Persian Dolma | Stuffed Grape Leaves
“Dolmeh Barge Mo” is the most commonly-cooked type of Dolma in Iran. In some translations, the name of this dish has been translated to “stuffed grape leaves”, so technically, a lot can be understood about this dish just by reading its name. There are many other types of Dolma, like Dolme Felfel.
Persian Dolma | Stuffed Grape Leaves
Ingredients
- 40 to 50 grape leaves
- 300 grams minced meat
- ½ cup rice
- 5 tablespoons minced Dolma vegetables (including: coriander, parsley, mint, tarragon. These items are also optional to add: dill, scallion, chives)
- 2 onions
- ⅓ cup split beans
- salt and pepper as much as required
- 1 cup brown stock
- 25 grams butter
- ½ cup vinegar
- 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- About 12 hours before you want to cook Dolmeh Barge Mo, leave the split peas and rice in some water in separate dishes.
- Chop the onions and using some oil and turmeric stir fry the chopped onions. When they started to look golden, add the minced meat and stir fry it.
- In two different dishes, cook the rice and the split peas. The split peas must be completely cooked, but be careful not to overcook them, if overcooked, they can be mashed. The rice, on the other hand mustn’t be completely cooked, since it is going to be heated and cooked in the other levels, so being underdone (not completely cooked, but more than half-cooked) is enough for the rice.
- Add the mined vegetables, salt and pepper and stir the ingredients and to go on, add the cooked rice and split peas. Mix the ingredients and put out the flame of the gas burner.
- To complete the cooking stages, cover the bottom of a separate pot with some grape leaves. This won’t let the Dolma burn.
Wrapping Persian Barge Mo Dolma
- The two most popular ways to wrap them is to wrap them in “rolls” or “squares”. Note that in order to soften the leaves, they must be heated in boiling water for about 3 minutes.
- Try to use bigger grape leaves. Put one leave in a plate on its back (if the leaves are small, use two leaves for each wrap). Add a spoon of the cooked ingredients and wrap it.
- For wrapping it, read the following part carefully:
Dolma Barge Mo dressing
Mix the mentioned ingredients (1 cup Brown stock, 25 grams butter, ½ cup vinegar, 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar, some salt) in a pot and heat them until the liquid starts boiling. After a short while, add the liquid to the pot with the wrapped ‘’Dolmeh Barge Mo’’s. Now the pot needs to be heated for the Dolma to be prepared but during this time, the wraps might spread open in a pot. In order to prevent this, put a plate on top of them upside down and then cover the pot with its lid. After about one hour, the tasty dish is ready.
Topping and serving Persian Dolma
After putting the cooked wraps in a plate, top them with some barberries and walnuts. This dish with its magnificent mixture of tastes, can be eaten as a mouth-watering appetizer, side dish and even as main dish.
Other Ingredients for Stuffing Grape Leaves Dolma
In different parts of the world and even different parts of Iran, many types of ingredients can be used for stuffing Dolmeh, to make this dish suit different tastes.
Tell us if you have cooked or tried this dish with these ingredients or other ones. If there are any tips which can be helpful during the process of cooking this dish, we would love to read them in the comments section!
the dish is very tasty, thanks
can we cook rice and split peas together?
no because the time of cooking differs and we need to parcook the rice.
wow this is very tasty and beautiful. I love the appearance of the food too.
the dolmas I made were kind of smashed. too soft. specially the middle.
you should parcook the content before filling the leaves. because they are going to be cooked there too.
thanks for the very detailed instructions
the leaves are too hard. what should I do to make them ready for wrapping?
you should boil the leaves for about 3 minutes before using.
the dish is very delicious. I loved this one more than any other kind of dolma
thanks for the very precise recipe. I loved it and i was easy to make.
I prefer sweet taste. what can I do?
you can add some sugar to the content or simply use some raisins.
the dolmas were unwrapped. why did it happen?
maybe you did not use a napkin to cover the lid of the pot. or you did not wrap the ingredients properly and as it was instructed. also check the amount of the filling. it should not be that much.
what can I garnish my food with?
barberries and walnuts
thanks for the very lovely dolme barge mo