Classic dolma recipe and cooking tips

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Simplistically, dolma is a miniature cabbage rolls, during the preparation of which the filling is wrapped not in cabbage leaves, but in small grape leaves. This wonderful dish is especially honored in Armenia and Georgia, where it is the pearl of national cuisines. But dolma is prepared almost everywhere where vineyards grow: in Egypt, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Dagestan, Greece, Iran and other countries.

History

When the first recipe for making dolma from grape leaves appeared, it is not known for certain. Many reputable researchers believe that the dish has Armenian roots. For several centuries, Armenia was under the yoke of the Ottomans and Persians, but not only managed to preserve its culture, but also partially enriched the culture of the invaders. Armenian dolma took root in Turkish and Iranian cuisine, and then spread throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus, and after the Russians came to the Caucasus, it became part of Russian southern cuisine.

Varieties

Today there are a great many recipes for making dolma, even largefestivals where dozens of variations of the dish are exhibited. With seeming simplicity, dolma with its variety can surprise the most fastidious gourmet.

• Firstly, each national cuisine has its own subtleties of cooking that affect the difference in tastes.
• Secondly, the filling gives a huge field for experiments. It is made not only from meat, onions and rice, but also from fish, mushrooms, cheese, crayfish and mussels, corn, beans, pumpkins, apples, dried fruits.
• Thirdly, in addition to grape, fig or quince leaves are used as a shell.

Classic dolma: ingredients

However, the most common is the classic recipe for making dolma at home. It may differ in details for each housewife, but the algorithm and the set of ingredients have not changed for many, many years. To make the right dolma, you need:

• Suitable tableware.
• Vine leaves.
• Filling and spices.

Dishes

Dishes play an important role in the dolma recipe. The best options are a thick-walled saute pan or a flat-bottomed cast iron pan. Thick walls provide uniform temperature languishing of products throughout the volume, and it is more convenient to lay dolma in dense rows on a flat bottom. If there is no such utensil, then it can be replaced with an ordinary thin-walled pan, a cast-iron roaster, and even a cauldron. True, the result may be somewhat worse.

A very tasty dish is obtained in modern multicookers, because they meet allrequirements: the bowls have a flat bottom; in the “Extinguishing” mode, all products are heated equally. Today you can find many different step-by-step recipes for making dolma with a photo in a slow cooker.

Vine leaves: collection and storage

In warm regions, grape leaves are harvested in spring, usually in May, when the vine begins to bloom, tender young leaves appear. Many recipes for making dolma specifically indicate that it is preferable to use the greens of white grape varieties for it, their leaves give dolma a spicy sweet and sour taste, in addition, they are more tender than red grape leaves.

It is better to collect leaves of medium size, away from roads and industrial plants. In Russia, the timing of the collection depends on the region: somewhere the vine begins to bloom in May, somewhere in June, and somewhere the grapes do not grow at all. In such cases, it remains to look for store-bought pickled or pickled grape leaves.

The best dolma, of course, is obtained from fresh leaves, but in this form they are not available all year round, so diligent housewives prepare them for future use in the following ways:

• Dry, twisted into rolls, which are stored in a dark place in glass jars. Such blanks retain the original taste of the leaves, but dry out over time.
• Pickling and s alting. The product acquires a sour-s alty flavor, but it can be stored in jars for a long time, the leaves remain elastic and quite strong.
• Freeze. Freezer storage is also a long-term method, but its obvious disadvantagein that under the influence of low temperature the leaves become brittle.

Filling

The classic filling includes four components:

• Meat. Lamb or beef.
• Vegetables and herbs. The classic recipe for making dolma from grape leaves uses only onions and fresh herbs to taste: cilantro, dill, green onions.
• Fig. Sticky rice with round grains is optimal. It boils quickly, holding the rest of the stuffing ingredients together with its stickiness.
• Spices: cumin, ground coriander, pepper, tarragon, basil, bay leaf, oregano, s alt.

Guidelines

Cooking dolma starts with preparing the leaves. They are washed, the petioles are removed and, to increase elasticity, they are dipped in boiling water for a few seconds if the leaves are fresh, and for a couple of minutes if they are hard.

Then they are taken for the stuffing. Bones, veins and films are removed from the meat. In the traditional recipe for making dolma, the meat is never turned in a meat grinder, but finely chopped with a knife to make pieces a little larger than a grain of rice. After that, half-cooked rice, lightly sautéed small onion cubes, chopped herbs, s alt and spices are mixed into the meat. The filling is ready. Some housewives put rice and onions without heat treatment, this slightly increases the total cooking time.

The next step is folding the dolma. Children can be involved in this simple and exciting process. The leaves are elastic, it is much more pleasant to work with them than with dough or tough cabbage. Twist greenrolls and squares are easy even for a beginner.

Rolled blanks are tightly laid on the bottom of the dish: row by row, layer by layer. Then pour water or broth so that the liquid slightly covers the last row. If necessary, add s alt. A heavy plate is placed on top, which does not allow dolma to float and unfold when boiling.

Dolma is cooked for an hour and a half, the time depends on the volume of dishes. The general readiness is determined by the readiness of rice. After that, turn off the fire and leave the dish to infuse for about fifteen minutes, during which almost all the liquid is absorbed into the dolma.

Subtleties

A few tips from experienced chefs will make cooking much easier:

• S alted and pickled leaves must first be tasted, they may need to be soaked in cold water. And even after that, they can remain s alty, so the water with which dolma is poured should be less s alted, otherwise the dish will deteriorate.
• It is recommended to stir the filling not with a spoon, but with your hands, so the components will better exchange flavors and aromas with each other.
• Don't put a lot of rice in the filling, it worsens the taste of the dish, makes it more insipid.
• In order to make the taste of dolma richer, several types of meat are mixed in the filling, for example, lamb with beef or pork.
• To make the filling juicier, a little water is added to it, but it is even better to add finely chopped fat tail fat at a ratio of 10 grams of fat to 40grams of meat, it will make dolma incredibly tasty.
• Many housewives are careless about the quality of the water used in cooking. In vain. Hard water with a chloride taste can hopelessly spoil the taste of the dish. Better cook with well, bottled or well-filtered water.
• The fragrant broth is cooked from the remaining films, bones and veins from the meat, with which dolma is poured.
• So that the dish does not burn, it is laid out with grape leaves.

• The smaller the dolma, the tastier it is.
• There are quite a few recipes for cooking dolma (with photos and even videos), according to which, cooks add tomato paste or sour cream to the dishes with boiling dolma. This is a slight departure from the classic recipe, but it makes the sauce richer.
• Serve dolma with herbs and sour cream. Armenians and Georgians often make a special sauce for the dish by mixing garlic with the national fermented milk product - matsoni. Matsoni can replace yogurt, airan, kefir, liquid sour cream, which are more affordable in Russia.

Step-by-step recipe for making dolma

Ingredients:

• Lamb pulp, if it is not available, then you can replace it with pork or beef, - 500 grams.
• Round rice - three to four tablespoons.
• Onions - two or three medium heads.
• Fresh greens of dill, cilantro, dill - in a bunch.
• Vine leaves - enough for stuffing.
• Spices, s alt - to taste.
• Oil foronion sautéing - 1 spoon.

Cooking:

1. Dip the leaves in boiling water and set aside.
2. Chop the meat very finely with a knife. Boil the rice until al dente and fry the chopped onion. To make the dish leaner, onions and rice can be put raw in the filling. Chop the greens and mix all the filling ingredients with your hands, adding s alt, water and spices.
3. Roll the dolma into neat little squares or rolls.
4. Place tightly in a saucepan or saucepan.
5. Pour in chilled broth or water so that the liquid is just above the last row of dolma.
6. Press down with a load, such as a plate.
7. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about an hour.
8. After that, be sure to let the liquid soak into the dolma.