A dolma (in Turkish; dolmadaki/dolmades in Greek; sarmale in Romanian) is a grape leaf filled with a savoury mixture of rice, onions, minced beef and other ingredients, sometimes served with lemon-like sauce/dressing. It is a popular snack in Eastern Mediterranean countries.

In Azerbaijan, in addition to above, the word dolma is used of any foodstuffs filled with something else, such as filled cabbage leaves, eggplants, paprikas or potato cakes.

In Azerbaijan minced lamb meat with rice is wrapped into grape leaves (Yarpag dolmasy) or occasionally in cabbage leaves (Kyalyam dolmasy). This dish is condimented with coriander, dill, mint, pepper, cinnamon and melted butter. Sometimmes chestnuts and peas are part of the mix. Sour milk is often used as a sauce. Aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, quince and apples are also stuffed with lamb meat and also called dolma.

In Romania, they are wrapped either in grape leaves (sarmale în foi de viţă), in cabbage leaves (sarmale în foi de varză) or in Bell peppers (ardei umpluţi). They are often eaten with hot mămăliga and yogurt.

Kåldolmar is a Swedish dish inspired by dolma. It is made of cabbage instead of grape leaves and contains minced pork and rice. It is eaten with boiled potatoes, brown sauce and lingonberry jam.

External links

• A detailed, illustrated recipe (http://graphics.stanford.edu/~tolis/recipes/dolmadakia.html)
• Step-by-step instructions (with photos) on how to make dolmades (http://www.mediterrasian.com/cuisine_of_month_dolmades.htm)