Edgar Yeganyan · Yerevan, Armenia

Armenian Udoli Dolma: Lamb and Bulgur in Cabbage Leaves

Time3 h
LevelMedium
Dumplings and filled pastaArmenian
Armenian Udoli Dolma: Lamb and Bulgur in Cabbage Leaves

Different nations have Dolma in their traditional gastronomic traditions, but Armenian Udoli Dolma deserves a special attention.

The recipe of Udoli Tolma, Armenians call Dolma as Tolma, extends back to more than one thousand years. It was found in the ancient scrolls, tenderly recreated, thus it became a property of the Armenian nation.

The tenderest lamb with dried fruit, wrapped in cabbage leaves – that’s a true masterpiece, which was shared with me by the chef of Charles restaurant.

Adapted for a home kitchen by our editors from Edgar Yeganyan's restaurant recipe. Edgar Yeganyan's udoli dolma wraps thin slices of lamb rib meat around a filling of bulgur, fried onion and herbs, wraps each parcel in a cabbage leaf and simmers the rolls for two hours with tomato paste and dried apricots. The home version skips the chef's 10-day ageing of the meat, uses boneless lamb shoulder or leg pounded thin, and adds the steps the original leaves out: softening the cabbage leaves and keeping the rolls under the liquid as they cook. Not yet tested from this page.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Cut the lamb across the grain into 12 slices about 1 cm thick.
  2. Pound each slice between two sheets of cling film to about 3–4 mm thick.
  3. Season the slices on both sides with salt, ground red pepper and dried basil.
  4. Put the bulgur in the heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water to cover by 1 cm, cover and leave for 10–15 minutes, until tender with a slight bite.
  5. Drain off any water the bulgur has not absorbed.
  6. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat and fry the onion for 6–8 minutes, until soft and just turning pinkish-gold.
  7. Stir in the bulgur, dill, parsley, basil, ½ tsp of salt and a pinch of red pepper, and let the filling cool a little.
  8. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cut the core out of the cabbage with a small knife.
  9. Lower the whole cabbage into the water, core end down.
  10. Peel off the outer leaves with tongs as they soften, after 2–3 minutes, until you have 12 large leaves; drain them.
  11. Shave down the thick central rib of each leaf with a small knife so it bends easily.
  12. Put 3 tablespoons of filling on each lamb slice and fold the meat around it into a parcel.
  13. Put each parcel on a cabbage leaf, fold the base and sides over it and roll it up tightly.
  14. Line the bottom of the pot with the torn leftover cabbage leaves.
  15. Pack the rolls seam side down tightly in the pot, in one or two layers.
  16. Whisk the tomato paste and ½ tsp of salt into the hot water and pour it over the rolls.
  17. Tuck the dried apricots between the rolls; the liquid should just cover them.
  18. Set the small plate on top of the rolls, cover the pot and bring to a simmer.
  19. Cook over low heat for 2 hours, until the lamb is tender when pierced and the cabbage is silky; add hot water if the liquid drops below the rolls.
  20. Serve hot with a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid and the apricots, sprinkled with dill and green onion.
What we changed for home
  • The 10-day ageing of the meat, hung in the fridge at 3°C (37°F), left out A home fridge is opened too often to hold a steady 3°C (37°F), and hanging raw meat inside it risks spoiling the meat and contaminating other food. Ask the butcher for well-aged lamb instead.
  • Lamb rib meat replaced with boneless shoulder or leg, sliced and pounded thin Taking rib meat off the bone in pieces big enough to wrap takes practice; leg or shoulder gives even slices.
  • Onion, salt, ground red pepper, dried basil and green onion added to the list The method uses all of them, but the list leaves them out.
  • Bulgur cut from 100 g per portion to 200 g for four Twelve rolls with 3 tablespoons of filling each need about 200 g of dry bulgur; 400 g would make twice as much filling as the rolls hold.
  • Cabbage head blanched to loosen and soften the leaves Raw cabbage leaves crack when you fold them.
  • Rolls weighed down with a plate while they simmer It stops them unrolling and floating up out of the liquid.
  • Ground red pepper can be Aleppo pepper, or sweet paprika with a pinch of cayenne Armenian ground red pepper is mild and fruity; Aleppo pepper is the closest match on supermarket shelves.

The dish in the photograph was cooked by the restaurant for this story. Photo: Oleksandr Slyadnyev.

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