Dolma

Dolma

Stuffed peppers
Course	Meze or main dish
Region or state	Mediterranean. Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Western Asia
Serving temperature	Cold or hot
Main ingredients	Stuffed peppers, Vine leaf, Rice
Variations	Partial
Cookbook: Dolma  Media: Dolma

Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes common in the Mediterranean cuisine and surrounding regions including the Balkans, the Caucasus, Russia, Central Asia and Middle East. Common vegetables to stuff include tomato, pepper, onion, zucchini, eggplant, and garlic. Meat dolmas are generally served warm, often with tahini or egg-lemon sauce. Dolmas prepared with olive oil and stuffed with rice are generally served cold with a garlic-yogurt sauce. Stuffed vegetables are also common in Greek cuisine, called gemista, as well as in Italian cuisine, where they are named ripieni ("stuffed").^[1] Dishes of cabbage or grape leaves wrapped around a filling have been known since antiquity, where in ancient Greece they were called "fyllas" (fyllon-φύλλον= leaf), and currently are called dolmadaki or in general dolma or yaprak dolma ('leaf dolma'), and are also used to make sarma.

Names and etymology

Dolma is a verbal noun in Turkish for the word dolmak, "to be stuffed."^[2][3][4][5] Dolma without meat is sometimes called yalancı dolma 'fake dolma' in Turkish.^[6][7] Versions have been known in Persia since at least as early as the 17th century. Mīrzā ʿAlī-Akbar Khan Āšpaz-bāšī, chef to the court of Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah (1264-1313/1848-96), recorded dolma as a category of Persian cuisine and gave recipes for stuffing grape leaves, cabbage leaves, cucumbers, eggplants, apples, and quinces.^[8]

In some countries, the usual name for the dish is a borrowing of dolma and in others it is a calque, and sometimes the two coexist with distinct meanings: Albanian: japrak; Arabic: محشي‎‎ maḥshi ('stuffed'), محشي ورق عنب (maḥshī waraq 'inab, 'stuffed grape leaf'); Persian: دلمه‎‎,"dolme", برگ "barg"; Greek: ντολμάς dolmas (for the leaf-wrapped kind) and γεμιστά yemista 'stuffed'; Kurdish: dolma‎ (دۆڵمە), yaprakh (یاپراخ). In Aleppo, the word يبرق yabraq refers to stuffed vine leaves, while محشي maḥshī refers to stuffed cabbage leaves and stuffed vegetables.

An alternative etymology comes from an barev Armenian տոլմա [tolˈmɑ] or դոլմա [dolˈmɑ], coming from the words toli, 'grape leave', and ma, 'wrapped'.^[9] Toli as a grape leave was recorded in the inscriptions of the Kingdom of Van (Urartu). Initially, in Classical Armenian, the dish was called Tolimis, meaning "meat in grape leaf". Over time, as often it happens with the endings of Indo-European languages such as Armenian, Tolimis turned into Tolim, followed by Tolima, and finally Tolma.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Internationally, the food is called dolma. It is a stuffed vegetable that is hollowed out and filled with stuffing. This applies to zucchini, tomato, pepper, eggplant, and the like; stuffed mackerel, squid, and mussel are also called dolma. Dishes involving wrapping leaves such as vine leaves or cabbage leaves around a filling are called sarma, though in many languages the distinction is usually not made.

Filling

The filling generally consists of rice, minced meat or grains. In either case, the filling includes onion, herbs like dill, mint or parsley and spices. Meatless fillings are cooked with olive oil and include raisins or currants, onion, nuts or pulses.

Azerbaijani dolma

Stuffed vine leaves (Azerbaijani: Yarpaq dolması)

‘Three Sisters’ (Azerbaijani: Üç Bacı Dolması)

There are Azerbaijnai verbs “dolmag” which means ‘fill’ and ‘bükmək’ linked to the leaves that are used to wrap meat. Dolma is a stuffed vegetable (aubergine, pepper, tomato) that is hollowed out or leaf (usually vine or cabbage) filled with stuffing. The stuffing usually consists of rice and herbs such as coriander, mint and dill, onions and meat, although there is a variation – yalanchi (false) dolma, which is meat-free. ^[14]

Stuffed cabbage leaves (Azerbaijani: Kələm dolması) are popular all year round in Azerbaijan, but especially in the winter months when other vegetables are less available.

Stuffed vine leaves (Azerbaijani: Yarpaq dolması) are one of the types of dolma. They have a distinctive round shape as opposed to the Turkish cigar-shaped ones. They are served as a main course in Azerbaijani cuisine.

There is a summer combination of stuffed vegetables throughout Azerbaijan. It is known as ‘Three Sisters’ (Azerbaijani: Üç Bacı Dolması) due to the three main ingredients: aubergine, tomato and peper. The stuffing is usually based on minced lamb or veal or combination of both and aubergines, tomatoes and peppers are filled with this stuffing. ^[15]

Armenian lenten

In addition to the traditional dolmas, Armenia has a giant vegan variant called Lenten Dolma ("Pasuts Tolma" or "պասուց տոլմա"). It is wrapped with cabbage leaves, and stuffed with red beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, cracked wheat, tomato paste, onion and many spices and flavorings.^[16] Keeping with the Armenian lenten rules, it is vegan, but despite its name of Lenten dolma, it is commonly prepared year round. Pasuts tolma is made of seven different grains – chickpea, bean, lentil, cracked wheat, pea, rice and maize. All the grains are boiled. This dolma is called pasuts because the Christian New Year features the fast days, which end on Easter day (pasuts tolma means "fast day tolma"). The seven grains symbolize God’s divine number 7, which is associated with divine perfection and completion.

With sea food

"Midye dolma", Stuffed mussels

Dolma could be made by using seafood. It is sometimes made with different types of fish or mussels. Stuffed mussels, called midye dolma is very popular in Turkey. Midye dolma may be filled with rice, onion, black pepper and pimento spice.^[17]

Middle Eastern Variants

Dolma has been a part of Middle Eastern cuisine for centuries.^[18] It is a common dish in Iraqi cuisine, which includes stuffed cabbage leaves, onions in aubergines cooked in tomato sauce.^[19]

Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinians, Iraqis and Iranians have been making stuffed grape leaves for centuries. Over time, regional variations developed. In the Persian Gulf, basmati rice is preferred, and the flavor of the stuffing may be enhanced using tomatoes, onions and cumin.^[18]

In Israel, vine leaves, Swiss chard, artichoke hearts, mallow, cabbage, potatoes, eggplants, onions, dates, zucchini, bell peppers, beets and hot chili peppers are commonly stuffed with a combination of meat and rice, although other fillings, such as bulgur, lentils and ptitim, have evolved among the various Jewish, Palestinian and Armenian communities.^[20]

Egyptian cuisine - Mahshi

Egyptians call this main course Mahshi (also spelled Mashi or Mashy). It is stuffed vine leaves^[21] but traditionally, cabbage is used in the winter and vine leaves are used in the summer.^[22] Its cooking method changes slightly depending on the type of leaf that is used, as cabbage-based mahshi may be cooked in tomato sauce, while grape-leaf mahshi never is. If vine leaves are used, lemon is added.^[23]

See also

• Sarma
• Cabbage roll (stuffed cabbage)
• Sogan-dolma

References

Sources

• Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food. ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
• Gosetti Della Salda, Anna (1967). Le ricette regionali italiane (in Italian). Milano: Solares. 

External links

Media related to Dolma at Wikimedia Commons