Saghar Setarehのインスタグラム(labnoon) - 10月18日 00時08分

A study of #Dolmeh in Persian/ #Dolma in Turikish/ Mahshi in Arabic /Gemista in Greek

It started with a desire to recreate my mom’s dolmeh; stuffed aubergines, tomatoes and bell peppers. (Any vegetable stuffed with other ingredients is Dolmeh: vine leaves, cabbage leaves, little zucchinis, onions, even apples and quince). I distinctly remembered tiny dices of meat (NOT minced), a little bit of chana dal in an aromatic rice, inside the belly of pretty round aubergines, juicy tomatoes and colorful bell peppers.

However when I looked for the recipes in my Iranian cookbooks, I came upon different recipes, and when I asked Iranian friends, even more different varieties emerged. I had always known that these stuffed vegetables have different recipes in different countries of the Middle East, the Mediterrean, Central Asia and the Balkan area, but I didn’t expect quite so many varieties to emerge from just a simple query on Twitter among Iranian foodies.

One thing that I have noticed though, it looks like the more West these stuffed vegetables travel, the simpler they become. According to my friend @thefoodiecorner, in her cookbook Gemista the Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers shouldn’t have meat in them (although there’s always a debate on that among the Greeks), just rice and herbs. And by the time you get to Rome, the tomatoes are stuffed with rice alone.

The Iranian versions I’ve read about so far, always have herbs in them. But the mixture varies sometimes. My mom’s and @bottomofthepot's mom version don't have any herbs. So that’s how I cooked these. Some of the other versions of Jewish Iranians according to @tannazsassooni even have dry fruits in them.

All of this and I haven’t even looked into what happens in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. @oliahercules for one, has a stunning stuffed pepper recipe in her latest cookbook Summer Kitchens, and it’s yet different from all these other version.

Someone with a meticulous research and dash of mania could write a cookbook ONLY on dolmeh recipes in different regions.

I’m taking these babies to a picnic on the beach tomorrow. Meeting friends outdoors. The only reasonable way, these days.

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