Fresh dolma grape leaves – wonderful dish Caucasian cuisine. Compared to our cabbage rolls, dolma turns out to be more tender (grape leaves are more delicate than cabbage leaves) and with a slight appetizing sourness (the taste of grape leaves). Dolma served with sauce on matsona - the Caucasian analogue greek yogurt, mixed with garlic, spices and fresh herbs.

Correct, real dolma is made from lamb, but it can also be prepared with beef or combined minced meat, replacing lamb with pork or beef. The dish will turn out to be more familiar, closer to Slavic cabbage rolls. Instead of hot sauce It is permissible to serve sour cream and herbs with dolma, it will still be very tasty. Spicy cabbage rolls in tender leaves white grapes They will delight even the most picky guests and will become the highlight of your feast. Get the dolma recipe from cookbook and be sure to cook!

Ingredients

• grape leaves 25-30 pcs.
• lamb 100 g
• pork 100 g
• beef 100 g
• long grain rice 2 tbsp. l.
• onion 30 g
• greens (dill, parsley) 3 tsp.
• ground black pepper to taste
• salt to taste

How to prepare dolma from fresh grape leaves

On a note:

Spicy sauce for dolma from fresh grape leaves (and canned ones) can be prepared from 100 g natural yogurt, 1 clove of garlic, green cilantro - 1 tsp, ground black pepper - to taste, salt to taste. The ingredients are crushed with an immersion blender. If desired, yoghurt can be replaced with sour cream, cilantro-dill, and parsley.

• Dolma recipe
• Grape leaf salads

Since ancient times, people have been preparing the most different dishes from grape leaves, berries and plant shoots. Besides, grape seeds are widely used in cosmetology, and grape combs are used for the production of alcohol. Grapes are often used in different cuisines world: in the Balkans, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and even North Africa. In Georgia they prepare dolma, in Armenia one of the popular treats is tolma, in Greece - dolmadakya.

Not only grape berries, but also leaves are used to prepare dishes.

Grape leaves can be used to make snacks and are also added to salads. To prepare these dishes, fresh young grape leaves are used, collected during the flowering of the vine. They are used to wrap fillings of meat and rice, vegetables and fish, etc. The sour taste of grape leaves goes well with lamb or other fatty types meat, rice, chickpeas, lentils and beans. If fresh grape leaves are not available, it is quite possible to use canned product for cooking, with the leaves in front cooking need to be soaked and rinsed to remove excess salt.

Dolma recipe

Dolma is one of the most popular dishes from grape leaves.

One of the most famous dishes, the ingredient of which is grape leaves, dolma. The dish is similar to cabbage rolls and is prepared according to the same principle: a filling of minced meat and rice is wrapped in a grape leaf. Translated from Turkic languages, the name of the treat literally means “filled, stuffed.” It is not known for certain in which region the recipes first appeared. According to some sources, the dish originated in Greece, according to others - in Turkey. However, nowadays it is part of many national culinary traditions.

Ingredients:

• 50 g grape leaves (fresh or canned);
• 0.5 kg of minced lamb and beef;
• 2 large onions;
• 50 g rice;
• salt;
• black ground pepper;
• a bunch of greens (cilantro, dill, mint, tarragon);
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
• 1 liter of meat broth.

For the outer shell of dolma, young grape leaves with thin veins are used; they are the most elastic and do not tear when wrapping the filling. Fresh leaves Place the grapes in boiling water for 2 minutes and remove the stems. If you use canned grape leaves to prepare dolma, first soak them in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Select smooth leaves for stuffing. Pour vegetable oil into a thick-walled dish (cauldron or thick-bottomed pan), and place the discarded leaves on the bottom.

The main filling for dolma is minced meat.

Prepare the minced meat. Chop the beef and lamb finely and mix the meat. Chop dill, cilantro, tarragon and mint. Greens can be taken in any quantity depending on preference. Cut the onion small pieces. Rinse the rice in cold water. Place the prepared greens, onions and rice in chopped meat and mix thoroughly. Season the mixture with salt and ground black pepper.

Place the grape leaf on the table, shiny side up. Place some minced meat on it and wrap it in an envelope. Place the prepared dolma in a saucepan and fill everything with broth. Cover with a lid and place on low heat for 45-60 minutes.

Dishes made from grape leaves are served with sauce, traditionally made from fermented milk products. In Azerbaijan, the treat is complemented with a sauce of kefir and garlic; in Armenia, they prepare a sauce of matsoni with salt and garlic.

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Dolma in Greek (dolmadakya)

To prepare this dish you will need the following ingredients:

• 50 g grape leaves;
• 1 large onion;
• 100 g rice;
• salt;
• ground black pepper;
• 1 lemon;
• 3 tablespoons olive oil;
• a bunch of greens (parsley, mint and dill).

To prepare dolma, you can use both canned and fresh leaves.

Prepare grape leaves; for Greek dolma you can use both fresh and canned leaves. Boil the rice. Chop the onion and simmer it in a frying pan with a small amount vegetable oil. Add onion to rice. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and pour it into the filling. Chop the greens and also add to the rice. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and add salt.

Place the filling on a straightened grape leaf and wrap it in an envelope. The components of the dish are made small, about the thickness of a thumb. Pour a little olive oil into the bottom of the pan, place the remaining leaves, and place the prepared envelopes tightly on them. Fill with enough water to just cover the dish and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place a plate and pressure on top (for example, a jar filled with water or a heavy stone). Place the dolmadakya on the stove and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for an hour. You can add the juice of two lemons to the broth 30 minutes after boiling.

Avgolemono is served with dolma in Greek - traditional sauce, which is prepared from freshly squeezed juice of 3 lemons, 2 eggs, flour and water. It is served both warm and cold. Dilute the flour with a small amount of water so that there are no lumps. Beat eggs with lemon juice and add flour and water. Mix everything and put on fire, bring to a boil and add water. Let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes and remove from heat. Strain to remove any lumps.

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In Turkey, they cook from grape leaves, rice, herbs and vegetables traditional snack– sarmu. To prepare it, take:

Turkish sarma is another type of dish made from grape leaves.

• 50 g grape leaves;
• 0.3 kg lean ground beef;
• 1 large onion;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 1 cup rice;
• 1 bell pepper;
• 1 bunch of parsley;
• 1 small bunch of green onions;
• 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
• ½ lemon;
• ground ginger;
• black pepper;
• 1 tsp. dry ground mint;
• olive oil.

Prepare the grape leaves, wash them and blanch them in boiling water. Chop the greens and onions. Pass the garlic through a press. Mix the minced meat with rice, herbs and onions. Add all the spices and salt to taste, put tomato paste and mix all ingredients thoroughly. Pour freshly squeezed into the same mixture lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Place the grape leaves on the table, shiny side down. Place 1 teaspoon of filling on its edge, smooth it over the surface of the leaf and wrap it in a tube. Moreover, the thinner the sarma, the tastier dish. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into the bottom of the pan in which the sarma will be cooked, cover the bottom with grape leaves (you can use torn ones for this).

Place the sarma tubes in a saucepan and fill everything with water so that it lightly covers the dish. Press the sarma down with a plate, cover with a lid and place on low heat. Cook the dish until the water has completely evaporated.

Sarma is served with yogurt and a slice of lemon.

Dolma from fresh grape leaves, the recipe for which I offer you, may seem difficult to prepare for some. It's actually simple. Dolma are miniature cabbage rolls made from minced meat, rice and vegetables, wrapped in grape leaves. They are prepared almost the same way as. In Moldova, not a single holiday, not a single feast is complete without this national dish. A plate of cabbage rolls becomes empty very quickly, even despite the abundance of hot and cold appetizers and salads, so they are always prepared with a substantial supply, in a large cauldron. Every housewife knows how to cook dolma, and each housewife has her own recipe for the filling, but usually there are only three ingredients: rice, minced meat and vegetables. They also add a lot of herbs, black pepper, sometimes tomato sauce, and fill the cabbage rolls with salted water. During cooking, grape leaves give their unique sour taste to the gravy, so nothing is added to the water except salt. To prevent the cabbage rolls from sticking together during cooking, each layer is sprinkled with vegetable oil.
For dolma, grape leaves of the same size are selected, about the size of a palm and not very carved. The grape variety is not important, the main thing is that reverse side there were no pimples, and the leaves themselves were not damaged.

How to cook Moldovan dolma from fresh grape leaves

Ingredients:

- fresh grape leaves – 80-90 pcs;
- minced meat – 400 g;
- rice (dry cereal) – 1 cup;
- carrots – 1 large;
- onion – 2-3 onions;
- green cilantro, celery, parsley - a bunch each;
- salt - to taste;
- ground black pepper – 1-1.5 teaspoons (to taste);
- vegetable oil – 0.5 cups.

Preparation

Pour rice washed in several waters into a cauldron and pour cold water in a 1:1 ratio (as much rice as water). You need to cook it until half cooked so that the grains of rice inside remain dense.

Sort the grape leaves and cut off the stems. Rinse each one on both sides under running water.

Place 15-20 leaves in a bowl, pour boiling water for a minute. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon. Add the next batch and so on until all the leaves are scalded. The color will change from bright green to olive, the leaves will become soft. Now they are ready for stuffing, let them cool and we will prepare the filling. We do not pour out the water in which the leaves were located; it will be needed to fill the cabbage rolls.

Cut the onion into small cubes, grate the carrots finely or coarse grater. Pour half of it into a deep frying pan. required quantity butter (the rest will be used for greasing the cabbage rolls). Fry the vegetables in oil until soft, first the onion, and when it is slightly browned, add the carrots.

The rice has steamed, put it in a bowl, knead it until it becomes crumbly.

Dolma in Moldavian style is prepared from any minced meat. It can be a mixture of pork and beef, lamb, pork only (not lean) or beef only. This is different from other dolma recipes, which do not use pork.

Add minced meat and fried vegetables along with oil to the rice. Mix.

Finely chop any greens to your taste, add salt and ground pepper to the filling. Mix everything again and leave for a few minutes.



Place the prepared leaves on a table or board with the ribbed side up. Add a teaspoon of filling.

We wrap the edge, then one side (the one that will be below) so that the filling is closed on both sides.

Roll it up into a tube and push the free edge of the sheet inside with your finger, covering the filling. The cabbage rolls turn out small, no larger than a matchbox.

Place cabbage leaves on the bottom of the cauldron or pour a little vegetable oil. Lay out a layer of cabbage rolls, pour in oil, another layer of cabbage rolls, and so on until the cauldron is filled.

Salt the remaining water from the steamed leaves to taste. Fill the cabbage rolls, covering them completely.

Place an inverted plate on top. Place on low heat, wait until it starts to boil, turn the heat to low and cover with a lid. In 35-40 minutes the dolma will be ready.

Unlike cabbage rolls in cabbage leaves, there is no gravy in dolma; it is all absorbed during cooking. Instead of gravy, dolma is served with thick homemade sour cream or with

Dolma is something like the usual stuffed cabbage rolls, only in this version, the filling is wrapped not in cabbage leaves, but in grape leaves. In this case, grape leaves can be either fresh or pickled. Now is the period of grape leaves, and those who have not yet managed to stock up on them for the winter, then go for it. But first, prepare dolma from fresh grape leaves so that next year you had no doubt about whether it was worth storing them for the winter.

The filling for dolma is usually prepared on the basis of rice. This dish is very common in the Caucasus. But due to the fact that we really like Caucasian dishes, we will learn how to cook dolma ourselves. It is worth noting that in Armenia, dolma is considered one of the most favorite and popular dishes. In honor of this dish, every year there is a culinary festival- "Dolma Festival". A prerequisite for preparing dolma is tender and young leaves.

Recipe 1. Greek dolma

Grape leaves (can also be pickled) - 200 gr.

Dill - bunch

Steamed rice - 1 cup

Hot pepper - to taste

Mint - bunch

Olive oil - 2 tbsp.

Lemon - 0.5 pcs.

Gently wash the grape leaves and set them aside to dry. If your leaves are pickled, then you have already processed them during the pickling process. Fresh leaves need to be processed, thickenings must be cut off, exactly as we process them. cabbage leaf, when preparing cabbage rolls. Boil the sheets and place on a towel. So, the leaves have already dried, our rice has already boiled and cooled. Grind dill and mint, add olive oil, juice and pulp of half a lemon. Add hot red pepper and salt, mix gently and combine with rice. Taste it - if there are not enough seasonings, add it.

Place about 1 tablespoon of rice mixture on a grape leaf (more is possible). We wrap the sheet like cylindrical cabbage rolls, close the sides, put them in a pan and put them in the refrigerator to rest for 2 hours.

Recipe 2. Dolma

Lamb fillet - 1 kg.

Rice - 150 gr.

Onion - 4 pcs.

Basil, coriander and oregano - 1 tsp each.

Tomato paste - 2 tbsp.

Water - 1 glass

Grape leaves - 500 gr.

Salt and pepper.

So, let's prepare the minced meat. Using a sharp knife, finely chop the lamb fillet. Grind the onion in a blender and mix with minced meat. Add dried herbs, season with pepper and salt and add rice. Mix everything thoroughly.

Let's get to the leaves. Wash under running water, remove all thickenings and place the prepared minced meat on each of them. Carefully wrap and place in a wide saucepan. Each of them should fit snugly against each other. Once we have filled all the leaves, we fill them with water so that it completely covers our products. We take a plate whose diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the pan and fix the dolmas. During the cooking process, if you do not place a plate on the dolmas, they will rise and may unfold. That is why, come up with a design so that they remain motionless. Now cover the pan with a lid and cook the dolma over low heat for 1 hour. Ready culinary product served in garlic sauce, with sour cream or matsoni.

Recipe 3. Dolma

In some source I read an interesting expression regarding this dish: “If Caucasian pilaf is the “shah” of all dishes, then dolma is the first and most beautiful wife of the shah.” This is how much Caucasians value dolma!

So, a recipe from Caucasian cuisine.

Beef or beef with lamb - 1 kg.

Cilantro and dill - 1-2 bunches

Rice - 200 gr. (preferably round)

Pakhla - 80 gr.

Adava - on the tip of a knife

Onion - 2 pcs.

Salt and pepper

Grape leaves.

Katyk or kefir with garlic for gravy.

Boil the pakhla in a saucepan. This will take 10 minutes. Be sure to peel the boiled pakhla. Now wash the greens and chop them coarsely. Pass the meat through a meat grinder and mix it with rice. Add greens and chopped small cubes onion. By the way, the onion can be passed through a meat grinder along with the meat. Mix everything carefully and add seasonings - salt, pepper, adava and mint. Mix everything well with your hands and if you get minced meat with a low-fat consistency, then it is advisable to add a little melted butter and water to it. Once again, mix the boiled and peeled pakhla.

At this stage we will begin to form the dolma. This process is quite labor-intensive, so if you do not manage to wrap the dolma properly the first time, then do not be upset - gain practice. During the entire time we were preparing the minced meat, the peeled and washed young or pickled leaves had to be soaked in water.

Take a pan, preferably a thick-walled one, and line the bottom with grape leaves. This must be done so that during the cooking process the bottom layer does not accidentally burn. So, let's start wrapping it up. There are two types of wrapping dolma - tube and cubes. Place the minced meat on the inner side of the leaf (rough). We put the minced meat, now we wrap the leaf from the bottom, then along the edges and roll it into a tube. This is a version of the tube. If you want to wrap dolma in cubes, then here you should do some magic and use your imagination. But in the original, the festive dolma looks exactly like this. As soon as we have wrapped all the leaves, we place them in the pan tightly to each other in an even layer. Place another layer of leaves on top and fill with water. The water should be 2 cm above the level of the dolma in the saucepan. Place on the stove and bring to a boil. Now turn down the heat, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 45 minutes.

Our dolma is cooking on the stove, and it’s time for us to start preparing the katyk. Pass the garlic (number of cloves at your discretion) through a press and mix with sour milk or sour cream.

Place the finished dish on portioned plates and pour the prepared katyk on top in our interpretation. Bon appetit everyone.

P.S. Instead of katyk, you can use tomato sauce - the dish will acquire a slightly different taste, but will still be tasty.

Recipe 4. Turkish dolma

Minced meat - 500 gr.

Onion - 1 pc.

Tomato - 1 pc.

Rice - 4 tbsp. l.

Greens - a bunch

Garlic - 2-3 teeth.

Salt and pepper

Nutmeg - 0.5 tsp.

We wash fresh grape leaves, remove all thickenings and place them in boiling water - let them boil for 5-10 minutes. Place them in a colander and place them on a towel to dry. Add diced onions, herbs, garlic and tomatoes to the minced meat. Tomatoes should be peeled first. Pour boiling water over the rice and boil it for about 10-5 minutes until half cooked. Add to the minced meat, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix thoroughly. For the viscosity of the minced meat, you can add a little water. Place the prepared minced meat on grape leaves and wrap them like cabbage rolls. Place a layer of grape leaves on the bottom of the pan and place dolma on top of them, right next to each other. Rows of dolma can be arranged with grape leaves, but not necessarily.

Let's prepare the gravy. This time we will mix sour cream with garlic. Place the prepared dolma on plates and pour over the prepared gravy. Bon appetit!!!

In the original, dolma is prepared from grape leaves. But, in those regions where they are not available, you can safely wrap the minced meat in a cabbage leaf, or in a beet leaf.

You can prepare dolma in several layers - it is not necessary to lay out one layer!

Some people use beef broth instead of water.

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Raw materials for canning must be rejected. Leaves that are damaged, unsuitable in shape, size or maturity should be discarded. At the same time as culling, the petioles should be cut off at the root.

Leaves should be placed in piles of 10 and then folded in half. This is done in order not to lose count and to know how much tolma you will get.

The leaves need to be washed well on both sides.

Pour 1 liter of water into a wide saucepan and boil. Blanch each stack for 30-45 seconds until the color changes to light olive.

Place the lightened leaves on a plate. For one half-liter jar you need to prepare 12-13 shot glasses. This must be done quickly so that the first batch of leaves does not have time to cool completely.

Then each stack, while still hot, should be folded several times to form a tight rectangular package.

Place grape leaves in a clean jar. Glass containers and metal lids must be sterilized in advance.

Measure out 200 ml from the remaining water after blanching. Add salt to it and bring to a boil. Pour the resulting brine through cheesecloth into a jar with leaves. Make sure there are no air pockets left. The water should cover the contents of the container by 1 cm.

Close the jar with a lid and turn it over. You can use both screw caps and those that are closed with a special key.

Allow the workpiece to cool at room temperature. Then turn it over and store it in a dark cabinet.

Note to the hostess

Leaves preserved in this way should be washed under running water before use.

Frozen grape leaves

This method is much simpler and faster than the first, since the raw materials do not need to be heat treated.

The preparation itself (culling, pruning) is the same. In the same way, for ease of counting, the leaves are laid out in bundles. Each pack is tightly rolled up. The rolls are then placed in a plastic bag to freeze. To prevent the leaves from unfurling and breaking when frozen, it is better to stuff the bag tightly and seal it with tape. Another option is to use special bags with a lock (latch).

Before preparing dolma, frozen leaves are dipped in boiling water for a few seconds and then used to stuff small rolls of cabbage rolls.

Thanks to Gayane Sargsyan for the recipe and photo.