely.

6. Take the pan, put the leaves in one layer, and already on them we smooth our blanks, cover them in one layer with leaves and press down with a plate. So that when boiling they do not open, and our dish does not fall apart.

7. Fill with water and heat until cooked for 2 hours. Bon Appetit.

Dolma recipe with nuts

Ingredients:

• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Carrots - 1 pc.
• Grape leaves - 200 gr.
• Bulb onions - 1 pc.
• Mint - 3 stems
• Rice - 100 gr.
• Walnut - 100 gr.
• Matsoni and cumin.

Cooking method:

1. We wash the leaves with cold water to remove excess salt.

2. Cut the onion into cubes, grate the carrots and sauté in vegetable oil.

3. Separate the mint leaves from the stem. Finely chop the leaves, and put the stems in a blender along with a part of yogurt, cumin, walnuts, salt, pepper and beat. Add the resulting mixture to the pan, add raw rice there and mix.

4. Add the shredded leaves to the rest of the yogurt and mix.

5. Before eating, add finely chopped garlic.

5. We begin to wrap the minced meat in grape leaves (they should lie with the glossy side down).

6. Put the result in a saucepan, cover with a plate, fill with water and cook for 40 minutes. A fragrant and delicious diet dolma is ready.

Dolma is stuffed cabbage, not with cabbage, but with grape leaves. The filling, as in stuffed cabbage, is rice and minced meat, and different ones. But dolma can also be vegetarian.

Delicious and aromatic dolma is traditionally prepared in Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Armenia, Azerbaijan. However, cabbage rolls made from young grape leaves have become popular in the cuisine of other nations. Recently, a Norwegian acquaintance taught my Moscow Armenian friend how to cook "real dolma" 🙂 "I will show you the recipe for dolma as it is," a real Scandinavian guest shared his innermost.

Cabbage rolls in grape leaves are much more tender than their counterparts in cabbage leaves. They have a pleasant sourness and an amazing aroma. Believe me, if you haven’t tried it yet: the tenderness and aroma of dolma do not get too soft! As far as cooking is concerned, twisting "dolmushki" is a pleasant and exciting business.

Ingredients

• minced meat (pork + beef) - 350-400g
• rice - 60-80g
• onions - 1-2 pcs.
• vegetable oil - 50-70 ml
• butter - 30-40g
• carrots - 1 pc.
• black pepper, salt
• balsamic vinegar - less than 1 teaspoon
• zira (ground)
• dill and parsley - medium bunch
• dry herbs (cilantro, mint, basil)
• grape leaves - 40-55 pcs.
• cauldron or stewpan for 2-2.5 liters

Cooking method

Dolma leaves... Only fresh grape leaves (small and young) are suitable for dolma. They are very delicate and fragrant.

Select leaves for dolma in advance, excluding all coarse and large leaves (especially old ones). Rinse thoroughly under running water. Then dip in boiling water for a few seconds (5-10), remove into a colander, let drain and cool.

Canned leaves can also be used for dolma. They are very easy to prepare. Wash young, not very large and tough grape leaves with cold water. Then in batches of 5-10 pieces, dip in boiling water for 5-10 seconds. Let cool slightly and, folding in stacks of 5-10 pieces, roll into rolls. Put the resulting blanks (rolls) in a sterile jar (preferably 700-800g). This volume is enough for a one-time preparation of dolma for a family. Prepare hot brine separately at the rate of 1 tablespoon to 600 ml of water. Pour hot brine over the grape leaves and roll up the lid. It is advisable to soak the canned leaves in cold water for 5-10 minutes before use.

Dolma filling

Peel the onion, rinse and cut into cubes. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add vegetable oil and chopped onion. Make it transparent.

The authentic dolma recipe does not contain an ingredient such as carrots, and you can skip this step. But this is a matter of taste. If using carrots, peel and rinse. Grate on a coarse grater and combine with lowered onions. Cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes.

Rinse the rice thoroughly and boil in salted water for 3-5 minutes. Place on a sieve and rinse with cold water.

In a bowl, combine rice and salvaged vegetables.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Traditional dolma should contain minced lamb meat, sometimes with the addition of beef. However, minced pork and beef, which is more familiar to us, will not spoil its taste either. Add the prepared minced meat to the rice mixture.

Add cumin and dry herbs, pour in vinegar. Chop the washed dill and parsley and also combine with the rest of the ingredients. Stir the dolma filling thoroughly.

Cooking dolma rolls... Spread out the grape leaf with the back side up. Place some filling at its base.

Cover the filling with the raised edges of the grape leaf.

Fold the sides towards the center.

Roll the dolma into a tight roll. Do the same with the rest of the leaves.

Placing dolma in a container and cooking... Place the blanks in a cauldron or stewpan (lightly grease them with olive oil) in dense rows. After filling one row, you can lay out one or two more layers. Cover the last layer of dolma with grape leaves without filling (if there are enough leaves).

Add another 2-3 tbsp to the container. l. olive oil and cover the food with an upside-down plate along the diameter of the saucepan, making a kind of press. This is done so that the dolma rolls do not open during cooking.

Now fill the dolma with water or broth, vegetable or meat, so that the dolma is covered by 1-2 cm.Put on the stove and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook the dolma (covered) until tender, about 50-60 minutes. Top up with more water during cooking, if necessary.

After that, carefully so as not to burn yourself, remove the plate and tilt the saucepan to one side. Very carefully scoop out some of the aromatic juice from the saucepan - you will need it in order to make the sauce.

Serve with sour cream, yogurt or hot sauce. One of the tastiest sauces is listed below. Dolma is served with it in Greece.

Egg-lemon sauce and dolma cream

Ingredients:

• 5 lemons
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (for cream)
• ½ teaspoon salt (for cream)
• slightly less than half a teaspoon of pepper (for cream)

How to cook:

1 In a large bowl, beat the egg whites into a thick meringue. While whisking, add the yolks, lemon juice, and sauce from the saucepan. Your egg and lemon sauce is ready.

2 If you are not going to cook the cream, pour the cooked sauce over the dolma in a saucepan and gently tilt the saucepan by the handles in different directions so that the sauce spreads better over the food.

3 If you want to make a cream, do the following: Pour the cornstarch in a small saucepan and dissolve in 200 g of water. Then add ½ teaspoon of salt and a little less pepper to the starch.

4 Heat the dissolved starch over medium heat.

5 Once the starchy liquid is warm, add the previously prepared egg sauce to it. Stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes without stopping until you have a cream. (Note that the mixture can curdle very quickly.)

6 Pour the ready-made dolma cream over and tilt the pan again in different directions to distribute the cream evenly.

Dolma, recipe and photo © Volshebnaya Eda.RU

If you read Wikipedia, then it describes "Dolma" as a dish made of stuffed leaves of plants. Each kitchen uses different leaves: quince, fig, cabbage, grape. In some countries stuffed peppers, tomatoes, eggplants are called dolma. Dolma filling can be meat or cereal. The most common and delicious dish is considered to be a dish made from young grape leaves. They are best stuffed with ground beef or lamb mixed with rice and spices.

How to cook dolma - harvesting leaves

Only very young leaves are suitable for the dish and, preferably, from grapes of light varieties. If you have such a plant growing on your site, then pick palm-sized leaves. Wash the leaves well, soak for 5 minutes in hot water, and then cut off the tails from them.

In winter, dolma can be made from pickled grape leaves. They are sold on any collective farm market or they can be prepared for future use on their own.

How to cook dolma - making filling

For the filling you will need onions (4 pcs.), Round rice (5 tablespoons), lamb and beef pulp (300 g each), vegetable oil (50 ml), salt, pepper, cumin (1 pinch each), fresh mint, cilantro, basil, dill (3 sprigs each).

• Finely chop the onion and fry in oil until transparent.
• Twist the meat in a meat grinder.
• Boil the rice in plenty of water until half cooked. Throw it in a colander.
• Finely chop the herbs.
• Combine rice, minced meat, onion and herbs. Season the filling with salt, pepper and add cumin. Mix everything.

How to cook dolma - wrapping products

Spread the leaves with the rough side up on the board. Place a teaspoon of filling on each leaf in the area of ​​the cut off tail. Roll the dolma as you would roll cabbage rolls. You should have tight, finger-like products.

How to cook dolma - stewing a dish

Place a layer of grape leaves on the bottom of a thick-walled saucepan or saucepan. They are very tight on them - all the wrapped fingers. Pour the dolma with beef broth or hot water. Both broth and water should be well salted. Cover the top of the dolma with a layer of leaves. Put a flat plate on these leaves - it will press down on the dolma, and all your fingers will be in the broth. Place a lid on the saucepan and place on very low heat. Simmer dolma for 1.5 hours from the moment it boils. Keep the fire to a minimum.

How to cook dolma - serving

Place the hot dolma on a deep dish and pour over the sauce from the saucepan. Be sure to serve sour sour milk sauce with the dish: sour milk - 1 glass, crushed garlic - 4 cloves, salt and sugar - to taste.

To make dolma even more tasty and fragrant, put a few slices of fresh quince between your fingers. You can stuff with minced meat and quince leaves together with grape leaves - simmer everything together. You can also put grape and quince dolma on a baking sheet and place small stuffed zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers nearby. Pour all this splendor with the same broth and cover with foil. Simmer until tender.

Since the existence of the Ottoman Empire, dolma in grape leaves has been part of the Sultan's cuisine and one of its brightest representatives. The cooking recipe has survived to this day almost unchanged.

Many peoples are still hotly debating who the idea of ​​stuffing grape leaves, cabbage and vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants belongs to. The Greeks insist on its Greek origin, calling the dish "dolmas", the Armenians and Georgians assign the appearance of this dish to themselves, calling it "tolma", the Uzbeks called it "dulma". There is also the possibility that dolma originated in the vastness of Turkish cuisine, thanks to its rich culinary traditions. The presence of this dish is typical for many countries that succumbed to the Turkic influence. During the times of the conquests, the Turks significantly enriched and diversified the cuisines of many countries with original culinary innovations.

In any case, according to many sources, the recipe for dolma in grape leaves was developed for an elite cuisine, since it contains a number of different cooking techniques, requires certain cooking skills and the ability to harmoniously combine various ingredients in one dish.

Armenian grape leaf dolma recipe

To make dolma you will need:

• 0.5 kg of minced meat;
• 100 g of round rice;
• 2 onions;
• 1 bell pepper;
• 0.5 chili peppers;
• 2 large tomatoes;
• 30-35 large grape leaves;
• 5 sprigs of cilantro, parsley;
• a pinch of dried basil, tarragon;
• 0.5 tsp. coriander and cumin seeds;
• 30 g butter;
• salt pepper.

Traditionally, dolma in Armenian is served with a creamy garlic sauce or a thick fermented milk product - matsun, which can be replaced with homemade yogurt or low-fat sour cream.

To make the sauce you will need:

• 200 ml of cream;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 50 g butter;
• 3-4 sprigs of mint, parsley, cilantro.

Sauce preparation:

1. Fry chopped in melted butter for 3 minutes over low heat.
2. Pour in small portions of cream and bring them to the state of "first bubbles". Turn off the stove.
3. Chop the herbs finely and mix with the cream.
4. Season with salt to taste.

In traditional Armenian cuisine, in the process of making dolma from grape leaves, 3 types of meat are used for mince - mutton, beef, pork in equal parts. Also, a serious point is the fact that the meat is not chopped in a meat grinder, but chopped into small pieces using sharp knives.

Food preparation:

Dolma in grape leaves

Step by step recipe with photo:

For the filling of lean dolma ("pasuts tolma"), it is worth trying to use not only traditional rice, but also such products as lentils, chickpeas, red small beans, and wheat groats.

Dolma formation:

You can more clearly see how to make dolma from grape leaves and form it correctly by watching the video.

For stuffing, it is best to take young grape leaves harvested in spring, then the finished dolma will be tender and rough veins will not spoil the impression of the dish.

The formed cubes should be laid tightly, one to one, in a deep, thick-bottomed saucepan, lined with the remaining grape leaves (or put a plate upside down on the bottom of a regular saucepan) so that the dolma does not burn during the cooking process.

Next - pour salted boiling water to the level of the top layer of grape rolls (you can also use meat broth), add a piece of butter and cover with a heavy thick plate or put the load in the form of a jar of water. Bring the dish to a boil, turn the heat to low and continue simmering for about 1 hour. You can check for readiness by breaking one bar: the sheet should easily peel off, and the rice should be soft and boiled.

The finished dolma should be given time to rest and brew. To do this, it is best to wrap the pan with a blanket and leave for 20 minutes.

Dolma in grape leaves can be easily prepared in a multicooker, given the fact that it initially contains a non-stick bowl and is a thick-walled container.

The recipe for dolma from fresh grape leaves is almost the same as the recipe for pickled ones. The only difference will be the process of soaking the canned leaves to get rid of excess acid. They do not need to be boiled further. One has only to pour boiling water over and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Despite the fact that in Armenia, in honor of dolma, annual festivals are held with a demonstration of various culinary experiments (for example, serving a popular dish with mushroom, cherry, pomegranate sauces or nut and pea fillings), it is no less famous in Azerbaijan, where dolma is also considered a part of national cuisine.

Cooking dolma from grape leaves in Azerbaijani style differs in that it is more traditional to use salted fish (stellate sturgeon, etc.) for the filling than meat. If minced meat is used, then lamb is used for its preparation. In summer, with an abundance of vegetables, mainly fruits and vegetables are stuffed - peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, quince, apples, as well as cabbage, sorrel and fig leaves. Azerbaijani dolma is seasoned with lemon or apple juices, nuts, various vegetable oils with many spices. About a dozen dishes in Azerbaijan contain the word "dolma" in their name.

Ready-made dolma should be served hot with sauce as a separate dish or cold as an appetizer with herbs. In any of the options, it will be a bright decoration of the table and its main extraordinary dish. Do not be afraid of the large number of cooking processes. Indeed, in terms of complexity, dolma is significantly inferior to the usual stuffed cabbage - the preparation of cabbage leaves is much more laborious work than simply soaking grape leaves in water.