Dolma in grape leaves
Description
It's practically impossible to determine exactly where dolma was first prepared. It was popular among the peoples of the Ottoman Empire and is prepared and enjoyed in Russia, Turkey, the Balkans, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Egypt, Greece, and many other countries around the world. Dolma belongs to Eastern cuisine, and this name most commonly refers to a meat dish wrapped in grape leaves. The leaves are special too... but let's take it step by step—read my recipe.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Grind the chicken meat into minced meat. Finely chop the onion. Drain the slightly cooked rice (half-raw) in a sieve and let the liquid drain off. Add the cooled rice to the minced meat.
- 2
Step 2
Add salt and spices for Eastern dishes to the minced meat. Add 1 egg and knead the mixture well. The dolma filling is now ready.
- 3
Step 3
For making dolma, stores sell prepared leaves. I use the leaves I prepared myself in summer. I have frozen grape leaves without salt, so they don't need soaking. If your leaves are preserved in brine, you need to soak them beforehand to remove excess salt. Place a portion of the prepared minced mixture onto each grape leaf (trim off the stem).
- 4
Step 4
Wrap it so that the leaf tightly covers the patty, folding it almost like an envelope.
- 5
Step 5
We end up with a large number of dolmades.
- 6
Step 6
Place them in a saucepan. Pour in water or chicken broth.
- 7
Step 7
Place on the stove and simmer over low heat for about 40 minutes. Do not stir or interfere during the cooking process. My broth was already salty, so I didn't add any more salt. We had salted the meat filling separately. To serve, prepare a sour cream sauce. Mix sour cream with ground walnuts. Add salt and spices to taste. Stir well. The sauce is ready!
- 8
Step 8
When the dish is ready, place only the dolma on the plate; I don't use the broth anymore. Serve sour cream sauce separately.