Jalan Sarma

Ingredients (for 5 meals):

• about 75 vine leaves (unsprayed)
• about 400 g of rice (round grain, because it is “juicier”)
• about 800 g of young green onions
• 3.4 sprigs of mint – leaves only
• a bunch of parsley

spices:

• pepper, salt
• oil and water

Preparation:

Place vine leaves in boiling water and cook for a few minutes until they soften (wither). Stew the chopped spring onions in oil together with the feathers, just enough to wilt. Add rice, mint, parsley, pepper, salt, and a cup of water. Cool the filling and leaves. Mix everything well, check the saltiness and taste of the mint (it must be felt), and then fill them. For filling, it is important not to put a large amount of filling in the sheets, and to wrap them tightly so that the strips do not break and unroll. Turn the leaves inside out and place the filling with a large spoon. Shape the ribbons into an oblong shape, because they must have the shape of a roller. Roll by first wrapping this back part of the leaf and shaping it into an oblong roll, then the left and then the right side and finally roll it up. Arrange one next to the other, tightly. Pour additional oil over. Oil is very important for the juiciness of the sarma and must not be missing. A sufficiently large plate is placed over it and pressed so that they do not open during cooking. It is poured with water approximately two and a half fingers above. When it boils, it is cooked on low heat until the water evaporates. Cook for a maximum of 45 minutes.

Serving:

Jalan sarma/dolma can be a hot or cold appetizer. They are served with sour milk, kefir, sour cream or lemon.

Related stories:

It is possible to pickle vine leaves. During the spring, unsprayed young vine leaves are harvested. They are salted and about 10 leaves are stacked on top of each other in rolls. Put the rolls in a jar. When rolls of vine leaves
fill a jar with vines, pour boiled and cooled water over them.