Armenian Food: Dolma Recipe
Armenia is an ancient nation and has long-standing cuisine. To some extent there is present a synthesis of regional cuisines in Armenian dishes. It uses great variety of greens and spices: basil, tarragon, dill, mint, parsley, cumin, paprika, coriander, cinnamon, sumac, garlic, etc.; vegetables, fruits, crops (particularly cracked wheat, lentil), and of course fish and meat: beef, lamb, pork, and chicken. In the article you will find more information about national Armenian food, picnic food ideas, and the dolma recipe.
Among the key cooking techniques of Armenian food preparation with meat is mincing, frothing, stuffing, and other. Eggplants, bell pepper, tomato, onion, and grape leaves are widely in use. Also traditional are pickled vegetables. In spring there is a great variety of fresh plants and sprouts available on the market in Armenia. This wholesome spring products are used in snacks, pastry, salads, and soups. Armenian national bread is lavash which is a sort of flat breads. Armenian food is flavorous, not spicy and prepared with fresh products of good quality.
As concerns picnics the nation has its long-standing tradition of enjoying meals al fresco. Shashlik, kebab, grilled veggies: tomato, pepper, and eggplants, together with fresh greens and onion, and lavash – is a typical Armenian picnic food. There are several special sauces for vegetable, meat, or fish meals; delicious desserts and dried fruits (also stuffed with nuts). As a healthy and refreshing drink here you will find tan – sour yogurt with added salt and diluted with cold water. But do not try to prepare the drink yourself as yoghurt in mountainous Armenia greatly differs from typical yogurt found elsewhere. As for the alcohol drinks, Armenia is famous for its original brandy. The country produces grape, peach, pomegranate and other wines. Although the wines are delicious Armenians just enjoys a glass or two in a good company.
Below please find a dolma recipe – which is one of the most traditional Armenian food.
Dolma
Dolma is Armenian food meaning meat stuffed vegetables or grape leave rolls with meat. Preparation time 30-40 minutes, cooking time: 1.5-2 hours; yields a good batch of rolls. Be patient rolling the meal is rewarding!
Ingredients:
500g meat mince (lamb, beef, or 1:1 beef and pork)
500g grape leaves (fresh or pickled)
1 tbsp rice
3 onions
3 tomatoes
50g tomato paste
50g lemon juice (optional)
3 cloves of garlic
150-200g sour yoghurt (matsyn)
coriander, parsley, basil
seasoning: salt, black pepper
Instructions:
Instructions:
Rinse raw rice, soak in hot water for 10 minutes. Add finely chopped onions, tomatoes, and greens, soaked and rinsed rice, tomato paste, lemon juice to the mince; season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir till well incorporated.
Lay grape leaves shiny side down. Spoon the mince on one side and roll each leave carefully closing all sides. Place the rolls in a heavy-bottom saucepan in even layers (you may spread a couple of leaves on the bottom to prevent sticking). If needed add some salt and tomato paste. When done cover with a saucer, add boiling water 0.5 inch above it. Cook over low heat for 1-1.5 hours. Allow to rest 30 mins before serving. Serve with yoghurt mix of grated garlic and salt.
Originally uploaded by zannnielim
Green Curry is one of my favourite curry. Do not be misled by the colour of the curry thinking it is not spicy, because it is!
Ingredients:
Green Curry Paste,
Beef or chicken sliced to bite size,
Coconut milk,
Eggplant, sweet basil leaves, kaffir lime leaves and hot chilli
Watch the video recipe for the steps:
Originally uploaded by open-arms
The ingredients are rather simple and just by steaming you can make these delicious custard pudding (the japanese way). The English narration in this video sounds a little weird with the strong Japanese accent, however the video shows a clear recipe and preparation steps.
Today's BBQ'd Chicken Wings in Sweet Chili Sauce recipe is by Rueben.
Everyone loves chicken wings. You can bake them, barbecue them, even broil them. There are many ways to enjoy one of our favorite snack foods. But one of our favorites here on Guam are the Asian Sweet Chili Sauce BBQ’d Chicken wings.
Here is all you need:
2 ½ to 3 lbs of chicken wing drumlets and winglets.
2 cups of homemade sweet chili sauce.
For the Sweet Chile Sauce:
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
2 fresh hot peppers minced
2 cloves of fresh garlic minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tsp water
Procedure:
1. In a saucepan, combine together the water, vinegar and sugar.
2. Mix together until well blended. Bring to a boil until the sugar has been dissolved.
3. Add the hot pepper, garlic and salt, and boil for another 1 minute.
4. Add the cornstarch and boil until everything has blended together.
5. Allow this to cool before you use it for a marinade.
If you are going to use this sauce for a barbecue glaze, cooling is not necessary.
This makes about 1/2 cup of sauce.
You can adjust the vinegar, sugar and hot pepper to your particular taste however this recipe is usually friendly for all.
This BBQ recipe will take 2 cups of this sauce.
Putting it all together:
Wash and allow the chicken wings to drip dry.
Place chicken wings in a re-sealable plastic bag.
Add in one (1) cup of the sweet chili sauce.
Seal the bag and rotate to make sure the wings are well coated with the sauce.
Chill for at least 4 hours before barbecuing.
Start the fire in your BBQ pit. You want to BBQ with medium heat. This is at about 350° to 450° F. Use the thermometer in the lid/cover of your BBQ pit to measure the heat.
If you do not have a lid thermometer, here is another way to measure your heat. Hold the palm of your hand about 5 inches above the grill. If you can hold your hand there about 5 to 7 seconds, you can consider your heat to be medium.
Take you wings out of the chill box and allow to them to reach room temperature before BBQing. This should take about 20 minutes.
Grease up your grill and place the chicken wings down. Barbecue your wings about 15-20 minutes per side but make sure that you constantly turn them so that the sugar from the sweet chili sauce marinade does not burn. Total cooking time should be 30-40 minutes.
The last 5 minutes of cooking, coat the wings with the remaining one (1) cup of sauce for a nice, thick glaze.
Serve with white rice and your favorite sides.
I hope you enjoy this very simple recipe for a great Asian BBQ experience. - Rueben's Recipe blog
Adriatic Cruises
Originally uploaded by eyebex
This dish looks great. However, if you watch the video recipe of this dish by Rick Stein, it's even better.
