Stuffed Grape Leaves - Yalanchi Sarma
Submitted by rjkiel
Yalanchi sarma, the traditional Armenian meatless dolma with rice, tomatoes, dried mint, allspice, and lemon juice, simmered in grape leaves until tender. A classic cold mezze dish.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
60 minREADY
80 minYalanchi sarma means “fake” stuffed grape leaves in Turkish, because there’s no meat inside. But there’s nothing fake about the flavor.
This Armenian and Turkish classic fills briny grape leaves with a fragrant rice mixture studded with fresh tomatoes, grated onion, parsley, dried mint, and warm allspice. A generous squeeze of lemon juice right before simmering ties everything together with bright acidity.
Let them rest for an hour after cooking. They’re traditionally served at room temperature, and that waiting time lets the flavors deepen.
Pro Tips
- Soak the preserved grape leaves in hot water for 10 minutes to soften them and rinse off the brine.
- Let the rice filling sit for 2 hours before rolling. This allows the flavors to meld and the rice to absorb the tomato juices.
- Pack the rolls tightly in the pot, seam side down, so they hold their shape during cooking.
- Press them down with an oven-proof plate while they simmer. This keeps them submerged and prevents unraveling.
Ingredients
Directions
In a medium saucepan place the water and bring it to a boil.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the grape leaves.
Let the grape leaves sit in the hot water for 10 minutes.
Remove them from the water and set them aside.
In a medium bowl, place the cooked rice, onions, parsley, tomatoes, dried mint, allspice, and garlic.
Mix the ingredients together well. Let the mixture sit for 2 hours.
In the center of each grape leaf place a small amount of the rice mixture.
Fold the bottom of the grape leaf up and the sides over.
Roll the grape leaf up.
Line the bottom of a large saucepan with some of the grape leaves.
Place the rolled grape leaves on top, seam side down, so that they are tightly packed.
Sprinkle on the lemon juice.
Add enough water to cover the rolled grape leaves.
Place an oven-proof plate on top of the rolled grape leaves to press them down.
Cover the pot and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer the rolled grape leaves for 45 to 60 minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed.
Let them sit for 1 hour before serving.
Comments
this was horrible
Sounds like you tried the recipe, and it didn't turn out very well, can you tell us more details about how the recipe came out. Thanks.