Ever since the existence of the Ottoman Empire, part of the sultan's cuisine and one of its most prominent representatives was dolma in grape leaves. The recipe of cooking has reached today almost unchanged.
Many nations still have heated debates about who owns the idea of stuffing grape leaves, cabbage and vegetables such as pepper, tomato, eggplant. The Greeks insist on its Greek origin, calling the dish "Dolmas", Armenians and Georgians appropriate the appearance of this dish to themselves, calling it "dolma", the Uzbeks called it "Dulma".There is also a possibility that dolma originated in the open spaces of Turkish cuisine, thanks to its rich culinary traditions. The presence of this dish is typical for many countries that have succumbed to the Turkic influence. At the time of the conquests, the Turks significantly enriched and diversified the cuisines of many countries with original culinary innovations.
In any case, the recipe for dolma in grape leaves from many sources was developed for an elite cuisine, as it contains a number of different cooking techniques, requires certain cooking skills and the ability to harmoniously combine different ingredients in one dish.
Recipe for dolma from grape leaves in the Armenian way
For cooking dolma you will need:
- 0.5 kg of minced meat;
- 100 g round rice;
- 2 bulb bulbs;
- 1 Bulgarian pepper;
- 0,5 chilli;
- 2 large tomatoes;
- 30-35 large grape leaves;
- on 5 sprigs of cilantro, parsley;
- on a pinch of dried basil, tarragon;
- 0.5 tsp.coriander and jeera seeds;
- 30 g butter;
- salt, pepper.
Traditionally, Armenian dolma is served to the table with a creamy garlic sauce or thick fermented milk product - matsun, which can be replaced with homemade yogurt or low-fat sour cream. 
To prepare the sauce will need:
- 200 ml of cream;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- 50 g butter;
- 3-4 sprigs of mint, parsley, cilantro.
Preparing the sauce:
- Fry the minced garlic in melted butter for 3 minutes over low heat.
- Pour in small portions of cream and bring them to the state of "first bubbles".Turn off the stove.
- Finely chop the greens and mix it with cream.
- Salt the sauce to taste.
In traditional Armenian cuisine, in the process of cooking dolma from grape leaves, 3 types of meat are used for mincemeat - mutton, beef, and pork in equal parts. Also a serious moment is the fact that meat is not minced in a meat grinder, but chopped into small pieces using sharp knives.
Food Preparation:
- Chop the meat into minced meat.
- Wash rice with cold water.
- Peel and finely chop the onion.
- Crushed coriander and cumin in a mortar with garlic, a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp.vegetable oils.
- Rinse the leaves of the vine with cold water, remove the cuttings.
Dolma in grape leaves
Step-by-step recipe with a photo:
- Put the washed grape leaves in a deep bowl and pour boiling water with acidified vinegar( about 2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water).This procedure will soften and clean the leaves. Let stand for 5-7 minutes, then drain the water. If the leaves are hard - you can boil them for about 5 minutes.
- Peel the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them.
- Chop the Bulgarian pepper and chilli pepper and chop it in a blender along with the peeled tomatoes.
- Finely chop the onion and herbs.
- Mix the minced meat with rice, chopped peppers with tomato, herbs and onion. Thoroughly knead, season with crushed coriander, zira and garlic. Pepper to taste.
For filling lenten dolma( “pasu tolma”), you should try using not only traditional rice, but also products such as lentils, chickpeas, red small beans, wheat groats.
Dolma formation:
- spread the grape leaf on a flat surface with thick veins upwards;
- put a spoonful in the middle;
- wrap the bottom of the sheet first, then the side parts, and then twist it into a tube, tightly pressing the resulting bar. So do with all the leaves, leaving 5 pieces for the "pillow" at the bottom of the pan.
You can get a clearer look at how to cook dolma from grape leaves and form it correctly, by viewing the video.
For stuffing, it is best to take young leaves of grapes collected in the spring, then the finished dolma will be tender and the rough veins will not spoil the impression of the dish.
Laying the formed bars should be tightly one to one in a deep, thick-bottomed saucepan, made with the remaining grape leaves( or put on the bottom of a regular saucepan, the plate upside down) so that dolma does not burn during cooking. 
Next - pour salted boiling water over the level of the top layer of grape rolls( meat broth can also be used), add a piece of butter and cover with a thick thick plate or put the load in the form of a can with water. Bring the dish to a boil, screw to a minimum the fire and continue to simmer for about 1 hour. You can check for readiness by breaking one bar: the sheet should be easily separated, and the rice should be soft and boiled.
Finished dolma should be given time to relax and brew. To do this, it is best to wrap a pot with a blanket and leave for 20 minutes.
Dolma in grape leaves can be easily prepared in a slow cooker, given the fact that it initially contains a non-stick bowl and is a thick-walled container.
Dolma recipe made from fresh grape leaves is almost the same as marinated recipe. The only difference is the process of soaking canned leaves to get rid of excess acid. They do not need additional boil. One has only to pour boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes.
Despite the fact that annual festivals are held in honor of dolma in Armenia with demonstrations of various culinary experiments( for example, serving a popular dish with mushroom, cherry, pomegranate sauces or nut and pea fillings)it is less famous in Azerbaijan, where dolma is also considered part of the national cuisine.
Cooking dolma from grape leaves in Azerbaijani is different in that for the filling, it is more traditional to use salted fish( stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, etc.) rather than meat. If minced meat is used, then lamb is used to make it. In the summer, with an abundance of vegetables, mainly fruits and vegetables are stuffed - peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, quinces, apples, as well as cabbage, sorrel, fig leaves. Season Azerbaijani dolma with lemon or apple juice, nuts, various vegetable oils with many spices. About a dozen dishes in Azerbaijan contain the word “dolma” in their name.
Finished dolma should be served hot with sauce as a separate dish or cold as a snack with greens. In any of the options, it will be a bright decoration of the table and its main extraordinary dish. Do not be afraid of a large number of cooking processes. Indeed, in terms of complexity, dolma is significantly inferior to the usual stuffed cabbage - the preparation of cabbage leaves is much more labor-intensive work than simple soaking grape leaves in water.
