Oriental cuisine, saturated with spices, will not leave indifferent any gourmet. It has long received international recognition and has been successfully used by cooks around the world. In any large city there is at least one solid institution, which offers its guests to try exclusively oriental dishes. And, undoubtedly, such a dish as dolma will always be a success among its visitors. However, it is not necessary to go to a restaurant to enjoy dolma. It is quite possible to cook at home. And how to do this, we will describe below.
Dolma - general principles and methods of cooking
In fact, dolma is the same stuffed cabbage, with one difference: the “dressing” for an exotic dish is not cabbage, which is customary for us, but grape, quince or fig leaves, less often whole vegetables. It is impossible to say which country is the birthplace of the popular dolma. It is prepared in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Egypt, Turkey, Libya, Palestine, as well as in many other countries. That is why the cooking variations of dolma are huge, and it is called by different nations in its own way.
The traditional filling for dolma is small-bodied meat (note that it was chopped up and not twisted in a meat grinder), which is often combined with cereals, mainly rice, greens and an oriental “light” - spices. There are many recipes for the so-called vegetarian dolma, where instead of meat they use minced meat from vegetables browned in fat. And such familiar dishes as stuffed zucchini or tomatoes are varieties of dolma in the east.
In some countries, dolma is made from minced fish, complementing it with rice, chopped nuts, lots of greens, lemon juice, and mint - as a rule, a whole bunch of herbs and spices are used. It sounds a bit scary, but local chefs are not at all afraid, because they are true professionals, and can easily make a candy for a festive table. If you do not like such a generous abundance of spices in the dish - adjust their quantity according to personal preferences.
Dolma - product preparation
Grape leaves for dolma can be purchased at any vegetable market (they must be whole, smooth and neat). They are cut off the cuttings, otherwise the packing of the filling will turn into a very problematic occupation, and soaked in salted water for half an hour. Sell grape leaves and salted. Such “envelopes” are also suitable, but they must be soaked in fresh water or poured with boiling water.
In the east, dolma stuffing is made from lamb - this is the most popular option. But this does not mean that the dish can not be prepared, for example, from pork or chicken. Can! And even need to experiment. The classic recipes dolma provide minced meat (fillets) in its composition. The matter is so troublesome that it requires a lot of time. If it is sorely lacking - do not worry! Use the meat grinder or blender.
Dolma - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Dolma Classical
An excellent snack will decorate any table and surprise guests with a pleasant unforgettable taste. It is equally tasty both hot and cold. If you want to cook dolma, then start with this simple recipe.
Ingredients:
- One kilogram of mutton (fillet)
- half a cup of round rice
- four onions
- one teaspoon of coriander
- one hour lodges. dried basil
- one hour lodges. dried oregano
- two table. lie tomato paste
- glass of water
- 500 gr. grape leaves
- to taste black pepper and salt
Method of preparation:
1. To start, prepare minced meat. To do this, chop the meat finely with a knife, chop the peeled onions in a blender, Mix the minced meat with onion, dried herbs, ground into powder, pepper and salt. Also add rice to it. Stir.
2. Wash the leaves, soak them, if necessary, free from cuttings and lay each on the work surface. Next, grab minced meat with a teaspoon and place it at the base of the leaf. We wrap neatly like a small convolution. Do the same with the rest of the leaves.
3. Find a wide pan. Spread dolma dense layers on the bottom of the tank. Then we fill the products with water so that the liquid covers them just a few centimeters. Cover with a wide flat plate to fix the dolma (it should remain stationary during the cooking process). Cover the pot with a lid, stew the dish on low heat until cooked (within an hour). Finished products should be served with sour cream, garlic sauce or yoghurt.
Recipe 2: Dolma from vegetables
In this recipe - the present Azerbaijani - the “house” for our dolma will be vegetables: eggplants, tomatoes and peppers (Bulgarian). As a filling, use minced lamb tenderloin. In addition, we need a fat tail. For those who do not know: the rump is the near-tail fat fold of the fat-tailed sheep.
Ingredients:
- two large onions
- 100 gr. fat tail
- 500 gr. lamb tenderloin
- two eggplants
- three large tomatoes
- one hot pepper
- two bell peppers
- 150 gr. melted plums. oils
- two tsp. salt
- a pinch of ground pepper
Method of preparation:
1. Meat, rump and onions skip through the meat grinder. Stir. Ready stuffing lay out in the pan. Oil need not be added. Simmer the meat on a slow fire, stirring occasionally and breaking the lumps that form.
2. At the end add in a mince teaspoon of salt, pepper and 70 grams. ghee. Stir. Turn off the stove.
3. Make vegetables. With peppers remove the stem with a lid. From the "cups" take out the seeds and entrails. We also cut the cap off the tomatoes and clean the insides with a spoon. We should get tomato "pots". Eggplant is cut along, we clean the insides so that we get 4 boats. Soak them for 20 minutes in salt water, so that bitterness will be gone.
4. Fry eggplants (boats) and peppers (cups) in a frying pan with ghee. Cooling down. Next, using a spoon, fill the vegetables with stuffing, eggplant-boats glue. Lapped tomatoes and peppers close the "lids".
5. In a deep frying pan lay out the remaining grated tomato. Place the stuffed vegetables in the sauce in a circle, close the container with the lid and simmer the dish for about an hour on a very small fire. When serving, sprinkle vegetables with herbs and pour over the sauce.
Recipe 3: Dolma Vegetarian
If you for some reason do not eat meat - this recipe is for you. Tasty, satisfying, useful. There is not a drop of meat in the dish, but at the same time it is boldly referred to as traditional eastern dolma.
Ingredients:
- a jar of grape leaves in a saline solution - two eggs
- a glass of round rice
- half a bunch of green onions
- four onions
- a bunch of sorrel (or spinach + lemon juice)
- a handful of dill
- Spoon chopped mint
- Spoon chopped cilantro
- half a cup of ghee
- half a cup of kefir
- a couple cloves of garlic
- to taste cinnamon, salt and pepper
Method of preparation:
1. All greens, including sorrel, are washed and finely chopped in a combine. Boiled hard-boiled eggs rubbed on a grater and combine with greens. Stir. Salt, pepper, add mint, butter, cinnamon and boiled loose rice. All mix.
2. Wash the grape leaves, scald with boiling water and place on a chopping board. For each lay out a "vegetarian platter" on a teaspoon and gently fold.
3. At the bottom of the tank lay out the formed dolmas, pour in water (and better vegetable broth), add some salt, press with a flat plate, close the lid and put it on the stove. Simmer the product for about 20 minutes on low heat.
4. Fry the onion in the pan, garnish the finished products with it and pour kefir mixed with chopped garlic on top. Serve to the table. Bon Appetit everyone!
Dolma - useful tips from experienced chefs
- For dolma it is best to select small grape leaves (from the palm). They are soft, juicy and less wiry, so that the finished dish has the best and bright taste properties;
- If mincemeat for dolma is prepared from low-fat varieties of meat, then add a fat of fat in it, chopped it finely with a knife, or melted butter;
- To prevent the dolma from burning during the cooking process and not to sink to the bottom, cover the bottom of the container with a dense layer of grape leaves, and only then (over the leaves) lay out the products.
