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    Home » Asia

    Dolma (Azerbaijan): A New Champion

    Published on Jan 7, 2019 Modified: Aug 8, 2020 by Alexandria Drzazgowski.

    Jump to Recipe

    Dolma is an Azerbaijani dish made by stuffing grape leaves with lamb meat, rice, onion, and herbs like mint, dill, and cilantro! They are perfect served alone or with a delicious and authentic garlic yogurt dipping sauce. These dolma are almost guaranteed to be a family favorite!

    Vertical image of stuffed grape leaves with garlic yogurt dip

    Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!

    I never thought that this day would come.

    The second dish of Azerbaijan has arrived and… dare I say it?

    This recipe might be the brand new winner of the title “Best Recipe Yet.”

    Yeah, you heard me right. This dolma is, I’m pretty sure, the best recipe to have EVER been featured on The Foreign Fork.

    Jump to:
    • Some Background
    • Why You Should Try This Recipe
    • Variations
    • Dolma (Azerbaijan)

    Some Background

    Mama Foreign Fork has an obsession with grape leaves. When my mom was growing up, her favorite neighbor was an older woman from Lebanon.

    On the weekends, the neighbor used to cook for my mom and share her favorite delicious Lebanese dishes, the best of which, my mother claims, were the grape leaves.

    As I grew up, Mama Foreign Fork tried to encourage her reluctant and stubborn daughter (ahem, myself) to like grape leaves, but to no avail. As a child, I always thought they looked and tasted disgusting.

    I hadn’t tried grape leaves in a few years, so when I saw dolma on a list of Azerbaijani recipes, I knew I wanted to make them for my mother.

    But I was also fairly confident that I wasn’t going to like the recipe much myself. In fact, I put off making the dolma for quite a while because I didn’t want to spend so much time making a dish that I was going to “hate.”

    But, as usually happens when I’m unsure about making a recipe for The Foreign Fork, I was proved wrong. Again.

    Dolma horizontal

    Why You Should Try This Recipe

    These dolma are Superb. Spectacular. Magnificent. Life-Changing. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Someone give me a better adjective!

    My cousins came to visit from Georgia, so I made these grape leaves as an appetizer for them to try.

    My recipe made 71 dolma… by the time 6 adults finished feasting, a mere 5 dolma remained. Now THAT, my dudes, is a recipe that I consider a success.

    Variations

    For those of you that are wondering how I ate these dolma while on the Whole30, I want to make it clear that I made these (and straight up devoured them) before my Whole30 actually began.

    HOWEVER. I have some good suggestions for ways to make these guys actually Whole30 compliant! Instead of rice, you can combine the meat and onions with artichokes, pine nuts, or matchstick carrots. Each will create a different but still delicious flavor for your dolma.

    Want to see check out the recipe that reigned supreme as Best Recipe Yet for 11 whole countries?? Click here to see my Kabuli Pulao Recipe from Afghanistan!  

    Want to try these dolma out for yourself? Make sure to share a photo of your creations on Facebook or Instagram and tag @theforeignfork or hashtag #theforeignfork!

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    Dolma with yogurt sauce

    Dolma (Azerbaijan)

    Dolma is an Azerbaijani dish made by stuffing grape leaves with lamb meat, rice, onion, and herbs like mint, dill, and cilantro! They are perfect served alone or with a delicious and authentic garlic yogurt dipping sauce. These dolma are almost guaranteed to be a family favorite!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: appetizers, Main Course
    Cuisine: azerbaijan, lebanese
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours hours
    Servings: 60 grapeleaves
    Calories: 35kcal
    Author: Alexandria Drzazgowski

    Equipment

    • Strainer/Colander
    • Garlic Press
    • Oven Mitt
    • Mixing Bowl(s)
    • Saucepan

    Ingredients

    Stuffing

    • 1 pound ground lamb
    • 1 medium onion, grated
    • ½ cup medium-grain white rice, (such as basmati)
    • ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
    • ½ cup finely chopped fresh dill
    • ½ cup finely chopped fresh mint
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper to Taste (Use code FF20 for 20% off)

    Assembly

    • About 75 medium sized grape leaves, jarred or canned
    • 3 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
    • Plain Yogurt or Garlicky yogurt sauce, to serve

    Instructions

    • In a medium mixing bowl, combine the stuffing ingredients. Mix with your hand until well combined.
    • If using canned leaves, put batches of them in a colander, rinse well under cold water to remove the salt, and drain. If the canned leaves feel too thick, blanch them in boiling water for about a minute, then drain. Otherwise, do not blanch. Cut off the stems.
    • Arrange some of the damaged leaves flat on the bottom of the saucepan. If you don’t have damaged leaves, line the bottom of the saucepan with unused whole leaves to cover.
    • Hold a leaf shiny side down on the palm of your hand. Place about 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling at the stem end of the leaf. Fold the top down, then the sides over the filling and roll up tightly to shape it into a 1-inch round bundle.
    •  Arrange the stuffed leaves, seam side down, on the bottom of the pan. Continue until all the leaves and filling are used, arranging the stuffed bundles snugly together in the pan, making several layers.
    • Dot the top with butter and pour in water to cover the dolma halfway. Place a small lid or a small ovenproof plate on top of the stuffed leaves to keep them tight and to prevent them from opening. Cover and bring to a boil.
    • Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the leaves are tender, the filling is cooked, and there is little liquid left (if the liquid is completely absorbed at some point during cooking, add more water and continue to simmer).
    • Serve immediately with bread and plain yogurt or garlicky yogurt sauce to spoon onto the dolma to taste.
    • Garlicky Yogurt Sauce: To make garlicky yogurt sauce, in a bowl, combine 1 cup or more plain yogurt with 2-4 cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic press.

    Notes

    Recipe from AZ Cookbook 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 44mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @TheForeignFork or tag #TheForeignFork!

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    Comments

    1. Paul Hughes says

      November 19, 2022 at 6:41 am

      My wife has been making Dolma on my birthday for 42 years now, got recipe from my Mother who made them for us and my Father who is from Azerbaijan. The leaves are so important as there are many poor ones out there. Ground lamb is the best, she uses a steamer which gives it a good taste. People are always hesitant when they hear grape leaves but once they taste their eyes light up, I always view these as a special treat

      Reply
    2. Meghan Hallewell says

      January 07, 2019 at 3:01 pm

      5 stars
      These were absolutely delicious!!! We devoured them and have been thinking about them ever since!

      Reply
    5 from 1 vote

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