"Dolma", Cabbage Wraps

Hi my lovely readers! Yesterday I made an Armenian traditional dish, "Dolma" and decided to share the recipe with you. You can make dolma in different variations. In Armenian cuisine there are traditionally two types of dolma: wrapped dolma (usually grape or cabbage leaves are used) and stuffed dolma, in which different vegetables can be used, such as eggplants, peppers, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and even quince and apples. Stuffings are traditionally made of mince beef or lamb combined with rice and herbs, such as basil, coriander and mint. But today I'm only going to talk about the wrapped dolma which is made of mince beef and cabbage leaves.

Here are the ingredients:

• mince beef (1,2 kg)
• cabbage (a big head of cabbage, 4 kg)
• rice (1 cup)
• herbs: leek (spring onions), coriander, dill, mint (use fresh basil too if you have, I am not using it, because I couldn't find any in the store)
• tomato paste (1 full tablespoon), you can substitute it with tomato ketchup
• you can also use sauteed onions (my husband doesn't like sauteed onions, so I have to escape it :) )
• vegetable oil (2 tablespoon)
• salt (to your taste)
• black pepper (1/2 teaspoon, use more if you feel like it)
• paprika (1 tablespoon)
• chili (1/2 teaspoon)
• Water 

Now let's start making cabbage wrapped dolma.

• First of all you should prepare the cabbage leaves. To make this process easier I recommend you to boil the whole cabbage head for a few minutes, instead of trying to take off the leaves one by one. This is the most time consuming stage of preparing dolma. As you have done it the rest of the process is very easy. 

• Next you should do is to prepare the stuffing. Take a big bowl, place the mince beef, add the rice and the chopped herbs: coriander, dill, mint and basil. Stir the mixture, then add the seasonings: salt, black pepper, paprika and chili. Give it another good stir.

• Heat a big pan, add the vegetable oil and the tomato paste (or ketchup). If you are going to use onions, you should saute (roast) the onions then add the tomato paste. Give it a stir and add to the stuffing. 

• Then you should add 1-2 cups of water, the mixture shouldn't be too thick.

• When the stuffing is ready you should make the wraps. Take a cabbage leave (if it is too big cut it in half) put a tablespoon of the beef stuffing and wrap it accurately. 

• Put the cabbage wraps in raws in the same big pan you have already used like this.

• When you have already done with all your cabbage wraps, cover them with a big plate (so that they don't get unwrapped while being cooked), add water enough to cover the wraps, place the lid on and cook for about 35-45 minutes. To check if dolma is cooked or not you should take out one wrap from the upper raw, cut it in half and see if the rice is ready. If yes, then your cabbage wrapped dolma is ready!!! Have a good appetite! :) I hope you will try this recipe one day, and if yes I'll be glad to know your opinion. I'm looking forward to your feedback. Bye!