Balkan-Style Stuffed Vine Leaf (Sarma)
Stuffed Vine Leaf (sarma or dolma) is a popular dish in Balkan cuisines. This recipe comes from classic Bulgarian cuisine and is made with blanched tender grape leaves, succulent chicken pieces and aromatic rice. Sarma is a delicious dish served as a starter, mezze or main course.
Equipment
- 1 medium-sized clay pot with a lid
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken breasts
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 large carrot
- 3-4 stalks celery
- 1 cup rice
- 1 medium-sized tomato
- 4-5 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon savoury spice
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel and dice the onions. Peel the garlic and mince it in a garlic press. Peel and grate the carrots. Use a large-size grater for that. Wash and grate the celery on the same grater. Cut the chicken into small pieces. Soak and wash the rice in a colander under running water.
- Blanch fresh vine leaves. Alternatively, use defrosted or canned blanched vine leaves.
- Heat oil in a large casserole pot. Saute the onion for 2-3 minutes until transparent, then add the carrot and the celery. Stir the vegetables from time to time to cook them evenly. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and the dry spices. Saute for another couple of minutes while stirring regularly to ensure the spices do not burn. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until the juices from the meat are reduced. Add the rice and saute for further 5 minutes.
- Place one blanched leave on a flat surface. Add 2-3 tablespoons of stuffing to the centre of the leaf and make the parcel. First, fold the bottom end of the vine leaf over the rice stuffing and tuck it in, then neatly fold in the sides and fasten the top part of the leaf. Ensure the parcel is packed tightly. First, arrange stuffed vine leaves along the inside wall of your clay pot, then pack more parcels in circles from the walls to the centre until the bottom of the clay pot is covered with tightly packed vine leaf parcels. You can make as many layers of vine leaf parcels as you like, but make sure they are tightly packed.Boil water in your kitchen kettle and pour it into your clay pot to cover the vine leaf parcels. Add salt to taste and two tablespoons of oil. The stuffed vine leaves will start floating in the water. You will need to place something on the top to keep them in place. A plate will work fine.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F and place the clay pot in the middle of the oven. When the water in the pot starts boiling (about 10 minutes later) reduce the temperature to 170°C/ 223 °F and cook for another 25 minutes
- In a small pan, melt 20-25g of butter. Saute a teaspoon of sweet paprika in the hot butter for 1-2 minutes, then pour the flavoured butter over the stuffed parcels and serve with a piquant garlic yoghurt sauce on the side.