Dolma recipe

Armenian tolma grinds purple basil and parsley straight into the meat and is eaten with cold garlic yogurt.

1 hour and 50 minutesmedium10 ingredients

Ingredients

• 500 g grape leaves
• 500 g ground beef
• 1 bunch purple basil
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• 100 g onion
• 25 g short-grain rice
• 250 g plain yogurt
• 2 clove garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp black pepper

How to make Dolma

1. Soak 500 g of brined grape leaves in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain and snip off the stems. If you have fresh leaves, blanch them 30 seconds instead.
2. Grind 100 g of beef together with 100 g of onion, one bunch of purple basil and one bunch of parsley in a meat grinder or food processor, so the herbs go into the meat rather than sit beside it.
3. Work 25 g of short-grain rice, 1 teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper into the ground mixture. The rice stays raw and swells in the pot.
4. Lay a leaf vein side up, put a teaspoon of filling near the stem, fold the sides in and roll it tight. Repeat until the filling is gone.
5. Line a heavy pot with a few torn leaves, pack the rolls in seam side down in tight layers, and press a heatproof plate on top so they cannot unroll.
6. Pour in water or light broth up to the plate, bring to a boil, then simmer covered on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes until the rice is soft. No tomato paste and no lemon go into the pot.
7. Crush 2 garlic cloves into 250 g of plain yogurt with a pinch of salt and serve the tolma warm with the cold garlic yogurt alongside.

Get Copper on the App Store

More dishes from Armenia →