How to cook dolma from grape leaves at home?

Not all housewives know how to cook dolma at home. It seems like a rather complicated dish, although in reality you will need a little: rice, a little minced meat, leaves, special spices and a special sauce. In this article you will find a selection of the best recipes and learn the tricks of making dolma from different peoples of the world.

Classic dolma made from grape leaves

In the Caucasus, no solemn feast is possible without dolma from grape or fresh leaves. Are they waiting for a dear guest, celebrating a wedding, celebrating a birthday - the hostess turns a whole pan of fragrant "tubes" with meat filling. Dolma is tasty in a hot and even cold form, and it seems to be completely impossible for her to get enough! Especially if you dunk in a spicy white sauce, seizing with warm pita bread.

The right to invent dolma is disputed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and even Uzbekistan. But varieties of dolma (or, as it is otherwise called, tolma) are found in Turkey and the Balkan countries. Culinary historians suggest that the dish "inherited" from the Ottoman Empire, where it was constantly prepared at receptions for entire palaces. It is clear that since the time of Sultan Suleiman, the recipe has gone through a lot of changes. But the essence has not changed.

To prepare a classic dolma we need:

• a kilogram of minced meat (any, but not chicken!);
• grape leaves (the quantity is difficult to guess, it all depends on the number of eaters, at least 50 pcs);
• large onion;
• egg;
• a handful of white rice;
• a large bunch of greens - parsley, dill, and (this is necessary!) cilantro;
• salt and pepper to taste.

First of all, boil the rice until half cooked and mix it with minced meat.We cut in small cubes the onion, herbs, add one raw chicken egg, salt and pepper to taste. Knead the stuffing so that it turns out to be dense, monotonous, well away from the hands.

In many recipes, leaves are recommended to be prepared by removing large veins, but if the leaves are young and small, this step is easy to skip.

We pour fresh grape leaves with boiling water, and then let them cool. It remains to masterfully twist the dumplings. To do this, put the meat filling on the sheet (on the rough side) and pack it, bending the edges to the center.

Ready-made slices resemble tubes or cigars - who likes what kind of association. They are laid at the bottom of a large pan, pressing tightly to each other. It remains to pour meat broth or water (to the height of one thumb), squeeze everything with a plate of a slightly smaller diameter, let the water boil and cook over low heat until the leaves and mince are ready. The total cooking time from the moment of boiling is 40-60 minutes.

We serve the prepared dolma on a large dish, and next we put a white sauce of yogurt, garlic and herbs. We spread large bundles of greens, warm pita bread on the table, and watch how our dolma is eaten in a matter of minutes!

In a slow cooker

A slow cooker makes life easier for any housewife, significantly reducing cooking time. Dolma is no exception. Prepare dolma according to any recipe, put it in thick layers on the bottom of the multi-bowl, fill it with water, start the “cooking” mode.

Why press dolma? So our slices do not fall apart during cooking, and yet it will not be necessary to remove the foam from the broth.

If you do not want the leaves to “untie” in the process, and the dolma has lost its shape, just do it - cook it with the lid open, laying on top a light pressure plate with a diameter slightly smaller than the bowl. It usually takes 30 minutes to cook in a slow cooker, and, what is nice, you can safely do business - a smart appliance will itself notify you of the end of the cooking process.

Cooking according to the Azerbaijani recipe

Remember the legendary dialogue from the movie “Mimino” between an Armenian and an Azerbaijani. “Do you like dolma? No. This is because you don’t know how to cook it. ” In these two countries, the right to call dolma their national dish has been disputed for hundreds of years. It is curious that the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan has already applied to UNESCO with a request to recognize dolma as the country's intangible heritage. In the meantime, Unesco makes decisions, we will learn the tricks of preparing branded Azerbaijani dolma.

The ideal size of the leaves is from the palm of a young woman, and the “fingers” of the dolma should be small, neat. Big dolma is a sign of a lazy craftswoman.

Cooking in this way:

1. For a company recipe you will need a kilogram of veal, rice and delicate grape castings. They should be thin, young, and even better, torn from a tree in their own juice. In winter, dolma from pickled grape leaves will go with a bang, but still its taste will be completely different. In Azerbaijan, fresh pickled leaves are preferred.
2. Scroll the veal with fat tail fat through a meat grinder, add onions, herbs, fill with warm boiled water (about a glass). The consistency should be slightly liquid, otherwise, Azerbaijanis are sure that the dolma comes out dry.
3. We fill the minced meat with half a glass of round rice.
4. We twist the dolma, as in the classic recipe, forming neat “fingers”.
5. We put them in a pan in dense layers.
6. Fill with water.
7. Press the plate.
8. Let the pan boil.
9. Bring to readiness for about an hour.
10. Turn off, let cool.
11. We spread it on a flat dish.

We serve dolma with natural yogurt sauce with garlic (you can add a bunch of any chopped herbs), we invite guests and enjoy!

Dolma in Armenian - step by step

Classical dolma with grape leaves in Armenia is always cooked with three types of meat - beef, pork and lamb, which are mixed in equal amounts.

Cilantro, basil, parsley and dill must be placed in the Armenian dolma. other spices - at the discretion of the hostess.

A step-by-step recipe looks like this:

1. 500 g of beef, pork and beef scroll through a meat grinder.
2. Add finely chopped onions.
3. We cut a bunch of greens.
4. We add.
5. Add black pepper.
6. Rinse and pour into minced meat. The amount of rice should be 2-3 times less than meat. You must understand that in the cooking process, it will fall apart.
7. Stuffing the minced meat thoroughly.
8. We pour fresh grape leaves with boiling water. In winter, pickled, salted leaves thoroughly washed with salt are used in Armenia. In summer they also prefer fresh.
9. Turn over the leaves with a rusty side up.
10. For each in the middle we spread a little minced meat (about one and a half teaspoons).
11. From the leaves we form dolmushki resembling thin cigars. They should not be tightly twisted, because rice should boil.
12. Lay out the bottom of a large pan with large grape leaves.
13. We distribute the slices from above, firmly pressing them to each other.
14. Pour dolma with water a couple of centimeters above the tubes - it should cover our grape "cigars" about the thumb.
15. We put on top a small cargo lid.

Let the water boil, and then reduce the fire to a minimum and simmer until the grape leaf is soft for 40-50 minutes. While dolma is cooked, prepare a delicious sauce of yogurt, garlic and herbs. A modern sauce recipe allows you to use ready-made mayonnaise (quality!) Mixed with fresh sour cream as the basis. But yogurt or yogurt, of course, remains a priority.

It is interesting that in Armenia any stuffed vegetables are called dolma. Zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, quince, small cabbage smoothes are stuffed with minced meat, in a word, all vegetables that can be stuffed with meat and stewed. The “trick” of the dish is that only the freshest and most fragrant fruits are used. On big holidays, they prepare royal dolma: in one large pan several types of stuffed vegetables are stewed at the same time. They give each other flavors and are delicious!

With lamb and mint

In the Caucasus there are families who cook dolma exclusively from lamb, and as a seasoning, they always add mint leaves without stems. Mint and lamb mix amazingly! Such dolma turns out spicy, tender and very fragrant. The main thing is not to overdo it with mint, because, as an active spice, it can kill the taste of lamb.

Dolma will become even tastier the next day, when grape leaves and meat juices share aromas with each other.

For cooking, you can take any recipe you like above. We twist the lamb through a meat grinder, add onions, herbs, a bunch of mint leaves, season with salt, pepper and pour a little rice. Knead the minced meat and sculpt the slices. Cook, according to the instructions of the classic recipe, pressing with light oppression.

Serve with white sauce, warm tortillas and aromatic tea with herbs.

With yogurt sauce

Semi-finished dolma is a very convenient preparation for any celebrations. It is quite possible to make it a few days before the proposed holiday, freeze it in the refrigerator and cook it without defrosting. Taste is not lost. And the favorite fermented milk product of all mountain peoples - matzoni will help to emphasize the dish.

Yogurt is a variety of yogurt, but slightly less sour. It is thick in itself and you just need to add salt, add garlic and herbs to make it taste full. Such a white sauce is also low-calorie, so eat it without fear of extra pounds.

Dolma seems like a troublesome dish. But only at first glance. In the Caucasus, it is played by whole families, like dumplings in Russia, and the cooking process turns into an interesting event. Dolma is prepared with joy, young wine is drunk, and then everyone eats it together, enjoying the taste of dolma and communication.Try to cook dolma - discover a new hobby and a great convivial dish.