Dolma

As we are going to Jermuk and we intend to carry out such a project “cooking”  I’v decided to study Armenian national dish Dolma

• Dolma is a family of stuffed dishes common in the Mediterranean cuisine and surrounding regions. Common vegetables to stuff include tomato, pepper, onion, zucchini, eggplant, garlic. Cabbage rolls and dishes of stuffed grape leaves are also very popular, and these are sometimes also called sarma. Meat dolmas are generally served warm, often with tahini or egg-lemon sauce. Dolmas prepared with olive oil and stuffed with rice are generally served cold with a garlic-yogurt sauce. Stuffed vegetables are also common in Greek cuisine, called gemista, as well as in Italian cuisine, where they are named ripieni (meaning stuffed).

The exact origins are unknown, but the Persian variety has been traced to at least the 17th century and in the 19th century Naser al-Din Shah Qajar‘s chef records several varieties including stuffed grape leaves, cabbage leaves, cucumbers, eggplants, apples, and quinces. The recorded stuffings included ground meat, sauteed mint, rice and saffron.

• Sarma is a dish of vine, cabbage, monk’s rhubarb or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on a combination of grains, like bulgur or rice, and minced meat. ther’s another type of sarma which is stuffed vine leaves without meat , which means The dolmas are slowly cooked together with morello cherries , and plums may be used also. Tomato paste, water, sunflower oil, chopped onion, aleppo pepper and spices are added to complete the mixture. Bone-in lamb chops are tightly layered on the bottom of the pot and the wrapped sarma are added on top of the lamb. Butter is added on top and the sarma are cooked together with the lamb chops in water. The finished dish is served upside down. Vine leaves may also be used to wrap stuffed celery root. Before wrapping, the celery root is stuffed with rice that has been seasoned with cinnamon, salt, pepper, allspice, pine nuts and sugar.  

Ingredients

 

1 (16 ounces) jar grape leaves

2 tablespoon

s olive oil (plus more for drizzling)

1 medium

yellow onion (finely diced)

4 cloves garlic (finely minced)1 tablespoon parsley

1 table

1 1/2 cups white rice (long-grain, such as basmati, and uncooked)spoon basil

Optional: 1/2 cup pine nuts (raw)

8 cups vegetable broth (divided)

2/3 cups lemon juice (divided, plus more for drizzling)

• cabbage roll is similar to Sarma, cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. Generally it’s eaten warm, often accompanied with a sauce. Recipes vary depending on region; Romanians and northern Poles prefer a savory sauce, while Galicia and Ukraine favor sweet-and-sour, for example.

Ingredients

1 head green cabbage

1 lb ground pork (or ground turkey)

1/2 lb ground beef

2 small onions , diced

3 cloves garlic , minced

1/2 teaspoon dill weed

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup uncooked rice

1 egg

1 1/2 cups + 1/3 cup tomato sauce or pasta sauce , divided

1 can tomato soup