If you know me than you know that I love food and that I enjoy cooking. Growing up in an international household and coming from a part Turkish background, I grew up with a dish that some Americans may call “Wrapped Wine Leaves” (Yes, I have heard unbelievable variations, funny ones too). My Great Grandmother and my mom would take the time to prepare this wonderful dish and the yogurt dressing that went along with it and as a kid I always began munching on the leaves because they had that sourish vinegar taste. Now there are numerous variations to make Dolma (Sarma) and depending on what country/region you may visit or be from, than naturally the taste will fit the local cuisine.
Dolma, or stuffed wine leaves is a common dish in the middle east including areas such the the Balkans, Russia, Romania and Turkey – to name a few places. Dolma is Turkish and means “to be stuffed”. This applies to a load of vegetables.
Dishes that involve wrapping leaves such as wine leaves or cabbage leaves around a filling are called Sarma. Sarma is derived from the Turkish word “sarmak” which means “to wrap”.
So now that you know the absolute basics behind Dolma’s origin here my wonderful recipe in 15 easy to do steps. Based on enough for 3-4 servings of 7ish pieces. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
- A Jar of Wine Leaves
- 2 Medium Onions
- 1 Large Glass of Rice
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 Lemon
- 500g Minced Meat, Beef
- 2 Tomatoes
- Greek Yogurt
- Garlic
- Dice the onions into smaller bits and throw into a bowl and saute with olive oil.
- Rinse and cut the tomatoes into quarters (ending up with 4 pieces). Put them into the bowl.
- Grab your minced meat and chunk it into the bowl. Easy so far?
- Now take a mixer and begin mixing all the ingredients in the bowl so as to get a creamy looking substance.
- Next, put in a dash of olive oil (Table spoon), a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Pour in the cup of rice (uncooked) and mix everything by hand to ensure the rice and spices get into the whole mix.
- Next grab your wine leaves, rinse them, and lay them out .
- Take a small handful, enough to cover a third of the leaf and spread it on folding the leaves right and left than rolling them upwards.
- Place them side by side into a bowl (make sure they are close to each other).
- Once complete, pour in roughly 500ml of water (enough to almost cover the top layer of dolma’s and put a plate on top to keep them from moving.
- Bring the pot to a boil and than reduce the heat to medium/low to simmer until the water is absorbed (roughly 45-60min)
- Take some olive oil put it into a bowl and some salt and pepper and add the Greek Yogurt to the bowl.
- Next, cut your lemon in half and squeeze half the lemon into the yogurt and stir thoroughly.
- If you like Garlic, add a bit of diced up Garlic.
- Put your finished Dolma’s on a plate and pour some of your yogurt over it and there you go.