No food causes more controversy than this dish. Turkish people will claim it’s Turkish, Greeks claim it’s Greek, Persians claim it’s Persian, and Arabs claim it’s Arab. The truth is, our modern version is a mix of all of those civilizations. Its roots are in the Persian Empire, but it started as a sweet vegetarian version. Then Greece adopted it, changed the recipe, but it was still vegetarian. Then when it reached the Ottoman Empire, they added meat and Arabs added their special twist and it became a very savory dish. So this belongs to everyone. I know people are still going to argue that it comes from their country of origin. The only argument I’ll make is that mine tastes the best.

33 Comments

  1. Ingredients:
    • 1/2 kilo (1 pound) ground meat
    • 2 cups thick short grain rice
    • 1 tbsp tomato paste
    • 1 tsp red pepper paste
    • 1 small onion, minced
    • 2 minced garlic cloves
    • 1–2 tbsps 7 spices
    • 1 tsp garlic powder
    • Juice of one lemon
    • 1 tsp citric acid
    • Salt and pepper

    Broth:
    • Lamb shanks (lay at the bottom of the pot)
    • 1–2 tbsps tomato paste
    • 1 tsp red pepper paste
    • Juice of 2 lemons
    • 1 tbsp 7 spices
    • 1 tsp citric acid
    • 1 head of peeled garlic distributed throughout the pot
    • 2 bouillon cubes
    • Salt to taste
    • Water to just cover the grape leaves

    Instructions:

    Cook on high for 20 minutes with a plate holding your grape leaves down, lower to medium and cook for an additional hour and 30 minutes or until the leaves are cooked through. Add more water if need be.

  2. Sorry but this is nonsense. It didn’t like reach ottoman or something. The technique itself directly comes from Asia and Turks. Those nations keep looking down on Turks for having central Asian roots yet claim their food. you can see wrapping rice in a leaf even in eastern Asian cultures. Also! The word is literally Turkish. So no, it didn’t reach Ottomans, it was invented by Turks. Period.

  3. As a Turkish, I love the vegeterian version the most. We call it "Yaprak sarma" which literally means "Leaf Wrap" lol

  4. There is no doubt this is called Sarma and comes from Bulgaria 🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬

  5. Fully isreal person forcing us to delete our food and culture , forgot about it my dear cultur in our blood

  6. I’m not saying that this is only belongs to my country , but I’ll have you know egyptian mahshi is unbeatable , I’ve ordered it from restaurants , every time , it never tasted even close to my grandma’s , mahshi with a side of mulokhia is just top tier , if you know you know.

  7. We know it’s not Arab as it was around long before they came into Persia, but the name is Turkish