Tolma in vine leaves

The introduction

Hello everyone, I hope, that you are all doing just fine!

In this article I want to tell you about the Tolmas in vine leaves, which are pretty popular in Georgia. Although, it’s not that popular dish, as it is the real Tolma in cabbage leaves, however, this is not a lesser one, either.

To tell you the truth, I prefer the Tolma in the cabbage leaves, which is a traditional thing in Georgia, I guess. well, at least, Tolma I know, means, that it’s in cabbage leaves and not in the vine leaves, however, there are many people, who like the Tolmas in vine leaves very muchand they would rather prepare it, than the cabbage one. There are also those Tolmas in vine leaves sold in supermarkets in frozen shape, so that you can buy them and cook them just as you would cook your prepared Tolmas in vine leaves and they are pretty delicious, too, if you want to know the truth.

Well, to be honest, getting the vine leaves ready is an easier thing, than getting the cabbage leaves ready, because the cabbage is large and it’s kind of uncomfortable to cook it in that boiling water and handling it well. That’s what I don’t like in preparing Tolmas.

So, anyways, let me tell you about these Tolmas in vine leaves, which are not that hard to prepare as you might imagine.

Ingredients:

• Beef, 1 kilogramme
• Onions, 3 medium
• Rice, 100 grams
• Fresh coriander, 40 grams
• Fresh parsley, 40 grams
• Peppermint, 30 grams
• Tarragon, 30 grams
• Dry red pepper
• Vine leaves
• Salt to taste
• Matsoni
• Garlic

Preparation process

First of all, you should take the beef and wash it and cut it into small cubes. Well, some people don’t wash it, however, I’m sure, that it’s better to wash it.

Then, you should take the coriander and parsley and peppermint and tarragon and wash them. And you should also peel the onionsand wash them.

After that, you should grind those beef pieces and herbs and onions into the grinder or you can use the chopper-blender, which perfectly does its job and if you want the ingredients to be more like grinded, you should add some water to them and grind them that way and everything will be just perfect.

So, you should then add the washed rice and dry red pepper, salt and ½ cup water. And you can also add some butter, however, it’s not that necessary. You should just add it if the beef is not fatty, I mean, if you just have the lean meat, you should add some butter, so that it will be more delicious.

Now it’s time for the vine leaves. Well, it’s a little bit tricky, however, it’s not that bad, I must tell you. You should take them and cut the hard parts or sticks from them. Then you should take some water and boil it. When the water boils, you should put those vine leaves into it and have it like that for a couple of minutes or so, until they get softer, but they shouldn’t get very soft, because then they will tear very easily and you won’t be able to use them as you want to.

Well, when you have mixed all the ingredients of beef and herbs and onions and pepper and salt, you should take the vine leaves and put the filling into them and wrap them. You should know, that you shouldn’t put too much filling into each leaf, because the leaves are usually pretty small and you get pretty small  Tolmas from those vine leaves.

After you have wrapped all those Tolmas in vine leaves, you should take them and put them into the saucepan. Then you should pour some salt to them and put a heavy plate on them. You should then pour some cold water and put the lid on the saucepan and let the water be boiled. After the water is boiled, you can turn the heat down and let the Tolmas get cooked.  You should have them like that for about 30-40 minutes and then the Tolmas will be ready.

It’s known, that the Tolmas should be small, so that if it happens and the vine leaves are too large, you should cut them to make them smaller.

Well, when the Tolmas are ready, you should take the Tolmas out of the saucepan and put them on a large plate and you can put them as a pyramid.

They pour Matsoni in a small bowl and they serve it with the Tolmas together.

You should know, that if you don’t have only the beef there and you have added some pork or sheep meat, then you can just not add the rice, because the Tolmas will be soft without the rice, too.

Well , I hope, that you will try this recipe and prepare the Tolmas in vine leaves, because they are easy to prepare and they are pretty good and delicious. they are also pretty healthy and full of vitamins.

Enjoy your cooking!

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