Pepper "Dolma": properties of a grade and features of preparation

Variety of pepper "Dolma" is a hybrid. Miniature round fruits resemble an apple, usually their size in diameter does not exceed 6 centimeters, up to 9 in length.The bright green skin and the correct neat shape give the vegetable an attractive presentation. The structure of the pepper makes it ideal for stuffing. Therefore, the vegetable was named Dolma as a popular Turkish dish, although in the original version dolma is cooked in grape leaves.

This is a very popular dish: it is made almost everywhere. It is loved in the Balkans, in Greece, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan, the North Caucasus, the Crimea. In short, where grapes are grown. But modern recipes of traditional dishes are being improved; dolma cooking has also changed somewhat over time. Grape leaves ideally replaced pepper, considerably simplifying and geographically expanding the recipe of cooking a dish.

This variety is also good for fresh use for vegetable salads and appetizers, and the first dishes are prepared with it. Pepper is baked, stewed, preserved. Freshly squeezed pepper with olive oil and vinegar (balsamic, apple or wine), flavored with parsley, perfectly reveals its taste. Gourmets note a particularly harmonious combination of moderately sweet baked pepper and walnut.

Juicy crunchy flesh contains a lot of vitamins, most of the B and C groups. Even in lemon and black currant there is less vitamin C than in pepper. Dolma is rich in mineral salts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, iodine, chromium, sulfur, cobalt, sodium, phosphorus, fluorine, iron, chlorine, zinc, manganese. Due to its beneficial properties and low calorie content, pepper is used in diets: in the complete absence of fat, 100 g contains 27-33 kcal.

During preparation for the preparation of stuffed peppers, it is advisable to find out how much stuffing is required, so that there is not too much left and the vegetables are all used. Make it very easy. Choose a medium sized pepper, cut off its top, clean out the middle, pour water there. We put an empty mug on the scales, reset the readings and pour water from the pepper into it.

Determining the volume of one pepper, multiply by the number of fruits and get the result. At the same time, we take into account that the filling in dolma is not compacted very tightly, therefore, we get about 15% of the resulting weight.

Dolma is cooked in a variety of ways, from the simplest to the intricate and exquisite. Each hostess has its own special secrets of cooking this amazingly tasty dish, which each time turns out to be uniquely tasty.

In order to prepare the dish in one of the easiest ways, first prepare the filling. To do this, we twist 600 g of meat through a meat grinder using an average lattice, removing tendons if necessary. Washed in three or four waters 1 cup of rice is slightly dried. Do not cook! 3-4 sprigs of parsley and 1-2 sprigs of mint wash, dry and grind.

We clean and finely cut 2 onions, clean and three on a fine grater 2 carrots. Heat the vegetable oil in the broiler and add the chopped onion, stir fry over medium heat. After 1-2 minutes, add grated carrots and, continuing to stir, fry for another 5 minutes. Add the mince and simmer for about 5 minutes. It is necessary to mix the mass, so that the whole stuffing evenly changes color. After that add the prepared rice and simmer another 7 minutes. Then pour chopped greens, salt, red pepper, pour in some water (if the stuffing is not very juicy), mix, cover and simmer until rice is cooked. It will take about 10-12 minutes.

While the filling is cooling, prepare the pepper. For such a quantity of meat should be about 12 pieces of pepper. We wash them, we cut off caps, we delete partitions with seeds. Fill the peppers with prepared minced meat.Place the stuffed peppers tightly in a saucepan, cover them with cut hats. Fill with water up to half of the peppers, cover with a lid. Cook at minimum boil for about 20-30 minutes.

In order to make dolma one of the Turkish options, will have to expand the list of ingredients and somewhat change the preparation of the dish.

1. We start with the preparation of rice. To do this, pour 1 cup of rice with hot water and leave in it until the water reaches room temperature. After which it is washed and dried.
2. Chop 6-7 pieces of shallots, add 1 teaspoon of salt to salt and fry in 3-4 cups of olive oil (for example, “Extra Virgin”) until the onion color changes. Then add rice there, mix and stew for 10 minutes.
3. At this time, 2 medium-sized tomatoes are peeled and cut into slices. Crush 1 bunch mint and dill.
4. Add to rice 1 ст2 cups of hot water, chopped tomato, dill, mint, 20 g of black small raisins, 1 tablespoon of pine nuts, sugar (to taste), 1 tsp of black pepper, a pinch of ground coriander and a large pinch of dried thyme . All this mix and cook another 15 minutes.
5. Cook peppers, as in the previous recipe. We put them vertically in 2 layers, add 1 cup of water, 1⁄4 glasses of olive oil, add some salt to taste and simmer on very low heat. After 40-50 minutes the dish will be ready.

The steps are as follows.

• In order to cook dolma, you can use beef, lamb, sometimes mix these two meats, some prepare the dish from poultry meat (turkey and chicken);
• the stuffing is gently stirred, not kneaded, since the filling should be juicy and crumbly;
• when greens are added to the mincemeat, it is recommended to put fresh mint, best of all lemon, barely perceptible note of lemon will give dolma an unusual savory taste;
• Paprika, coriander and zira are very good in the dish;
• it is important to follow the fire in the cooking process, not allowing a vigorous boil, it is advisable not even to open the lid, but listening and control the barely perceptible boil.

Variations of recipes suggest adding rice cooked to half-cooked in raw minced meat with spices. And stuffing stuffed peppers. In some recipes it is proposed to make the filling for quenching more saturated. To do this, use fresh tomatoes, crushed without peel, and tomato paste or sauce. Sometimes during the preparation of added sour cream or mayonnaise. In accordance with their taste preferences gourmets change the composition of the spices included in the filling.

Nowadays, any stuffed vegetables are called dolma: peppers, cabbage leaves, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants. Some recipes combine the stuffing of several species, getting a real bouquet of flavors in one dish.

Minced meat can be without meat, and include only rice with vegetables, herbs and spices. One thing remains unchanged - pepper “Dolma”, which not only decorates the dish, but is also a very tasty component of many foods favorite.

See the following video for the stuffed pepper recipe.