Tocosh
Description
The dish is a type of dolma cooked in broth. Some recipes call for tomatoes in tokosh, but in my opinion, tomatoes impart a slight bitterness, whereas broth makes the dish fantastically juicy and tender.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
To prepare the dish, take meat. It can be lamb or poultry (turkey, chicken). Finely chop the meat into mince using a sharp knife. It is important to chop the meat with a knife rather than grinding it in a meat grinder. I use poultry meat.
- 2
Step 2
Peel the onion and finely chop it. Add the chopped onion to the meat.
- 3
Step 3
Boil the rice in hot water until half-cooked. Rinse the rice thoroughly under clean water beforehand. Add it to a large amount of boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Drain the rice in a colander. Let the liquid drain off, then add the rice to the meat. I added a little salt to the rice while cooking.
- 4
Step 4
Mix the minced meat. Add salt and spices to taste. I used coriander, salt, and ground black pepper. The dish will be rich in flavor due to the leaves. Too many spices will overpower the filling's taste.
- 5
Step 5
Take a grape leaf. If it is frozen, first defrost it completely. If the leaves are pickled or salted, soak them in clean water to remove excess salt. If the leaves are fresh, boil them for a couple of minutes in boiling water.
- 6
Step 6
Place a small portion of filling in the center of the sheet.
- 7
Step 7
Form a tokosh (dolminka). Fold the leaf like a small envelope, as if you were stuffing crepes.
- 8
Step 8
Place 1 leaf at the bottom of the pot. Put the tokoš on top.
- 9
Step 9
Mix 1–1.5 cups of water, a good pinch of salt, 0.5 teaspoon of sugar, and 50 grams of unsalted butter. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish. The butter will float in a lump—this is fine. It will dissolve into the broth during baking. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Cover the dish with a lid and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
- 10
Step 10
Serve the tokash. The dish is delicious, unusual, and very tender.