Dolma Stuffed Grape Leaves Iraqi Style Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until tender. Stir in rice and hot water to cover. Cover and simmer until rice is half cooked, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in tomato paste, currants, pine nuts, cinnamon, mint leaves, dill weed, allspice and cumin. Let mixture cool.
• Prepare a large pot by placing an inverted plate on the bottom; this protects the dolmas from direct heat when steaming.
• Rinse grape leaves in warm water; drain and cut off any stems. Place about 1 teaspoon of the cooled rice mixture in the center of a leaf. Fold in the sides and then roll into a cigar shape. Place in prepared pot. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Pour in just enough warm water to reach the bottom of the first layer of dolmas. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, or until rice is totally cooked. Check the water level often and add more as necessary.

Steps:

• To make the filling, coat a large saute pan with 1/4 cup of the oil and place over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel and lemon zest and stir until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the pine nuts and rice, saute for 2 minutes, stirring to coat. Pour in just 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and lower the heat. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 10 minutes. Scrape the parboiled rice mixture into a bowl and add the dill and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool. Now on to the grape leaves.
• Bring a big pot of water to a simmer. Blanch the grape leaves in the hot water for 5 minutes until pliable. Drain then trim the stems and any hard veins from the leaves. Pat dry with paper towels.
• To assemble the dolmades, lay a grape leaf on a work surface, shiny-side down. Put 2 tablespoons of the rice filling near the stem end of the leaf. Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold both sides toward the middle, and roll up into a cigar ¿ it should be snug but not overly tight because the rice will swell once it is fully cooked. Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand to secure the roll. Repeat with remaining grape leaves and filling.
• Place the dolmades in a large Dutch oven or wide deep skillet, seam-side down in a single layer. Pour the remaining cup of broth, remaining olive oil, and the lemon juice over the dolmades, the liquid should reach halfway up the rolls, add some water if necessary. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the dolmades are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm, at room temperature or cool.

Steps:

• Dice the onions and sauté with 1/4 cup of olive oil.
• When they turn translucent, add the pine nuts and sauté for 5 more minutes.
• Add rice and stir constantly for 5-10 minutes until the rice is translucent.
• Add the spices (dried mint, cinnamon, lemon salt, black pepper, dried currants, sugar and allspice) and chopped parsley.
• After another quick stir, add 1/2 cup of boiling water and simmer on low medium heat for 15-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice mixture.
• Take off heat and let cool.
• And now, here comes the fun part. Traditionally, you would put a spoonful of the cooled mixture in the center of the top part of the leaf, fold the sides inwards and then roll the leaf like a cylinder. But since I have "The Ultimate Dolma Machine" (follow the link mentioned in the description section), I just placed a leaf on the rubber compartment of the machine, put a tbps of mixture in the middle and with a single slide, there comes my dolma from the other side of the machine. The process was a breeze. It took me only 10 minutes to roll nearly 40 perfectly shaped dolmas. Below is the process fully photographed.
• As the final step, spread a layer of vine leaves on the bottom of a large and heavy pot (to prevent the stuffed leaves from burning).
• Lay all your dolmas side by side and tuck very tightly.
• Transfer the remaining 1/4 cups of olive oil, juice of half a lemon and 2 cups of boiling water, cover with a plate upside down (so that the dolmas don't move around in boiling water) and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until all the water is absorbed (roughly 45-60 minutes).
• Transfer to your serving dish and let cool.

Steps:

• Soak grape leaves in water for 20 minutes. Drain.
• Peel and slice carrots lengthwise and line bottom of pot with them. This helps keep the grape leaves from sticking to the pot.
• Soak rice in hot water for 10 minutes and drain. In a large bowl, combine rice, beef, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and all spices.
• Place each grape leaf shiny side down with stem end toward you on a flat surface. Cut off stem. Place 1 tbsp of rice mixture on leaf near the stem end. Roll top over once, fold ends in, and continue to roll completely (rolling away from you). Repeat with remaining leaves.
• Arrange rolled grape leaves in pot seam side down, tightly packed. Place each layer in opposite direction of previous layer, in a criss-cross fashion. For even cooking, try to have no more than 4 layers.
• Combine lemon juice and oil and pour over grape leaves. Top with water until approximately 1" below top layer.
• Place large plate on top, and place a heavy weight on plate (a foil-wrapped brick works great).
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, until rice is thoroughly cooked. Allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
• Serve with lemon wedges or Greek yogurt. Enjoy!

Steps:

• Sauté onions in olive oil in pan, add rice and add hot water to cover.
• Cover and simmer until rice is half cooked, about 10 minutes.
• Turn off heat, add tomato paste, currants, nuts, and spices. Let mixture cool.
• To prep the grape leaves, rinse in warm water and remove the stems.
• When rice mixture is cool, place 1 teaspoon or less in center of leaf, fold in right and left sides, then roll the leaf until you have a tiny 'cigar'.
• Place the dolma in a steamer pot.
• Repeat until all grape leaves and/or stuffing is finished.
• Add water to steamer cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the rice inside the dolma is totally cooked.
• Traditionally this is served cold.
• Squeeze lemon over the dolma immediately before serving.

Steps:

• In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup chicken broth, beef, lamb, rice, onion, pine nuts, parsley, garlic and mint. Set aside.
• Gently rinse grape leaves and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange on a work surface with the shiny side down. Place 1 tablespoon meat mixture in the center of a grape leaf. Tuck in ends and roll tightly toward the leaf point. Repeat until meat mixture and leaves are used up.
• Arrange wrapped leaves, in layers, in a large sauce pan with seam side down. Cover leaves with remaining broth and the lemon juice. Weight leaves with a heavy plate to prevent opening.
• Cook over low heat 45 minutes.
• Serve with plain yogurt; garnish with lemon slices.