Recipe for making dolma from fresh grape leaves. Dolma in grape leaves, step-by-step recipe with photos Dolma without grape leaves

Having tried dolma, many become “fans” of this dish. No wonder the dish has become popular, as it is very easy to prepare. However, in order to cook it correctly, you should know how long to cook dolma.

Cooking time

Cooking dolma takes 40-50 minutes. It is better to cook in a pan with thick walls. If dolma is cooked from grape leaves, then they are placed from below, at the beginning of cooking. Then the entire product is filled with water, which should completely cover the contents. However, it should not be allowed to reach the edges. Cook on low heat.

It takes 1.5 hours to cook dolma in a double boiler. If dolma is cooked in a slow cooker, you need to select the “Stew” mode.

Cooking dolma

In a saucepan

When cooking dolma from grape leaves, you need to place them on the bottom at the very beginning. Then place the dolma and fill it with water.
Cover the top of the dolma with grape leaves again.

Cook over low heat for 45 minutes.

Important: to avoid the rolls falling apart, it is better to cover them with a plate and cover the pan with a lid.

In a slow cooker

Pour water (more than half) into a special container.
Place dolma in a cooking bowl.
Turn on the “Extinguishing” mode. It takes 1 hour to cook.

In the microwave

Place food in a microwave-safe container.
After adding a little salt, it is advisable to add butter and water (a glass).

Cover the dolma of grape leaves with a special lid.
Heat at 800 W for 15 minutes.

What to serve the dish with

Classical

To prepare this sauce, chop the garlic and mix with sour cream. If there is no sour cream nearby, yogurt can replace it.

Kefir

Place chopped garlic in a glass of kefir. You can also add any greens you like.

Sauce with dried apricots

Mix onion and dried apricots. Mix pepper and cinnamon in a 1:1 ratio. Then you need to simmer the entire mixture in a frying pan, covering it with a lid. Cooking time is 10 minutes. Add salt (1-2 tsp), sugar (2 tbsp), and tomato paste to the mixture.

Proper preparation

Considering how long the dolma is cooked depends on whether the dolma will taste good. But to cook properly, both time and approach to cooking are important. To make food tasty, it is useful to know some facts.

When pouring water into a dolma, it is worth checking whether it floats up or not. If the food remains under water, there is no need to cover the pan with a lid.
Most often, dolma is cooked from grape leaves, however, this is not the only cooking method. You can replace grape leaves with cabbage or eggplant leaves.

In some recipes it is customary to cook by adding tomatoes, apples, beets, onions, etc. By adding these products, the taste will not deteriorate, but will be very different from standard preparation. The shape of the dish may also change.

Grape leaves can be either fresh or salted. When choosing leaves, you should pay attention to their tone. It is advisable to purchase light leaves, since they are the youngest, therefore, the dish will turn out to be very tender.

To make the taste more refined, you can add carrots after cooking.

Dolma is made from minced meat, however, it can be replaced with a mixture of rice and vegetables.

If you purchased large dark-colored grape leaves, in order not to spoil the taste and make the dolma softer, it is advisable to place them in boiling water for several minutes before cooking.

Dolma is a dish reminiscent of cabbage rolls and consists of a rice and meat filling wrapped in leaves (usually grape leaves are used). In addition to Transcaucasia, the dish is common in many regions of Central Asia and the Balkan Peninsula.

The calorie content of the dish is 180-200 kcal per 100 g of finished product. Let's look at several recipes on how to prepare dolma step by step with photos.

Recipe for making dolma from fresh grape leaves

Dolma from fresh grape leaves can be prepared all year round. Any meat is suitable for eating: lamb, pork and even chicken. It is advisable to use leaves from white grape varieties. It is better to take oriental spices, then the dish will turn out tender and will have a traditional taste.

List of components:

Rice – 100 g;
Water – 200 ml;
Minced beef – 0.5 kg;
Garlic – 2 cloves;
Grape leaves and salt - to taste;
Onions – 2-3 heads;
Cilantro, dill, basil - 10 g each;
Green onions - a small bunch.

Homemade dolma recipe:

Wash the rice well and cook it until half cooked, add a little water. About 15 minutes is enough for the rice grains to reach the desired thickness;
Wash the young grape leaves and put them in boiling water for one or two minutes: this will make it more convenient to wrap our oriental delicacy. If the petals darken (turn brown), this is not a problem - they are suitable for future cooking;
Peel the onion and cut it very finely with a knife;
Rinse all the greens, dry them and finely chop them;
Cut the green onion feathers into small rings;
Grind the washed meat and mix it in a large container with semi-cooked rice, chopped herbs and onions, add a variety of Oriental spices to taste and add salt. As a result, the filling should be like a homogeneous dense minced meat;
Place the prepared minced meat in the center of the prepared grape leaf - one small spoon;
First, wrap the side parts of the sheet. Let's finish the “envelope”: the upper part is wrapped towards the center of the dish;
Let's choose a convenient pan for cooking and cover its bottom with the remaining grape leaves, then lay out the dolma in a thick layer, seam side down. You will get a container with tightly packed “envelopes” with filling;
Fill the dish with water, put peeled garlic cloves on top;
Cover the top with a flat plate and cook the food for 30-40 minutes over medium heat. Remove the saucepan from the stove and remove the plate. Cover with a lid and leave for about ten minutes. Thus, dolma from grape leaves will steam in its own juice and become even tastier.

Place the finished delicacy on a plate and serve.

Winter grape leaves for dolma

Now we will tell you and share a few tips on how to prepare grape leaves for a dish, which can be stored for many months.

Freezing

To freeze leaves, first cut off their tails;
Next, rinse and dry, form into piles of 8-10 pieces and roll into rolls;
Place the rolls in a bag and place in the freezer;
Before preparing the food, the leaves are defrosted. To do this, first put them in cold water and wait until they thaw a little, then put them in hot water.

Please note: it is better not to defrost workpieces in a microwave oven. When frozen, they are very fragile and can fall apart.

You can keep the leaves fresh. To do this, we wash them and roll them into rolls, which we put in a glass bowl, cover with iron lids and put in the oven to sterilize for half an hour. After this, we roll up the jars and store them in a dark place.

Pickling

Cooking time: 50 minutes;
Number of servings: components are taken per 1.5 liter jar;
You will need: a glass jar, a plastic or rubber lid, a container for the marinade.

Grocery list:

Salt – 1.5 large spoons;
Grape leaves - 50 pieces;
Water – 1.5 liters;
Allspice – 6 peas.

How to choose ingredients:

Grape leaves for dolma should be no larger than the palm of your hand;
It is better to use finely granulated salt, because it contains virtually no debris;
Use purified or filtered water for brine.

Cooking plan:

Cut off the tails of the leaves, wash them, put them in a saucepan and fill with water. Let's boil;
When they have cooled, arrange them in piles of ten and roll them into small rolls;
Place the dolma blanks tightly in a jar;
We prepare the marinade ourselves. Boil water and add pepper and salt. Mix well until the salt is completely dissolved;
Pour the marinade into the jar so that all the voids are filled and let it steep for 12 hours;
Next, close the jar with a plastic lid and put it in the refrigerator for storage. Pickled leaves are also stored in a cool, preferably dark place, for example, in a cellar.

Canning

Active cooking time: 50 minutes;
Number of servings: All products are taken per 0.5 liter jar;
You will need: Brine container, lid, threads, jar, slotted spoon, can seamer.

Required ingredients:

Vinegar 9% - small spoon;
Water – 500 ml;
Salt – 20 g.

Cooking process:

Cut off the stems of the grape leaves and rinse with running water;
Let's put twenty pieces in a pile and roll them into rolls, each of which we wrap with thread;
Bring the water to a boil. Place a bowl of cold water at the stove;
Place one piece at a time on a slotted spoon, lower it into boiling water for 3 seconds, then immediately into cold water. We do this with all preparations;
Our rolls are ready. Now let's put them tightly in the jar;
To prepare the brine, dissolve 20 g of salt in cold water, then pour it into a jar;
Let's leave it to infuse for three days;
After this time, add vinegar to the jar, add brine as necessary;
Sterilize for 20 minutes and roll up.

Pickling

Cut off the tails of the leaves washed in cold water;
Let's prepare a 10% saline solution - mix 3.5 large tablespoons of salt in a liter of water;
Place the leaves in 0.5 liter jars, fill them with saline solution, which should be cold, and cover with lids;
Salted leaves for dolma are stored in a cool room for the winter. Before preparing the food, the leaves are soaked in cold water for two hours.

Helpful Tips:

You can add dry mustard to the marinade or brine - two small spoons. This will make the leaves have a sharp taste;
Leaves for dolma should be collected in the spring, while they are young.

Vegetarian dolma

List of products:

Kefir – 100 g;
4 onions;
2 chicken eggs;
Fresh spinach or sorrel – 180 g;
Round rice – 150 g;
Young fresh grape leaves;
Dill and green onions - a bunch each;
Vegetable broth or water - a glass;
2 cloves of garlic;
Mint and cilantro - a sprig;
Vegetable oil;
Ground pepper;
Salt.

Cooking instructions:

Wash the grape leaves thoroughly and clean any rough areas. Soak cilantro, dill, mint, sorrel, green onion in a bowl with cool water, then rinse and dry slightly with a paper towel. Then grind it into a paste in a blender;
Wash the rice and boil it a little;
Finely chop the onion;
Boil the eggs, peel and finely chop;
Mix the prepared products. Add a little oil, pepper and salt;
Stuff the leaves with this egg-vegetable mixture and roll them into small envelopes. If you come across hard leaves, first scald them with boiling water and cool slightly;
Place the dish in a large container or saucepan, add water or broth and simmer over a low flame until tender;
To prepare a delicious sauce, peel and chop the garlic into a paste, mix it with kefir and season with salt;

When serving, pour kefir sauce over the dish.

Dolma with fish

You will need:

Rice – 30 g;
Bulb;
Fish fillet – 300 g;
Grape leaves, salted or fresh;
Tomato paste - large spoon;
Vegetable oil;
Water – 200 g;
Lemon juice – 3-4 tablespoons;
Ground white pepper;
Salt.

Preparation of dolma:

Cut off the twig and dense veins from the leaves, and soak the salted ones in water;
Chop the fillet into small slices using a knife or grind with a meat grinder;
Peel and finely chop the onion, saute it in vegetable oil;
Wash and boil the rice until half cooked;
Mix onion, chopped fish fillet and rice. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with lemon juice;
Place the minced meat on the leaves and twist them. The blanks should look like.

Place the fish dolma in a saucepan and fill it with a mixture of tomato paste and water. Simmer for 35-45 minutes over moderate flame.

Video: Recipe for Turkish dolma from grape leaves

Dolma (dalma), an analogue of our cabbage roll, is loved not only in the Caucasus. You can cook it with lamb, beef or other meat. I even like vegetarian and “lazy” dolma. The composition of minced meat can be very different. Finely chopped onions, garlic, rice, grated carrots, sweet peppers, spices and herbs are sometimes added to it.

Dolma can be eaten hot or cold

The main thing in dolma is the grape leaves. We have a vineyard on our site, so there are no problems with leaves. It is better to use leaves of not all grape varieties, but only those in which they are more delicate and have a rounded shape. Amur grapes are not suitable for dolma, and from varieties such as “Alfa” and “Khasansky” (Far Eastern selection), it is better to take only the youngest leaves.

Amur grape leaves are not suitable for dolma, because... they are rude

Cutting grape leaves

The photographs clearly show how the leaves of different grape varieties differ in shape.

It is more convenient to wrap minced meat in such leaves

If they are cut, then it is more difficult to wrap minced meat in them than in “round” ones. “Rough” ones are usually rougher than “smooth” ones.

I put cut grape leaves only in “lazy” dolma

If there is no grape bush with “ideal” leaves, then it is better to use the youngest, medium-sized ones. Larger leaves tend to be coarser, especially towards the end of summer. It is these “burdocks” that many people buy at markets in order to wrap more minced meat. I like tiny dolma balls, which, in my opinion, are the most delicious.

First of all, you need to completely free the leaves from the petioles.

Cutting off the leaf petiole

Immediately place the leaves in a bowl of clean water. After that, I immediately start wrapping the minced meat in them. I don’t pour boiling water over them (as some recipes recommend) and don’t soak them in water.

I keep the leaves in water until I put the minced meat on them.

Cooking minced meat

I usually make minced beef. Be sure to add some very cold water to it. Many years ago, one elderly worker at a meat processing plant told me that the old masters always put snow or crushed ice in the minced meat for sausage. Without such an additive, she said, the minced meat would stick together.

Mandatory ingredients are salt and black pepper. I quickly crush hard peas with the flat part of a metal meat mallet and immediately add them to the minced meat. The finished ground pepper is too fine and not as fragrant. We love it when there is a lot of greens in the minced meat: cilantro and dill.

Dill goes well with the taste of grape leaves

Excellent dolma is made with minced meat, in which a little lightly boiled rice is placed. If you put in fully cooked rice, it will turn into porridge.

I do not add any dried fruits to dolma, so as not to spoil the special aroma and delicate taste of grape leaves.

Wrap the minced meat in leaves

You need to prepare a lot of dolma. I roll up tiny balls, each of which contains no more than a teaspoon of minced meat. Grape leaves turn out tender and tasty, soaked in meat, herbs and sour cream sauce.

I put no more than a teaspoon of minced meat

Every time I roll the balls differently. The main thing is that the minced meat should not come out of them. The remains of the prepared leaves can be placed on top or mixed with dolma. I don't put them on the bottom.

Dolma is prepared in a wok or any other suitable container.

I place the balls with minced meat wrapped in grape leaves in a wok or other deep frying pan.

I place the balls with minced meat so that they do not unfold during cooking.

I fill it with them almost to the very top. I add a little water (by eye) and cover with a transparent lid. I don't add vegetable oil.

I cook dolma under the lid

From time to time I remove the lid and (if necessary) add a little boiling water. About fifteen minutes before the end of cooking I add sour cream or mayonnaise, slightly diluted with water. Finally, I remove the lid to allow excess moisture to evaporate.

In order for all the dolma to be juicy, from time to time I turn the layers of bags over with a wide spatula. In this case, the dolma does not fall apart and is not injured. This technique allows, during the cooking process, the upper balls with minced meat to be closer to the bottom of the wok, and the lower ones in the middle or upper part.

Cooking time is about 30 - 40 minutes. You should definitely try to see if the dolma is ready. Should I check if I should add a little more sour cream (mayonnaise) or add water?

Pieces of tofu are soaked in the taste and aroma of dolma

Ready dolma

Removed from the heat, I leave the dolma covered for about 30 minutes. Tiny fragrant and juicy bags are incredibly tasty not only hot, but also cold. They have only one drawback: it is impossible to stop and not eat the whole pan at once.

"Lazy" dolma

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Today for lunch we have a wonderful dish of Armenian cuisine, tasty and aromatic, we invite you to join us! You will learn how to prepare dolma at home; we present a step-by-step recipe with photos to illustrate the process.

A popular national dish in Armenia, dolma (tolma), is traditionally prepared from minced meat wrapped in grape leaves. In ancient times, such a dinner, of course, was seasonal. It was served only during the period of active growth of grape leaves. Today in cooking, the concept of seasonal dishes has almost disappeared. Thanks to modern freezers, almost any product can be stored for quite a long time.

Tender grape leaves are no exception. They can be stacked in stacks of 10-20, rolled, sealed and stored in the refrigerator for several months. This preparation allows you to prepare Armenian dolma from frozen grape leaves at any time of the year. It turns out as aromatic and tasty as from fresh leaves.

Frozen grape leaves – 100 pcs.;
Minced meat – 500 g;
Long grain rice – 100 g;
Onions – 2 heads;
Tomato paste – 3 tbsp. l.;
Cilantro – 1 bunch;
Purple basil – 2-3 sprigs;
Ground paprika – 1 tsp;
Salt – 1 tsp.

First of all, you need to prepare grape leaves for tolma. Shock heat treatment is required to defrost them. To do this, boil 2 liters of water. You need to immerse a small portion of frozen leaves in boiling water for 10 seconds. Then they must be immediately transferred to a bowl of cold water to interrupt the exposure to high temperature. The water in the pan should be boiled again and a new batch of leaves should be placed in it.

Then it must be combined with finely chopped onions and minced meat. In order for dolma to turn out juicy and tasty, it is important to maintain the proportions of these three main ingredients. Meat should make up at least half of the total filling. At the same time, there should be approximately equal amounts of onion and rice.

Another important point is minced meat. Traditional Armenian dolma is made from a mixture of fatty pork and beef. Today, other fillings are very often used: beef, minced chicken or even fish. However, the minced meat must be fatty enough so that the tolma does not turn out dry. For juiciness, you can add butter or ghee.

The meat, rice and onions must be mixed.

Then add tomato paste, finely chopped herbs, salt and pepper.

The filling for dolma from frozen grape leaves should be thoroughly kneaded.

After this, you can start wrapping the minced meat. To do this, you need to lay out a grape leaf on a plate or small tray, veins up. Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling in the center and give it an oblong shape.

Dolma must be wrapped tightly so that it does not open during cooking.

Rolled “cigars” should be placed in a saucepan with a thick bottom. The rows must be laid tightly so that there are no voids left.

The top of the tolma must be pressed down with a flat lid or plate so that it does not float up or unfold. Pour cold water into the pan so that it rises 2 cm above the food.

Cover the pan tightly with a lid and place over medium heat. After boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook for 40-45 minutes. You can serve it with matsoni or tkemali.

Now you know how to prepare dolma from grape leaves, and you can please your household with a delicious, unusual dish.

Look at another very interesting dish - with step-by-step photographs.