The peoples of Asia Minor have long been famous for the variety of their cuisine. One of the brightest dishes is dolma, which in the classical technology is stuffed with rice and minced meat grape leaves.
In our understanding, these are cabbage rolls, in which grape leaves are used instead of cabbage. The dish is extremely tasty and, rest assured, it is worth the effort spent on its preparation.
The history of the dish
Dolma is extremely common in the cuisines of the peoples of Transcaucasia, Central and Western Asia, the Balkan Peninsula and even North Africa. All national cuisines have their own special cooking technology, and each of them is special in its own way.
The dish belongs to Armenian cuisine, which has long been famous for its best recipes. 
The Armenian people claim that they were the discoverers of dolma, and only then, the dish became popular in other national cuisines.
According to the Armenians, this food was extremely common in the court cuisine of the Ottoman Empire, and this is not strange because the recipe is distinguished by its taste and originality.
The benefits and harms of dolma
Grape leaves are widely used in medicine, they are rich in a huge amount of vitamins, trace elements, nutrients, so their benefits are undeniable. With the regular use of dishes based on grape leaves, you can get rid of many ailments, such as migraine, varicose veins.
They are also useful in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and the genitourinary system. Grape leaves strengthen the immune system and are a natural elixir of youth.
However, people who are overweight, have ulcers, or are diabetics are advised not to eat grape leaf dishes. Because, in this case, dolma will harm the body. In any case, you should consult your doctor.
Difficulty and cooking time
Dolma is a rather complicated dish, because it involves 4 stages of preparation: preparing the leaves, preparing the filling, wrapping the filling in leaves and stewing itself.
Given this, we can say that it takes at least two hours to cook dolma. But the hostess can be sure that the time and work spent is worth it. The taste of the dish is spicy and refined at the same time.
Food preparation
The most important step in the preparation of products is to find the right grape leaves. It is best to buy them salted, but since the leaves are folded, the hostess cannot be sure of their integrity. Before use, such envelopes must be poured over with boiling water to soften the leaves a little.
If fresh leaves are purchased, they must be soaked in salt water for at least 20 minutes and be sure to cut off the cuttings from each leaf so that they twist more easily.
How to cook dolma
A classic and simple recipe for cabbage rolls in grape leaves.
Ingredients:
- grape leaves - about 100 pieces;
- pork - 1 kg;
- optional bones for broth;
- round rice - ½ cup;
- onions - 4 heads;
- sunflower oil - 50 g;
- a pinch of salt;
- ground black pepper - 1 tsp;
- coriander - ½ teaspoon;
- cilantro - a bunch;
- parsley - a bunch;
- tarragon - less than a bunch.
This amount of products is designed for approximately 20 servings.
Cooking:
The bones need to be fried until a delicious golden brown appears. Pour in water and cook the fragrant broth for about 1 hour. 
In the meantime, prepare the filling. In classical technology, pork must be minced. Cut two onions into large cubes and fry in sunflower oil. Mix with meat, add rice, chopped herbs, seasonings and mix thoroughly. 
The most aesthetically responsible part of preparing a dish is twisting the envelopes. Apply the filling to the dull part of the grape leaves. Then, on the sides, the leaves are folded and twisted into a tube. 
Now you need to fold the dolma into the pan with the seams down. Pour the broth around the edge of the pan and simmer for about an hour. 
Approximately, for one serving of dolma - 150 grams, there are 60 kcal, which is 55% fat, 30% protein and 15% carbohydrates. Nevertheless, the dish is healthy and incredibly tasty.
Cooking options
Since several peoples are fighting for the right to be called the discoverers of this dish, there are also several options for preparing the dish: for Armenian technology, Azerbaijani and Moldovan.
Also, dolma can be prepared from pickled grape leaves and in a slow cooker. Each of the recipes is unique and has its own unique taste.
Dolma in pickled grape leaves
Ingredients:
- 50 pickled grape leaves;
- 5 kg minced lamb;
- 5 l of meat broth;
- 6 tablespoons coarse-grained rice;
- 5 bulbs;
- 50 grams of butter;
- 50 ml vegetable oil;
- fragrant herbs: dill, parsley, cumin;
- spices: salt, ground pepper.
Cooking:
If the meat is on the bones, then you need to separate the pulp from the bones, cook the broth on them, and grind the meat with a meat grinder or blender. Otherwise, any meat broth can be used.
Pour boiling water over the rice and cover with a lid so that it steams a little. After 10-15 minutes, strain and add to the meat.
We clean the onion from the lusok, wash it from the remnants of dirt and cut into cubes. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and fry the onion in a mixture of oils until a golden hue appears. Add to stuffing.
Fresh herbs must be washed under running water and finely chopped. Pour into the filling along with spices and mix thoroughly.
Place the vine leaves on a work surface with the smooth side down. We put the filling in the center of the sheet and wrap it with an envelope.
In a saucepan with a thick bottom, put the dolma seam down, pour in the broth, cover with a lid and simmer for about an hour. Then the filling will be tender, and the taste of the dish will amaze your guests.
Delicious Armenian dolma with beef
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of beef;
- ½ cup of rice;
- tomato;
- bell pepper;
- 50 grape leaves;
- 2 onions;
- bunch of parsley;
- spices: basil, ground pepper, paprika, salt.
Cooking:
Grape leaves are scalded with boiling water, washed, cut off the veins. Rice is also thoroughly washed.
We wash the vegetables and parsley, remove the skin from the tomato. We chop the parsley, and pass all the vegetables, rice and meat through a meat grinder, add spices and mix.
We spread the filling on the leaves, wrap the envelopes and simmer over low heat for at least 50 minutes.
Dolma with vegetables and spices will surprise you with its taste.
Azerbaijani dolma with lamb
Ingredients:
- lamb - 0.5 kg;
- grape leaves - 20-30 pieces;
- round rice - 5 tbsp. spoons;
- eggs - 2 pcs;
- onions - 2 pcs;
- greens: cilantro, mint;
- spices: salt, ground pepper.
Cooking:
We clean the meat from veins and grind. Grind greens and onions, add to meat, beat eggs, pour pre-washed rice and spices, mix.
We wrap the filling in leaves, forming envelopes, put the dolma in a saucepan and simmer for at least an hour.
This technology for making dolma is that the filling with the help of an egg is more tender and does not crumble. The dish will certainly surprise the relatives of the hostess.
Moldovan dolma
Ingredients:
- 30 leaves of grapes;
- ½ kg of meat (lamb, pork, beef);
- 3 onions;
- 50 ml sunflower oil;
- 1/3 cup rice;
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste;
- 1 carrot root;
- salt and pepper to taste
Cooking:
We grind the meat, cut the onions and carrots into cubes and stew all this in sunflower oil until a ruddy hue appears.
We wash the rice, add it to the meat and simmer for another 10 minutes in tomato paste. When the filling has cooled, add chopped herbs, spices and mix.
We spread the leaves with a smooth surface down, put a fragrant filling, wrap it with envelopes and simmer for about 40 minutes. Incredible Moldovan dolma will surprise you with its piquant taste.
Recipe in a slow cooker
Ingredients:
- 5 kg minced meat;
- 20 leaves of grapes;
- 1 onion;
- 4 tbsp. spoons of rice;
- 50 gr butter;
- 50 grams of sunflower oil;
- 1 bunch of greens;
- salt and spices to taste.
Cooking:
Rice is washed. We turn on the slow cooker, pour vegetable oil and, in the “frying” mode, fry the chopped onion until golden brown.
In a small bowl, mix the minced meat, fried onions, rice, spices, chopped herbs and butter.
We spread the filling on previously prepared leaves, form envelopes and carefully fold them into the slow cooker with the seam down. Pour hot water to cover the envelopes and turn on the “extinguishing” mode for 1 hour.
Cooking dolma in a slow cooker is easy and simple, and most importantly - delicious.
Video recipe
There are several main secrets:
- In order for the dish not to burn, put grape leaves on the bottom of the pot or multicooker.
- We fold the envelopes with the seams down so that they do not turn around during the extinguishing process.
- When all the envelopes are folded into the pan, it is best to fix them by pressing them with a plate. In this case, during the boiling process, the filling will not come out of the envelopes.
Dolma is considered one of the simple and delicious recipes in the world, only young leaves are well suited for the dish. Then the dolma is tender and melts in your mouth. This dish is suitable for every day and for the festive table.
So, where to start the story about dolma? Probably because dolma exists in the traditional cuisine of not only Azerbaijan, but also Georgia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Turkey and the Balkan peoples.
The main problem in making dolma is finding good grape leaves. Both pickled leaves and fresh are used. The main thing is that they are thin and soft. According to tradition, the leaves of the ag shany and kara shany varieties are used.
You will need:
- lamb - 1 kg;
- fat tail fat (if not at all, you can add butter);
- grape leaves - 300 g;
- round rice - 1 cup;
- onions - 5 small onions;
- mint - a small bunch;
- cilantro / parsley;
- salt pepper.
From kitchen utensils you will need a saucepan and two plates slightly smaller in diameter.
Dolma: photo recipe
1. We make minced meat. Before, I didn’t really understand why make minced meat on my own, if you can buy it. But this really changes the taste, so the game is worth the candle.
Which part of lamb is best for dolma? Of course, the back of the leg with a fat tail.
In general, we drive the lamb through a meat grinder, add finely chopped onions and herbs. The classic Azerbaijani dolma recipe uses cilantro, but if you don't like cilantro, add parsley. Salt a little. You need to be careful with salt, because the pickled leaves are already salty and all the salt will not be washed out of them.
After kneading the minced meat, pour half a glass of warm water into it and knead. Minced meat for dolma should be fat and plastic.
Lastly, add the washed round rice to the minced meat. If dolma is prepared from other meat (chicken or turkey), then rice can be slightly stewed.
2. Soak the grape leaves in cold water, rinse them under running water, they should not be left with a white salt coating.
3. Now, we put a plate on the bottom of the pan, I used tempered glass - it didn’t burst even on the fire. But just in case, take the one that is not a pity. This is done so that the dolma does not burn. It will also help you not to turn the bottom row of dolma into porridge.
4. Dolma wrapping is a special art that only comes with experience. I got some squares of different sizes, but this did not spoil the taste at all. You need to put the cape on the inside of the sheet. Before we wrap DO NOT boil the leaves as is sometimes recommended. The leaf will instantly give all its flavor to the water.
The classic dolma is wrapped like this:
5. Lay the dolma in layers on a plate, then pour a glass of water (200 ml) into the pan and press another plate on top.
6. Ideally, Azerbaijani dolma is cooked on fire, then it turns out to be much tastier. But you can also on the stove at medium or low temperature.
Lamb dolma is cooked in about 30 minutes.
Sauce for dolma
Dolma is most often served on a platter, and it is served separately with broth and sauce of sour cream and garlic or matsoni with garlic and herbs
Bon appetit!
Description
Azerbaijani dolma prepared in a special way. Dolma itself is a dish of oriental traditional cuisine and in every family it is prepared with a wide variety of features. Dolma in Azerbaijani style is made exclusively from fresh grape leaves, thanks to which amazingly rich aromas will soar in the kitchen while cooking. It is best to collect grape leaves in your own country house: this way you will be sure of their freshness, and this way you can pick up leaves of the right size and shape.
Cooking dolma in Azerbaijani style will not take you much time and effort at home. We have prepared a simple step-by-step recipe with a photo below and it will greatly facilitate your task. Each stage of the creation of Azerbaijani dolma is described in detail, and after a couple of hours you can enjoy the taste of a real oriental dish. You can add absolutely any spices and herbs to your taste to the filling of your dolma and create your own original dish. Let's start cooking dolma in Azerbaijani style.
Ingredients
-
(1 kg) -
(200 g) -
(2 pcs.) -
(1 bunch) -
(1 bunch) -
(1/2 bunch) -
Round grain polished rice
(1 handful) -
(taste) -
(yogurt, 1 tbsp.) -
(1/2 cup) -
(2-3 cloves) -
(taste)
Cooking steps
We will prepare all the necessary ingredients for the preparation of delicious dolma in grape leaves in Azerbaijani style.
Stuffing for dolma is prepared simply. We will need to thoroughly rinse and dry the lamb, and then chop it in a meat grinder. Also, along with the meat, you can also chop the fat tail. We will clean the onions and chop them very finely with a sharp knife, add it to the bowl with meat. We wash the rice in water several times and send it after the onion. Chop thoroughly washed greens, pour it to the lamb. Pour the contents of the bowl with the specified amount of warm water. Salt to taste and mix the ingredients well until smooth.
We will cook Azerbaijani dolma with fresh grape leaves. Most often, grape leaves for dolma are pre-poured with boiling water, but without this process, the dish will turn out to be very fragrant. We wash the leaves with cold water and begin to wrap the prepared minced meat in them.
First, wrap the sides of the grape leaf.
Then close the top of the sheet tightly as shown in the photo.
We spread the remaining grape leaves on the bottom of a dense volumetric pan, then lay out the prepared rolls.
Bring water to a boil in a kettle, pour half a glass of boiling water into a saucepan with dolma, cover the rolls on top with a plate that matches the diameter of the saucepan.
Cover the top of the pan with a lid and put on fire. For 30 minutes, dolma will be cooked over medium heat. During this time, you can prepare the simplest sauce for dolma: mix katyk with chopped or crushed garlic in a bowl.
The finished dish is served hot with cooked sauce. Dolma from lamb with grape leaves in Azerbaijani is ready.
Bon appetit!
Dolma....... How much there is in this word... Yes, many tastes and traditions of the Azerbaijani people have merged in this word. The variant name "dolma" is common to several Turkic languages (Turkic dolma, Azerbaijani dolma, Crimean Tatar dolma, Turkmen dolma) and, according to a number of sources, comes from the Turkic verb dolmak (Turkish dolmak) with the meaning "to fill".
Fasmer's etymological dictionary describes dolma as follows:
... dolma - minced lamb wrapped in grape leaves; meat or fish with millet in cabbage leaves, Astrakhan (Dal), also dulma, durma - the same. Borrowed from Turkish, Crimean Tatar dolma "minced meat", japrak dolmasy "minced meat wrapped in grape leaves", lahana dolmasy "stuffed cabbage".
In Azerbaijan, for the preparation of dolma, in addition to young grape leaves of special varieties of grapes (ag shany, kara shany) and cabbage, in some regions (Guba-Kusar) leaves of figs, quince and some other trees growing here are used. These leaves in the process of cooking are transformed into a delicate and fragrant crispy crust. As a filling of dolma, along with minced meat and vegetables, in which salted sturgeon or stellate sturgeon fillets (Salyan, Neftchala, Bank) have long been used in a special way. In the summer time in Azerbaijan, dolma is prepared from a combination of three vegetables - eggplants, tomatoes and sweet peppers. For the filling, minced lamb is used with abundant addition of fragrant food herbs and spices. This type of dolma is called eggplant dolma - “badymzhan dolmasy”. For all the listed types of dolma, except for fish, katyk or another fermented milk product with or without garlic is always served at the table. There are more than 10 types of dolma in Azerbaijani cuisine, the names of which include the word "dolma". And so we will prepare dolma from grape leaves (YARPAG DOLMASY)
Ingredients:
150 gr. fresh grape leaves
500 gr. lamb (you can mix lamb with beef)
200 gr. onion, minced
salt, pepper to taste
greens: cilantro (cashnish), dill (shuyud), mint (nana), tarragon (tarragon)
50 gr. raw rice.
Cooking method:
Rinse the greens properly, chop. Rinse rice. Scroll the meat through a meat grinder along with onions, add all the ingredients - rice, chopped herbs, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix everything properly.
Rinse grape leaves, pour boiling water over, hold in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, remove from water. Pour a little oil (vegetable can be used) into a saucepan with a thick bottom, spread large and ugly grape leaves on the bottom of the saucepan. Take one grape leaf at a time, put a little of the mass on the leaf and close the dolma with an envelope. First from the bottom, then from the sides, then from the top (or simply wrap the dolma). Lay the dolma in a chain in a saucepan. The main thing is to lay the minced meat on the inside of the leaf.
After the dolma is laid, cover it with a plate and fill it with boiled water, the water should cover the plate, put the pan on the fire (at first on a strong one, and when it starts to boil, transfer to medium). Close the lid and cook for about 1-1.5 hours until the leaves are cooked.
If fresh leaves are not available, pickled ones can be used. But then they must be thoroughly washed and kept fresh in boiling water a little longer.
The peculiarity of the Azerbaijani dolma is its size. The smaller the dolma, the better.
Dolma is served with katyg mixed with crushed garlic.
Bon appetit!
Spicy dolma is a unique delicacy that belongs to Azerbaijani cuisine. Usually the dish is prepared from minced meat, which is carefully wrapped in grape leaves. Oriental flavor can be given to it by nuts, herbs, all kinds of spices and cereals, which can also be added to dolma. Such an analogue of cabbage rolls familiar to us attracts with its rich and deep taste. After all, young grape leaves give the meat a special piquant note. A tender and hearty oriental dish can be made for a regular dinner or a festive table.
Cooking time -3 hours.
Number of servings - 15-20
Ingredients
- rice - 120-160 g;
- ground beef - 550-580 g;
- dill - 1-1 1/2 bunches;
- large turnip - 1 pc.;
- spices - to taste;
- grape leaves - as needed.
How to cook dolma in Azerbaijani style
The proposed recipe for Azerbaijani dolma is actually quite simple. Yes, it will take a lot of time to prepare the dish, since the work is painstaking. But the treat is worth it! A simple step-by-step recipe with a photo will help novice cooks avoid mistakes.
- So, first you need to prepare all the necessary ingredients.
The first step is to boil the rice. The water from the cereal is drained, and the product itself must be cooled.
Now we need to do the stuffing. The rolled meat should be transferred to a separate bowl. Spices, finely chopped dill, rice and onions, pre-chopped in a blender or grated on a fine grater, are added to it. All components are thoroughly mixed. It's better to do it by hand.
Then you need to prepare the grape leaves. From each of them you will need to cut the petioles.
Then each leaf is dipped in boiling water for a couple of minutes.
In the center of each grape blank should be put a little minced meat.
After that, the leaf is wrapped.
Ready "spins" should be laid out on the bottom of the pot or pan.
Now dolma is salted and peppered in Azerbaijani style. You can add bay leaves, a few pots of allspice and herbs.
The dish is filled with water and placed on the stove.
On a note! Water should completely cover the workpiece and be approximately 1 cm above it.
The delicacy should be brought to a boil and simmered on fire for about 45-50 minutes.
The finished dish is laid out on plates. It is served to the table with sauce or sour cream.
Video recipes for cooking Azerbaijani dolma
