Dolma

Are you ready for the best Iraqi traditional food recipe?? It is called Dolma.

Dolma, means stuffed grape leaves and squash, is usually served for lunch. It is a very delicious meal that people prepare for guests as a sign of Generosity and hospitality.

It will take you some time to prepare it but trust me it is worth it.

To make Dolma for 2-3 people, you need to do two steps: first, start by preparing the stuffing. For stuffing, you need the following:

1 cup of basmati rice

1 table spoon of tomatoes paste

¾ Lb. of ground beef

5 lobs of chopped garlic

About a table spoon salt

A table spoon of “seven spices” or as you like.

Bring a large bowl, put all the stuffing ingredients and mix well them together. See now you have successfully completed the first step.

Now for the second step, usually we prepare stuffed grape leaves, and squash.  Therefore, you need to peel the squash, cut it in half and then you need to make a hole in to be filled it with stuffing.

 

 

 

 

 

Take each grape leaf and put some of the stuffing in the middle, turn the edges and then role it to look like a role or cylinder.

 

 

When you’re done stuffing, bring a saucepan and put some olive oil in it. Then, arrange the grape leaves in a row until you make a full layer of them. Repeat the same process with the squash.  You’re almost done!

 

The last thing you need to do is to put about ¼ cup of lemon juice and about 1 ½ of water in the sauce pan to cover the squash and grapes. Then, boil it for about half hour. After that, you should put the sauce pan under low temperature for about 10 minutes.

Now, you are done. Good Job!

To serve it; you need a tray or a large dish. Take the tray and put it on the sauce pan then flip the saucepan and the tray together upside down.  So your serving plate would look like below.

 

Enjoy the taste of a delicious food that you have never experienced with your friends and family. Make sure to check out my blog often for more and more easy and delicious recipes.