Stuffed Grape Leaves

A couple of weeks ago, my one son, the one who goes to school in Rhode Island, asked if I would make Dolma, or Stuffed Grape Leaves for Easter. This boy doesn’t ask for much, so when a request comes in like this, I am usually inclined to grant him his request. He wanted the cold kind, as an appetizer. (As opposed to the stuffed peppers dinner I make that is made with meat and rice, and served hot.)
I haven’t the foggiest idea what gave him this craving. I think he takes after my dad in this way, in that my father was known to come up with some unusual cravings.

Anyway…I went to the grocery store and picked up what I needed, and helped myself to the jar of grape leaves in my mother’s cabinet. After all, she would be treated to this as well.

So, Saturday, the day before Easter, I began the task. It is not a difficult thing to make, it just takes time, as so many of my Armenian heritage foods tend to do. I decided to make it fun for myself by photographing the steps as I went along. If you are interested, I am about to show you my progress.


The Dolma is also called DEREVI SARMA, or Grape Leaves stuffed with Rice.

1 cup Rice
4 cups chopped Onions
1 cup Olive Oil
¼ cup Parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup Dill, chopped
Juice of 1 Lemon (You will need 2 more lemons before you are
¼ cup Currents done.)
¼ cup Pine Nuts
About 50 Grape Leaves


The above ingredients, mixed together, is your filling.


Sauté for 10 minutes.



The grape leaves need to be washed, or rinsed before using.
If they are freshly picked (as I remember my great-grandmother doing) soak them in boiling water for a few minutes. If they are from a can or jar, rinse them well.
I laid mine on a cookie pan.

Place some leaves in the bottom of a pot to prevent Sarma from burning.

Take a leaf and spread it on a plate, wrong side up and stem side toward you. Cut off the stem.

Put a teaspoon of the filling near the stem end,

fold over the sides, then start rolling from the stem up.

This one is a tiny sample.

Arrange the rolled leaves side by side in the pot and in two or three layers according to the size of the pot.

Place a plate over the top layer so that the rolled leaves stay in place, and pour two cups of water into the pot.
Cook over a low flame on the stove for at least one and a half hours. You want the rice to cook.

After they are cooked, do not remove the plate until the Sarmas have cooled to prevent discoloring.
Serve cold, sprinkle with olive oil to make them shine (mine still looked shiny, so I did not add more.)
I took another lemon, and squeezed the juice out over the top of the plate of Sarma, cut another lemon into slices and laid them on top as you can see.

This recipe comes from my mother’s beloved recipe book entitled Treasured Armenian Recipes, and I followed it pretty closely, except that I did not add salt and pepper to the filling before sautéing as the recipe calls for, and the sautéing is my mother’s addition to the recipe.
I have to say that this was the best I’d ever made it. I had never used this particular recipe before as the cookbook had been MIA for a long time.

Dolma might be an acquired taste. I can’t guarantee that you will like it, but my son sure did!