Summer Dolma (Stuffed Vegetables)

Main Dishes | Mediterranean cuisine

⏳ Time

2 hours

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

Summer Dolma (Stuffed Vegetables)

Ingredients

Beef - 24.7 oz
Lamb - 10.6 oz
Boiled White Round Rice - 3.5 oz
Orange Bell Peppers - 5 pieces
Tomatoes - 17.6 oz
Garlic - 4 cloves
Onion - 2 pieces
Cumin (Zira) - 1 teaspoon
Eggplants - 17.6 oz
Basil - 2.5 oz
Cilantro - 2.5 oz
Vegetable Oil - 1 fl oz
Salt - 2½ teaspoons
Ground Black Pepper - 1 teaspoon

Step by Step guide

Step 1

First, we need to prepare the filling. Pass the meat through a meat grinder (for the filling, it's better to use fatty beef and add pork or lamb to it. We take 70% beef and 30% fatty lamb).

Step 2

Now, we will boil the round rice until half-cooked, drain the water, and rinse the rice in cold water. Finely chop the onion and some cilantro (you can use a blender). Add all this to the meat.

Step 3

Crush the cumin in a mortar and, along with the other spices, black pepper, and salt, add it to the meat. Mix the filling well with your hands.

Step 4

Now let's prepare the vegetables. Cut off the tops of the peppers, remove the insides, and do the same with the eggplants. Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and carefully scoop out the insides with a teaspoon (do not throw away the pulp; place it in a bowl). Stuff the vegetables tightly and carefully.

Step 5

Pour vegetable oil into a pot, about a finger's depth from the bottom. Layer the tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers — they should be packed fairly tightly.

Step 6

For the sauce, blend the tomato pulp, squeeze in the garlic, add half a cup of water, and a little salt. Pour this over the vegetables, sprinkle with chopped basil on top, and cook over medium heat. After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for about one and a half to two hours with the lid on.