Iraqi Dolma is possibly the greatest stuffed vegetable recipe in existence. It has an extremely pleasing tangy flavour thanks to the use of Pomegranate Molasses, Tamarind, and black limes in the stuffing. The filling is herby and mildly spiced and all of the vegetables get coated in a wonderful tangy glaze.
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0:00 Intro
1:04 What vegetables can you use?
2:12 How do we make it tangy?
2:57 Preparing Vegetables – Aubergines
4:00 Preparing Vegetables – Peppers
4:38 Preparing Vegetables – Tomatoes
5:22 Preparing Vegetables – Onions
6:09 Preparing Vegetables – Swiss Chard and vine leaves
6:42 Preparation for the stuffing
8:31 Making Iraqi dolma stuffing
10:03 Stuffing Veg – Aubergines
10:29 Stuffing Veg – Peppers
10:51 Stuffing Veg – Tomatoes
11:06 Stuffing Veg – Onions
11:31 Stuffing Veg- Swiss Chard and vine leaves
12:34 Assembling the pot
13:27 Cooking the dolma
16:03 Taste Test and Review
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Ingredients
These are the vegetables I used for stuffing, you can use any combination of vegetables for this but I would recommend getting a jar of vine leaves or some swiss chard to use up any excess filling.
10 small aubergines
4 small dolma peppers or 2 bell peppers
3 small tomatoes
3 onions
10-15 vine leaves
5 swiss chard leaves
Filling:
250g Beef mince
75g Tamarind paste dissolved or 3 Tablespoon of tamarind concentrate in 1/2 c water (half in filling, half in sauce)
2 Onions
3 Cloves garlic
1 1/2 Cup Basmati rice
1 Cup parsley
1/2 Cup dill
1/4 Cup pomegranate molasses
3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sumac
3 TSP salt
1 TSP cinnamon
1 TSP Bharat / 7spice
1/2 TSP pepper
1/2 TSP black lemon
1/2 TSP paprika
1/2 TSP coriander
Sauce:
1 Cup stock
1/4 Cup pomegranate
1/4 Cup tamarind
1/8 Cup olive oil
1.5 Tbsp tomato paste
1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
1 TSP salt
1/2 TSP pepper
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Directions
To prepare the vegetables:
1. Hollow out your vegetables, making sure to retain the cores of the tomatoes and aubergines
2. Blanch your swiss chard and vine leaves in boiling water for 90 seconds each, before trimming their stems
3. For the stuffed onions, peel them and make a cut through to the centre of the onion before microwaving for 2 minutes. Allow to rest before peeling apart the layers
To make the stuffing:
1. Mince the Parsely, Dill, vegetable cores, and onions finely and add to a bowl
2. Wash your rice thoroughly until water runs clear then add all of the filling ingredients to the same bowl
3. Mix thoroughly until well combined and a homogenous texture forms
Stuffing the vegetables:
1. Stuff the aubergines by pushing rice through their opening until about 1/2cm (1/4in) from the top
2. Stuff the peppers and tomatoes by filling with a tablespoon. Leave a gap of about 3/4cm (5/16in) in the tomatoes and a smaller gap in the peppers
3. Stuff the onions by placing 1-2 tsp of stuffing on a single layer of the onion, then roll it onto itself till it wraps around at least twice
4. Stuff the vine leaves and swiss chard by placing 2 tsp on the leaf and folding the bottom and sides of the leaf over the filling. Tuck the sides in as you roll the filling all the way to the end
5. Prick the aubergines and peppers with a knife about 5-10 times each
Assembling the pot:
1. Place a layer of potatoes or lamb chops in the bottom of the pot to prevent the dolma from sticking
2. Lay in the onions and then the vegetables on top of them in any order
3. Place the leaf rolls last so they don’t get squashed
To cook:
1. Place the pot on the stove on medium heat and cover with a lid, allow it to steam for 15 minutes
2. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce together
3. When the 15 minutes are up, pour the sauce over the dolma in an even manner. Stop adding sauce when the liquid reaches halfway up the height of the pot
4. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to low. Cover and allow to cook for 45 minutes
5. After 45 minutes you can remove the lid and allow the liquid to evaporate (optional)
To serve:
1. Place a plate or platter ontop of the pot and flip the pot over with the plate
2. Allow to sit for a few minutes before removing the pot
3. Serve immediately
39 Comments
An Iraqi friend made dolma for us and it was amazing. I wanted to make it myself a month later and tried this recipe. It turned out even better. Adding lamb to the bottom of the pot takes it to the next level. I doubled the sauce as it didn't have much liquid with the size of pot i used. I have made this three times now. This makes excellent leftovers. Thanks for sharing this!
Made it again this year! Amazing! I’m thinking I might add a bit of spice next time.
Dear god this looks delicious, I am so hungry now
i like how ex ottoman countries like to vilify turks and turkey for everything, historically or now, but claim traditional turkish dishes as their national food, on top of acting like it has nothing to do with turks. if confronted about the origins, then they start listing their excuses for how it cannot be turkish, and that turks must have ‘stole’ it from them. imagine telling turks that its nationalistic and that is a ‘sin’ to even call themselves turks, advising them to give arabic names to their children for more than 1000 years, when the same people cannot even accept the fact that a dish they like is of turkish origin. we are living a joke. you cannot let us have anything, cant you?
My Syrian family always used ground lamb for their Warak Inab recipe which I prefer. But this recipe looks good for lent.
I’m America and making this, learning how to now 👍
Thank you for your recipe. Could you please provide a list of the spices? I don't know them all. TIA
Thanks for sharing
As a person who has eatin this a lot i can tell you IT TASTE REALLY GOOD
you did a great job indeed , but you forget to stuff a zucchini and a cabage paper and to put a few fryers beans or lmb ribs in the bottom of pot
Leaves are vegetables.
Nope you got it wrong buddy
I'm a Greek American. We have something very similar but I have to admit this is better by some distance.
What a great dish to try with my family this Sunday! Thank you! 🇲🇽
I love this! I just learned how to make this from my friend today. This is the way I learned it! It's so good!
Ramadan Mubarak❤
Thank you Obi so much for this recipe. I've made it for my family 1st day of Ramadan & my family praised it to heaven and back 😂 they keep talking about it!!
It's absolutely D i v i n e 🤌
great video brother
No dolma can touch my mom's Dolma oh God
this is the best version of Iraqi dolma but we don't ever use cinnamon in it. thank you.
Don't use black limes
Don't use basmati rice instead use short rice like risotto
Don't use too much spice curry is enough!!
Use a tablespoon of sugar just to balance all the sourness
Don't overstuff the veggies because rice will double in size and come out of the veggies..or it'll be undercooked you need to 75% fill it
Don't use potatoes in the bottom instead use beans and Swiss chard stalk
Your dolma needs more cooking until it's caramelized a little at the bottom this is essential ❤️
Made it, loved it, thank you
Thank you for sharing this it was so well detailed!
Iraqi dolma 😊
I like this Armenian dish, however this was passed to Iraqi people by the ottoman Turks, who intern learned it from the Armenians during the “Ottoman Empire” who at that time ruled over Anatolia region, Middle East, East Europe and the list can go on. The Iraqi people also learned this cuisine from the Armenian refugees who relocated to Iraq during the Armenian Geneside. This authentic Armenian cuisine cook the grape leaves separate from the mix vegetables, they cooked lamb ribs and they layered it in the bottom of the pot and then the Tolma is layers on top of the meat, then its slowly cooked with the Tolma not “Dolma” and then they served it on separate plates. The Armenians also make collard Tolma, potato Tolma, onion Tolma, tomatoe Tolma, bell peppers Tolma, hot peppers, green and red pepper Tolma. The original Armenian name for this cuisine is letsvook panchareghen. Iraqi people learned many deserts and cuisines from the Armenian people and Tolma is one of them. Bon appétit.
When you say "half of the cup", how much grammes does your cup have?
Resident Evil food
لقد.احسنت.في.عمل.الدولماوجميع.المحتويات.وكذلك.الاضافات.التي.تمنحة.الحموضة.وكذلك.النكهة.الخاصة.بل.الدولما.العراقية.فلقد.كنت.دقيق..ومتمكن.شكرا.لانك.عرفت.هذة.الاكلة.الخاصة.لجمهور.كبير.تحياتي
Thank you so much!!! I just made this! It took me two hours to put together and I kept replaying to get it done step by step. It tastes just my kid’s grandmother used to make. We don’t see her anymore, but we sure loved her cooking! Thank you 🥲
Awesome ❤
Rosemary sdiq
Make. Some
Any tips for making the lamb ribs/chops lined at bottom of pot tender? Dolma turned out great but my lamb was not as tender as I would have liked
With the leftover filling I make rice balls and cook it in a broth. It's amazing!
I'm a Filipino and I really love Dolma ❤️😋
Can you use bulgur instead of rice? Will the taste or cooking time change significantly?
Thank you very much. I make it next time.
يا بريطاني اكعد وراحه لا تسوي بحياتك دولمه
It’s similar to Kurdish dolma. Well done ❤❤
Thank you so much!