AZERBAIJAN
Dolmas from Vine Leaves
2 o'clock
6 people
Difficult
An Azerbaijani festive table is unimaginable without this classic Azerbaijani dolma with vine leaves and garlic yoghurt. We received this recipe from Esmer, who calls the dolma the queen of Azerbaijani cuisine. In Azerbaijan, the dolma, which means 'stuffed' in Turkish, has hundreds of varieties, the recipes of which are passed down from generation to generation. Esmer says that rolling the dolma correctly is a true art and everyone has his or her own trick to do this. She says the challenge is packaging the dolma small and elegantly. They should become nicely round and the leaves should not open during the cooking process. It is a time-consuming job, but it is not without reason that the dolma is so popular among the Azerbaijani population.
Preparation
Step 1. Make the filling
Cut the onions into coarse pieces and grind them finely in the food processor.
Then add the coriander, dill and mint leaves to the mixture and grind it again in the food processor.
Then add the minced meat, salt and pepper and turn the food processor on a low setting again until there are no coarse pieces left in the mixture.
Place the uncooked rice in a colander and rinse it well (Want to know why? Esmer tells you here ).
Add the washed, uncooked rice to the mixture and stir well.
Do you use fresh vine leaves? Then go to step 2a. Do you use potted vine leaves? Then go to step 2b.
Step 2a. Prepare the vine leaves (fresh vine leaves)
Blanch the fresh vine leaves in small portions in boiling water. This makes them softer and more pliable.
Then let them dry and cut off the stems.
Step 2b. Prepare the vine leaves (jarred vine leaves)
Carefully separate the vine leaves.
Rinse them briefly under the tap in a colander to make them less salty.
Step 3. Fold the dolmas
Take a medium sized stockpot and place a few leaves in a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.
Now you can start packing your dolma. Take a leaf and place it shiny side down on the palm of your hand.
Place a small amount of filling at the stem end of the leaf. Fold the top down over the filling, then the sides in, and roll up tightly to form a nice square/round ball about 1 inch in diameter.
Place the stuffed leaves, seam side down, in the bottom of the pan. Build this up in several layers until you have made 40-80 dolmas or you run out of filling.
When you're done, put some butter on it and add some water. The water should come about halfway up.
Then place a breakfast plate on the dolmas to prevent the leaves from opening. Cover the pan and bring to the boil.
After boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 1.5 hours. In the meantime, go to step 4.
By this time, will the filling be done and the leaves soft? Then your dolmas are good.
Step 4. Make the garlic yogurt sauce
Crush the garlic cloves and mix it in a bowl with yogurt.
Ingredients
40 - 80 vine leaves
3 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic
250 grams of Greek yogurt
Filling
300 grams of minced beef (vegetarian alternative: replace with rice)
2 onions
60 g white round rice (Turkish pirinc is a good alternative)
50 grams of fresh coriander
50 grams of fresh dill
15 grams fresh mint (use only the leaves)
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp black pepper
Supplies
Food processor
Want to get in the mood? Here a music suggestion!
Nuş olsun ('Enjoy your meal!')
