How to Prepare Dolma Not Worse Than in Azerbaijan?

Dolma is a truly oriental dish, an amazing dish in its non-triviality, somewhat reminiscent of the familiar cabbage rolls, but only small and mostly in grape leaves, although this dish is found in the leaves of figs and even cabbage.

But then with all the sharpness the question arises: how to cook dolma? And one more: if it's delicious to cook dolma with grape leaves, then where to get them? Strictly speaking, in Russia they often cook this dish with cabbage leaves and even sweet sweet pepper, but only under slightly different names - "cabbage rolls" and "stuffed peppers". As we can see, the influence of the East turned out to be so strong that even our national cuisine perceived many oriental motives.

So, how to cook dolma. In the very first approximation one can say: during the preparation of this amazing dish, the filling is wrapped in leaves, in the classical version it is grape leaves. And as a filling can be used lamb, vegetables or rice. Depending on the specific recipe, you can add raisins, nuts, lemon juice, seasonings, dry mint, greens and whatever else you want - it depends on the culinary imagination.

The filling can also be filled with bulky vegetables - eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and others, which are usually stuffed. But is it possible to call such a dish a dolma or simply say "stuffed tomatoes"? And if the filling is wrapped in cabbage leaves, as many mistresses recommend, it will most likely be stuffed cabbage ... Still, the real eastern dolma looks most presentable on the festive table.

Hence, it is possible to properly prepare dolma only with grape leaves. Then it remains only to get them - and everything will be in order. Well, if the grapes grow on the site directly under the window, but in the middle lane this phenomenon is not particularly common, and residents of big cities are unlikely to grow grapes and other crops such as potatoes or zucchini on the balconies, and a fat lamb will also be on the balcony Cramped. Therefore, the ingredients for the dolma need to hurry to the market. There you can find fresh leaves of grapes or at least salty ones. In the extreme case, canned and canned and supermarket. Only pickled or pickled leaves will first need to soak in the water for several hours to leave excess salt. And fresh leaves need to be washed, pour boiling water and soak them for several minutes.

Well, the leaves for wrapping prepared. And how to cook dolma with lamb - classical? To do this, take 350 grams of not particularly fatty mutton, two medium bulbs, although it is possible and large, depends on personal preferences, greens, 70 grams of rice, seasoning. For the sauce you need to take a few cloves of garlic and 150 grams of yogurt without different fashionable additives.

To deliciously cook dolma, first of all a well washed rice should be poured with hot water - and let it stand. In the meantime, mutton along with the onion is passed through a meat grinder, we add chopped greens and spices. Then with rice you need to drain the water, add it to the stuffing and mix everything. This stuffing. By the way, it's better not to twist the meat and onions, but cut them with a knife. But it depends on the availability of some skills.

Now the most interesting. To properly prepare dolma, you need to put the grape leaf on a cutting board, put about a tablespoon of minced meat on it and carefully and nicely wrap it. The process must be repeated until one of the ingredients is completed.

Take a pan (not a frying pan!) With a thick bottom, cover it with a layer of grape leaves, and already on them with layers we put the dolma very tightly. Above is another layer of grape leaves, a bowl of suitable size - so that the dolma does not float, pour salted water to the level of the upper leaves and - for a slow fire for about an hour.

Serve on a table with yoghurt sauce with finely chopped garlic. That's all the recommendations for how to cook dolma. There are also recipes of fillings - with rice, pine nuts and raisins, for example. Here you just need not be afraid to experiment.