Dolma recipe

A whole potful of different vegetables stuffed with spiced rice, cooked over lamb ribs in a sour tamarind and pomegranate broth, then flipped out onto a tray in one piece.

2 hours and 30 minutesmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 100 g tamarind paste
• 80 ml pomegranate molasses
• 250 g grape leaves
• 3 zucchinis
• 3 eggplants
• 2 onions
• 500 g short grain rice
• 300 g ground lamb
• 400 g lamb ribs
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 lemon

How to make Dolma

1. Hollow out 3 zucchini and 3 small eggplants, boil 2 large onions for 5 minutes and separate them into shells, and rinse 250 g of grape leaves.
2. Mix 500 g of washed short grain rice with 300 g of ground lamb, 3 tbsp tomato paste, 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses, chopped parsley, 1 tsp salt and pepper.
3. Fill every vegetable and leaf only two thirds full, because the rice swells as it cooks.
4. Line a wide pot with 400 g of lamb ribs, cover them with a layer of grape leaves, then pack the stuffed vegetables in tightly standing upright.
5. Soak 100 g of tamarind paste in 500 ml of hot water, strain it, and mix in 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, 3 tbsp tomato paste, the juice of 1 lemon and salt. This sour broth is the dish.
6. Pour it over, press everything down with an inverted plate, bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 1 hour 30 on very low heat.
7. Let the pot settle 15 minutes off the heat, then flip it onto a large tray in one movement so the ribs and sauce end up on top.
8. Taste before serving: it should be clearly sour-sweet, not just lemony.

Get Copper on the App Store

More dishes from Iraq →