Stuffed Grape Leaves / Dolmas

Any time we end up going to a Middle-Eastern restaurant, I love eating the stuffed grape leaves. Not only does the idea of food wrapped in leaves sound exotic, but they are tasty morsels bursting with enormous flavor. Unfortunately, just a few of them can end up costing quite a bit. However, if you carve out some time to make them at home, it will be so worth the effort!

Tips

I searched at multiple chain grocery stores but they didn’t carry grape leaves. If a Middle-Eastern grocery store is nearby, I’m sure you can get some there. I ended up going to Amazon to order mine. This batch made about 30 – 40 and I still have about a third of the jar of grape leaves leftover. I think for my second batch, I will add raw minced beef to the stuffing. This first attempt, however, was all vegan and tasted amazing! If you follow the steps and wrap the leaves tightly, none of them should fall apart while cooking. Since we are at high altitude, I believe the cooking time was longer.

For variations, you can even use the same stuffing and put them in cored out eggplants and zucchini and layer those on the bottom of the pan instead of potatoes. Lot so f different ways to play around with this. I would recommend seasoning the rice stuffing well with herbs and spices because as it cooks and expands it will absorb a lot of that flavor. You can also use short-grained rice, although I feel the basmati did a really good job of absorbing the juices. Use a heavy-bottomed pan to allow for the heat to stay trapped in. I went with a fusion of Greek and Middle-Eastern styles by adding chopped olives to mine.

Ingredients:

1 jar grape leaves (if using fresh, blanch in hot water to soften)
2 thickly sliced potatoes
Weight to keep stuffed leaves in place

Cooking Liquid
1 can diced tomatoes
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup hot water
½ cup Tamarind water (optional – you can substitute plain water too)
Juice of half a lemon
Additional 1 cup water/ chicken stock
½ tsp salt and pepper to season potatoes

Stuffing: (makes about 30-40 leaves)
1 cup uncooked Basmati rice (soaked for 15 mins, then drain)
1 ½ tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
¼ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp garam masala powder (or you can use mostly cinnamon powder)
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 bunch parsley chopped
1 bunch mint chopped
3 scallions chopped
¼ onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
½ red pepper chopped
Handful of canned olives chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
1 heaped tablespoon Pomegranate molasses (optional – you can substitute with Imli or extra lemon juice)

Dipping Sauce
¼ cup yogurt
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Dash of dill
Dash of hot sauce
Squeeze of lemon juice

Directions

1. Take the grape leaves and gently take them out of jar and rinse them so the brining liquid and preservatives are washed out. Allow to drain. I used about two-thirds of the container (about 30 -40 leaves)
2. Prepare stuffing by mixing all the stuffing ingredients and gently mixing. Let it sit for 10 mins while you prep the leaves.
3. Gently separate the leaves and remove the tough stem part from the bottom with a knife.
4. Lay the leaf back side up (shiny side down).
5. Put about ¾ tsp of stuffing in the center of the leaf. Don’t overstuff as the rice will cook and expand.
6. For bigger leaves, you can fold in the sides first and then roll up. For smaller leaves, roll the bottom up and then sides. Continue rolling till you reach the upper pointy top of the leaf.
7. Take a pan and out a tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom.
8. Layer the bottom with the two thickly sliced potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to season.
9. Next, start layering the stuffed grape leaves on top of the potatoes. You want to do this as compactly as possible without leaving big spaces in between.
10. Some of the grape leaves will end of coming in a second layer. If you were doing more than two layers then you should sprinkle some extra olive oil and salt, pepper after every two layers, but for me this was enough.
11. Add an upside-down plate/ weight on top of the final layer of grape leaves so that they don’t start floating freely and get unwrapped during the cooking process.
12. Combine, olive oil, lemon juice, tamarind water and extra water as needed to pour down the sides.It should just barely make it to the top of the leaves.
13. Let the mix boil uncovered on high, then reduce flame to low. Cover and cook for 45 minutes.
14. When I checked at this point, the leaves were still hard and the rice undercooked inside. So I poured a can of diced tomatoes on top, and an additional cup of chicken stock (for extra flavor).
15. I cooked for another 45 mins/ 1 hr on low heat.
16. Let it cool for 10 minutes. Gently push aside the tomato chunks and take out the stuffed leaves on a platter.
17. Mix the ingredients of the dipping sauce and serve your stuffed grape leaves with this. The potatoes can also be taken out and are tasty and tender.