Stuffed Grape Leaves, my take on the Middle Eastern Dolma Recipe, a fantastic dish that brings the whole family around the table. It's a simple vegetarian dish that uses a filling of rice and vegetables cooked in a broth of lemon, olive oil and tomato paste. It might be suitable for a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, but even meat lovers will love it!
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What is dolma?
DOLMA can refer to stuffed vegetables like peppers, onions, aubergines (eggplant), courgettes, tomatoes, but also to rolled grape leaves or pickled cabbage stuffed with rice and vegetables and/or meat.
The dish is very popular in many Middle Eastern and some European cuisines, with the Greek dolmades being as famous.
In Romania, we even have meat and rice rolls treasured as our national dish, thoroughly enjoyed during festive times like Christmas, New Year, Easter and so on.
My Romanian Sarmale, or stuffed cabbage rolls with rice and meat is an example of how we prepare such dish. So tasty! Stuffed peppers are also common, the others not as much, at least not in my family.
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Step-by-step photos and instructions
The stuffed grape leaves seem to be the most common dolma variation, and although mine are vegetarian, a meat-based filling can be used too.
- chop the carrots, tomatoes, parsley and spring onions
- rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear, then add the rice to the vegetables
- season well with salt and pepper
- add a tablespoon of the rice filling to the middle of a grape leaf, bring the corners together, then roll it tightly
- repeat with the remaining leaves, arranging each roll onto a large sauce pan
- to make the broth, mix together the water, lemon juice, olive oil and tomato paste
- pour it over the rolls, place a plate over the rolls to keep them from unrolling while cooking
- cook for 25-30 minutes on a low to medium heat until the rice and vegetables are tender
Expert tips
There are many variations of this dish, with the Turkish, Iraqi, Kurdish, Greek being some of the most popular ones to name a very few, but the list is rather large.
Fresh leaves can be used, however, it's way easier to grape leaves from a jar, as they have been preserved in a brine to keep their freshness. Do rinse the leaves before using, just to get rid of the extra saltiness.
You can use some more seasoning if you with, with mint or cumin being some good additions too, depending on your taste buds.
What to serve with dolma
In Romania we serve our Sarmale with sour cream, polenta and chillies. In other countries, tzatziki - a yogurt and cucumber dip is very popular too.
Although I prefer them hot as a main meal, dolmas can also be served cold as a healthy appetizer drizzled with a bit more olive oil. Do give them a go, they are so delicious!
If you’ve tried this STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES ( DOLMA) or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolma)
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 large carrot
- 2 green onions
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 tomatoes
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- juice from 2 lemons
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups water
- 26 grape leaves (I used a 800 g jar of grape leaves in brine)
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Instructions
- Wash the rice under cold water until the water runs clean.
- Finely chopped the green onions, carrot, tomatoes and parsley and mix with the rice.
- Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
- Rinse the grape leaves with cold water, then arrange one leaf at a time on a chopping board.
- Add a tablespoon of the mixture in the middle of the leaf, bring the corners together, and roll it tightly.
- Repeat with the remaining mixture and leaves.
- Arrange the rolls onto a large sauce pan.
- Mix 4 cups of boiling water with the lemon juice, olive oil and tomato purée and pour over the rolls.
- Place a plate on top of the rolls to prevent them from unrolling while boiling.
- Boil on a low to medium heat until the rice is cooked and the vegetables are soft, for at least 30-35 minutes.
- Add more liquid if needed.
Video
Notes
- To see the measurements in cups and ounces, please click on the US CUSTOMARY link.
- The amount of ingredients listed can be adjusted depending on the number of servings you need, just click on the number next to SERVINGS.
- Fresh leaves can be used, however, it's way easier to grape leaves from a jar, as they have been preserved in a brine to keep their freshness. Do rinse the leaves before using, just to get rid of the extra saltiness. You can use some more seasoning if you with, with mint or cumin being some good additions too, depending on your taste buds.
Ariel says
Hello, just for your own personal knowledge, we typically refer to stuffed vegetables such as this, as Mahshi. It looks delicious.
Daniela Anderson says
Thank you, Ariel! Is the dish specific to a certain area?
Chinese Recipes says
nice sharing ... i want gto try it
Daniela Anderson says
I hope you'll like it!
Walt says
Looks wonderful!
Not sure about the bell peppers.
Looks like 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 red.
Daniela Anderson says
Thank you, Walt, l am glad you like it. Not all the vegetables are on photos, l just picked up a few, the rest were in the pan ?