How to cook dolma
How to cook dolma in a saucepan
1. Put grape leaves tightly into a saucepan with a thick bottom, put dolma, fill with water (water should cover the dolma with a margin of 1 centimeter).
2. Cover the top with grape leaves.
3. To prevent the rolls from unfolding, cover with an inverted plate, smaller in diameter than the pan. Close the pot with a lid.
4. Put on the smallest heat and cook for 45 minutes.
How to cook dolma in a slow cooker
1. Pour water into the multicooker bowl, and put dolma into the container intended for cooking.
2. Set the "Quenching" mode and cook for one hour.
3. If the leaves remain tough.
How to cook dolma in a double boiler
1. Pour water into a double boiler, put dolma into a double boiler bowl.
2. Cook dolma for 1.5 hours.
How to cook dolma in the microwave
1. Put dolma in a thick layer in a deep dish suitable for microwave oven.
2. Salt a little, pour melted butter (50 grams) on top and a glass of water or broth.
3. Close the top with a microwave lid or other plate.
4. Turn on the microwave at 800 W for 15 minutes.
How to cook semi-finished dolma
In a saucepan
1. Put dolma into a saucepan in 1 layer, pour in water or broth so as to cover the frozen semi-finished product.
2. Put on a low heat and cook for 20 minutes.
In the microwave
1. Put dolma on a plate, pour in 1 glass of broth, cook for 10 minutes at 600 watts.
Products
Salted grape leaves - 7-8 leaves
Lamb - 300 grams
Bow - 1 large head or 2 small
Rice - 70 grams
Sour cream - 150 grams
Garlic - 4 cloves
Parsley, dill, cilantro, celery, black pepper, red pepper, salt - to taste
Cooking dolma
1. Pour salted grape leaves in boiling water and soak for 12 hours to release excess salt.
2. Cut off a stalk from each of the sheets.
3. Rinse the rice, pour hot water, pass the lamb and onion through a meat grinder a couple of times, cut and add herbs, spices to taste.
4. Add rice soaked for 10 minutes to the minced meat, mix well.
5. Put a grape leaf on the table, on top of it - half a tablespoon of minced meat and gently twist to make small sausages.
6. Put dolma in a thick-walled saucepan, cover with grape leaves, put a plate on top so that the dolma does not open during cooking.
7. Carefully pour in cold water, so that the top grape leaves are slightly covered.
8. Boil dolma over low heat for 45 minutes.
Serve hot boiled dolma with sauce and herbs.
Dolma Sauce Options
Classic dolma saucePeel and rub the garlic, mix with sour cream / yogurt, mix well.
Dolma sauce with dried apricots
Onions, dried apricots, tomato paste, a tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, half a teaspoon of pepper and the same amount of cinnamon, mix. In a frying pan, fry the onions in oil, add water, chopped dried apricots, simmer under the lid for 10 minutes, then add tomato paste, salt, sugar and spices.
Dolma mint sauce
Mix 100 grams of sour cream and 100 grams of kefir, add pine nuts and 5 sprigs of dried mint. Mix, leave in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Dolma kefir sauce
Add garlic and your favorite herbs to a glass of 100 ml of kefir.
Fusofacts
- If dolma does not float when flooded with water, you do not need to cover it with a plate.
- Armenia is considered the homeland of dolma, and the name "tolma" comes from the word "toli", which means "grape leaves".
- You can use fresh or salted grape leaves to make dolma. It is better to choose fresh leaves in light colors from white grape varieties: the lighter the leaf, the younger it is, which means that the dolma will turn out to be more tender.Large, fleshy grape leaves are not suitable for dolma: they will make the dish too hard.
Large and dark leaves are not recommended. Fresh leaves can only be purchased in the markets, as opposed to salty ones, which are sold both in the markets and in supermarkets. The price of salted leaves in Moscow is from 200 rubles / half a liter (on average in Moscow as of June 2019).
- The traditional minced meat for making Yerevan dolma is minced meat from young lamb, onions, greens and pepper. Dolma can be cooked from mixed minced meat (lamb + beef + pork) or only from beef. Also, minced turkey dolma turns out to be no less tasty. You can add some pumpkin and carrots to the minced meat for a delicious taste. Instead of minced meat, you can use rice with vegetables (tomatoes, onions, herbs).
- Cabbage or eggplant leaves can be used instead of grape leaves. The closest "relative" of dolma is stuffed cabbage, where the minced meat is wrapped in cabbage leaves. There are also recipes for tomatoes, onions, peppers, sorrel leaves, apples, eggplant and even beetroot leaves. The shape and taste of dolma changes depending on the shell.
- To make the leaves softer and more elastic, before wrapping the minced meat, it is better to scald them with boiling water. If the leaves are large and old, boil for five minutes.
- So that when cooking dolma is steamed and not fried, it is better to put several layers of grape leaves on the bottom of the pan. So, the rolls will be juicier.
- When cooking dolma, instead of water, you can use broth cooked on bones or from meat (lamb, beef or chicken). You can also use the Bone broth cube, which must be diluted in water before cooking.
- Depending on the proportions and the meat used, the calorie content of dolma varies from 140 to 190 kcal / 100 grams. The calorie content of dolma made from minced lamb is 180 kcal / 100 grams.
- The cost of products for making dolma at home is 450 rubles / kilogram (as of June 2019, on average in Moscow).
- Dolma can be served as a standalone hot dish with sauceas well as cold as a snack. In any case, it is recommended to serve lemon and herbs with dolma.