Feb 20

Dolmeh Barg-eh Mo
Dolmeh Barge Mo (Stuffed Grape Leaves) is the most common of Persian Dolmeh. There are a variety of ways to make the mixture that is wrapped with the grape leaves. The way I have wrapped the grape leaves is actually the Turkish style of wrapping. The one that ends up in a square form is the Iranian style; however, many people prefer to wrap the grape leaves in the Turkish style.

Ingredients (20-30 Grape Leaves):
30-40 grape leaves — you will need extra leaves to line the bottom of the pot
1 cup rice
1 medium onion
1/2 cup yellow split peas (lapeh)
1/3 cup lemon juice or vinegar
2-3 tablespoons sugar
250-500 grams ground beef
100-250 grams sabzi (herbs) — Fresh or dry (or combination); these include parsley, cilantro, green onions or tareh, shevid (dill), and small amount of Tarragon; can also include mint and savory leaves
salt, pepper
turmeric
oil
water

dolmeh-mo

Directions:

Prepare the stuffing/mixture:

Chop up the onion and fry it in a pan. Add the meat once the onion is golden in color and fry the meat. Add about half a cup of water and allow the meat to cook. You will add salt, pepper, and turmeric to the meat as well. Allow the meat to cook for at least 20. Once the meat is cooked set it aside and allow it to cool.

Heat up water in a pot and boil the yellow split peas for approximately 15 minutes. Then drain and set them aside to cool.

Heat up water in a pot and bring the rice to a boil. Drain the rice and set aside to cool.

Clean any fresh herbs and chop them up slightly using a food processor (or a knife). If using any dry herbs make sure to use less than you would if using fresh herbs. Certain herbs such as parsley, cilantro, and green onions you can use more of, while you would use less tarragon and dill. I used dry tarragon and dill, while I used fresh parsley, cilantro, and green onions.

Mix all these ingredients together in a bowl, add salt and pepper for taste.

dolmeh-mixture

Wrap the Grape Leaves:

If you are using fresh Grape Leaves you will need to boil them in water for a bit so that they soft. If using Grape Leaves in a jar bought from the store make sure you wash them real well so they have no preservatives left on them (it will ruin the flavor if left on the leaves).

grape-leaves

Take the leaves one at a time and lay them on a surface or cutting board. Take some of the mixture and place it on the leaf and then begin wrapping the leaf.

dolmeh-wraping

Add oil to the pot you plan on using to cook the Dolmeh in. Take a few leaves that aren’t wrapped and place them on the bottom of the pot. Take all the prepared Dolmeh’s and place them on the bottom of the pot leaving no spaces.

step3

Liquid mixture to pour over the Dolmeh’s:

Take the 1/3 cup of lemon juice (or vinegar) and add the sugar to it. Add about a cup of water to the juice/sugar and stir everything together. Once the sugar has dissolved pour the contents all over the Dolmeh’s in the pot.

step4

Cooking the Dolmeh’s:

Place a plate (or something else thats heavy) over the Dolmeh’s to make sure they dont move around. Turn the burner on to medium-low heat and place the lid on top of the pot. Allow the Stuffed Grape Leaves to cook for 30-45 minutes.

step5

Serve as a appetizer or side dish for some other Persian dish. Tastes amazing, you should try it! :)

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Jan 15

I recently visited my parents and made a second type of Kofteh Berenji with their help. The first one I had made was a bit different and included lapeh (split yellow peas). The balls I made in my other Kofteh Berenji recipe were larger, and the ones in this one were much smaller and stuck together far better.

Koofteh Berenji

Koofteh Berenji

If you want something light and tasty I definitely recommend this!

Ingredients (good for 4-6 people):
1 lb ground meat
1 onion –grated and mixed with the meat
4 tablespoons chopped onion
1 cup rice –rinse well
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 egg (optional)
salt/pepper
turmeric
saffron
garlic powder (optional) –small amount
lemon juice
3 cups water
oil
1 lb sabzi (greens) cleaned and chopped (2 lbs if not cleaned and chopped) : Parsley, Cilantro, Green Onions, Tarragon (Tarkhoon), Savory Leaves (Marzeh), Tareh (Chopped chives) or you can use the ends of Green Onions instead of Tareh. If you are using dry ingredients in combination with the fresh ones, you will need to adjust the measurements based on fresh or dry ingredients. Typically when using dried greens (sabzi) you will use less (approximately 1/2 cup of the ingredient) than if you were using fresh. Just to give you an idea I will provide you with the exact amounts of each ingredient I used because we had a combination of fresh and dry greens at my parents house:
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 bunch fresh green onions (or you can use 2 bunches; especially if you dont use chives (tareh))
1/2 cup dry Tarragon
1/2 cup dry Savory Leaves
1/2 cup dry Tareh

Directions:
As mentioned in the ingredients you will grate an onion and mix it in with the meat. Set it aside to mix in with other ingredients at a later stage.

Once all the greens are cleaned, chopped, and mixed together (mix together dry and fresh greens) then you will add your rice (after you have washed it) to the greens. Mix the greens and rice with the meat (make sure you have mixed your meat with the grated onion first). Add salt, pepper, turmeric, and a small amount of garlic powder to the mixture.

If you find that the mixture wont stick together you can add an egg.

In a pot pour in some oil and heat it. Saute the 4 tablespoons of chopped onions in the oil once it is heated. Let the onions become golden then add the tomato paste and continuously stir for a few minutes (no more than 5 minutes). Add 3 cups of hot water to the pot. Begin forming small round balls with the mixture and place them into the pot. Once all the Kofteh Berenji’s are formed and placed in the pot add more water (if needed) to cover them all.

Add some lemon juice, salt, pepper, and saffron to the water and then cover and allow the Kofteh’s to cook for approximately 45 minutes on medium heat.

Many times this is more of a light side dish and may not be the only thing you are eating.

Serve hot or warm … and most importantly enjoy!

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Dec 04

There are many different vegetables you can use to create Dolmeh’s. One of my favorites is Dolmeh Felfel (stuffed bell peppers)! I used green, red, and yellow bell peppers to mix up the flavors a bit and bring some color to my plate :)

Ingredients (for 6-8 Felfel Dolmehee (Bell Peppers)):
approx. 1 lb (500 grams) ground beef

Dolmeh Felfel

Dolmeh Felfel

approx. 350-500 grams Sabzi for Dolmeh — Mint, Parsley, Tareh (if available otherwise use more green onions), Green onions, and Tarragon —- amount of sabzi used not to exceed amount of meat, but can be less if you desire
1 cup rice
1 small onion
salt/pepper
turmeric
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Lemon juice –desired amount
1 tablespoon sugar (if desired)

Directions:
Heat up some oil in a frying pan or small pot. Chop up the onions and add to the pan. Add the ground beef to the pan as well, then add turmeric, salt, pepper, and stir the contents until the water from the meat is mostly evaporated/withdrawn. Mix the tomato paste with 1 cup water and add to the meat. Let the meat cook on medium-low heat until most of the water is fully evaporated. Note: you can choose to keep some of the meat stock to use when cooking the Dolmeh’s.

dolmeh-step1

You want to clean and wash all the sabzi and then finely chop them up. I used a food processor to chop up my sabzi, it makes the job a lot easier. In a frying pan add about 2 tablespoons oil and fry the sabzi (greens) within the pan for a few minutes.

Remove the meat from the burner and add the sabzi (after you have fried it) to the meat and mix the contents together.

dolmeh-step2dolmeh-step4

dolmeh-step3
In a small pot heat up some water and pour in the rice and add some salt. Allow the rice to boil and then use a strainer to empty the contents and drain the water. Add the rice to the meat and sabzi mixture and mix well. At this point you can add the lemon juice and if you choose the sugar as well. If you feel the mixture doesn’t have enough tomato paste you can add a bit more (it depends on how much tomato paste you desire). Also, if the mixture needs more salt and/or pepper now would be the time to add it. Set the mixture aside.

Felfel Dolmeyi Stuffed

Felfel Dolmeyi Stuffed

Stuffed dolmeh Cooking

Stuffed dolmeh Cooking

To prepare the bell peppers you will need to cut out the top in a circular shape. After cutting out the top empty out the contents inside and remove all the seeds (as best as you can) from the inside and then rinse the bell peppers. In a pot (that can fit all the bell peppers) place all the bell peppers inside and add some water and salt. Allow them to cook for awhile until they are soft. Once they are ready and a bit tender you can take them out.

Stuff each of the bell peppers with the mixture and then place the bell pepper top (the one you cut out earlier) on top. Place all the bell peppers into a pot (or the same one after you empty out the water it had in it) and pour in some water, meat stock, or a combination of the two (especially if you didnt save a lot of meat stock). Allow the Dolmeh’s to cook for 20-30 minutes on medium heat.

Enjoy :D

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