How to Make Dolma (Grape Leaves Roll)

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

Dolma is a Middle Eastern dish. In Western countries, it's equivalent to stuffed cabbage roll. The origin of the word is from Turkey, which means the stuffed thing. It's known to many cultures in different names and styles. Traditionally it is made from grape leaves. In Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cyprus, Greece, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon in addition to grape leaves it is also made from different vegetables like stuffed tomatoes, stuffed eggplants, stuffed cabbage, stuffed zucchini, and stuffed onions. In this instructions set, we will go over the basic steps to make Dolmas from grape leaves. Although it takes time and effort to make, it is very delicious.

Ingredients

3 cups of long-grain rice
¾ tablespoon of allspice (ground)
1 lb of finely minced lamb
½ teaspoon of ground pepper
1 cup of tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 lb of grape leaves (canned or raw)
4 tbs of butter
Salt as desired
1 large diced onion
Water
2 lemons

Steps

1
Prepare the leaves. If you are using raw grape leaves, you will have to prepare them. To prepare raw grape leaves, bring half a gallon of water to a boil and add salt to it. Put the grape leaves in the boiling water for about 15 min. take them off carefully, put them in a cold-water bath, and let them soak. Otherwise, go directly to mix preparation.
2
Prepare the filling. In a mixing bowl, mix together the rice, tomato paste, allspice, black pepper, garlic, meat, onion, and 1/4 cup of water. Keep mixing until all the ingredients are well distributed (see picture).

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3
Fill the grape leaf. Take about a teaspoon of the mix and put it in the middle of the grape leaf. Then, spread the mix evenly as a half a cylinder. Remember to leave about ¹⁄₄ inch (0.6 cm) space from each end of the leaf. This will make folding the leaf easier. Now, fold from the stem end of the leaf. Then, tuck in the empty sides toward the center. After that, keep folding until you have a complete roll of a grape leaf(see picture). Repeat the folding procedure on the rest of the mix. Finally, start laying the rolled grape leaves in a pot. make sure you lay them close to each other.
4
Cook. Put the pot on a stove and pour about 2 cups of water in the pot. Then, spread the butter evenly on the top of grape leaves. Cover the pot with its lid and cook on high for about two hours. Usually, the cooking time depends on the stove and the material of the pot. However, cooking can be about one hour and fifteen minutes after the mix has come to a boil. After the cooking is done, turn off the stove and let stand uncovered for about 10 minutes.
5
Serve. On a serving plate, take out one grape leaf at a time and arrange them as desired. Preferably, Dolmas are served hot.
6
Finished.

Community Q&A

Question

Where do you add the lemon?

Community Answer

Add the lemon juice on top of the dolma so it adds a savory flavor.
Question

How do I cook and prepare the rice prior to stuffing?

Community Answer

You don't. You mix uncooked rice with the uncooked meat. It will all cook together inside the grape leaf inside the pot.
Question

Is this sarma?

Community Answer

Sarma can also use cabbage or chard (silverbeet) as a wrap. They are fairly much the same thing aside from that, though.