Ingredients
- 1 cabbage
- 1 pound (500 grams) ground beef meat
- 1 bunch of fresh parsley
- 1 onion
- 2/3 cup of uncooked white rice
- 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoons paprika
- other spices such a cumin and chili pepper (optional)
- 2 tablespoons plain tomato sauce
- Water + salt
Directions
Step 1: Preparing the Filling
1- First, finely chop the parsley and the onion
2- In a large bowl, mix the meat, uncooked rice, chopped parsley, chopped onion, spices (pepper, salt, and paprika – you can add other spices of your choice), and plain tomato sauce. Mix well.
Step 2: Preparing the Wrapping
1- We are using cabbage leaves in this recipe, but you can use grape leaves also if you want!
2- Cut the core of the cabbage from the bottom, then carefully remove the cabbage leaves one by one without breaking them.
3- For each cabbage leave, cut the center vein – you bascially are cutting the cabbage leaf into two and removing the thick vein in the center.
4- Bring salted water to a boiling point and let the cabbage leaves boil in it for 5 minutes.
5- After 5 minutes, remove the cabbages leaves from the boiling water and place them in ice cold water for 1 minute.
6- Then drain the cabbage leaves from the water and place them in a plate.
Step 3: Rolling the Dolma
Option 1 :
Use the Magic Roller – Cabbage Leaves Roller Machine to make perfect rolls in a few seconds look at the video below to get an idea on how it works, if you like it you can get it here : Magic Roller
Option 2 :
1- Take a cabbage leaf, place a tablespoon of stuffing in the border closest to you, roll the edge of the cabbage over it, fold the two sides of the cabbage leave inward, and roll it (as if you were rolling a carpet)
2- Repeat for all the cabbage leaves and stuffing
Step 4: Final Steps
1- Place each stuffed cabbage roll in a pot with the end under so it does not unwrap
2- Sprinkle each layer with a little bit of walt
3- Place a plate on top of the dolmas (in the pot) so they do not open up
4- Pour water in the pot until it reaches the top of the dolmas
5- Cook on high heat (uncovered) until the water starts boiling
6- Then cover the pot (leave a little opening for the steam to get out) and cook on medium heat for about 20-30 minutes
7- Taste a dolma to check if the rice and meat are cooked through
8- Drain the remaining water from the pot
9- Place the dolmas. You can serve immediately hot or cold. You can also leave them in the fridge and eat them the next day – they are even better!!!
