Dolma
|
|
A dolma (dolma in Turkish; dolmades in Greek; Tolma in Armenian; sarma, plural sarmale in Romanian; Yaprakes finos in Ladino) is a grape leaf filled with a savoury mixture of rice, onions, minced beef and other ingredients, sometimes served with lemon-like sauce/dressing. The word comes from the Turkish verb to stuff dolma or to wrap sarma. It is a popular snack in Eastern Mediterranean countries. This particular dish is believed to have originated during the time of the Ottoman Empire and was consequently spread around the Ottoman Empire via the Turks.
In Armenia and Turkey, in addition to above, the word dolma is used of any foodstuffs filled with something else, such as filled cabbage leaves, eggplants, paprikas, peppers or potato cakes.
Minced lamb meat with rice is wrapped into grape leaves (Tpov tolma) or occasionally in cabbage leaves (Kaghambi tolma). This dish is condimented with coriander, dill, mint, pepper, cinnamon and melted butter. Sometimmes chestnuts and peas are part of the mix. Sour milk is often used as a sauce. Aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, quince and apples are also stuffed with lamb meat and also called dolma.
In Romania, they are wrapped either in grape leaves (sarmale īn foi de viţă), in cabbage leaves (sarmale īn foi de varză) or in Bell peppers (ardei umpluţi). They are often eaten with hot mămăliga and yogurt.
Kåldolmar is a Swedish dish inspired by dolma. It is made of cabbage instead of grape leaves and contains minced pork and rice. It is eaten with boiled potatoes, brown sauce and lingonberry jam.
See also
External links
- A detailed, illustrated recipe (http://graphics.stanford.edu/~tolis/recipes/dolmadakia.html)
- Step-by-step instructions (with photos) on how to make dolmades (http://www.mediterrasian.com/cuisine_of_month_dolmades.htm)