KO EN IraqiMain course⏱ 155 minEdit history

Iraqi Dolma (Mixed Stuffed Vegetables)

Name: Iraqi Dolma (Mixed Stuffed Vegetables)
Prep time: 1 h 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 2 h 35 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Iraqi
Ingredients: 2 cups Medium-grain rice; 300 g Minced lamb or beef; 3 tbsp Tomato paste; 1 cup Flat-leaf parsley; 0.5 cup Dill; 1 medium Onion; 1 tbsp Baharat; 3 tbsp Oil; 1.5 tsp Salt; 3 Large onions; 30 Vine leaves; 10 Chard leaves; 3 small Peppers; 2 small Aubergines; 2 small Courgettes; 4 large Tomatoes; 2 large Potatoes; 2 tbsp Tamarind paste; 3 tbsp Lemon juice; 800 ml Water or stock; 6 cloves Garlic

Iraq's great feast dish: onion cups, vine and chard leaves, peppers, aubergine and courgette all stuffed with rice and lamb, layered into one pot, simmered in a tamarind-and-lemon broth, then turned out whole onto a platter. A layer of potato on the bottom and a plate pressing from above are what keep it intact.

Ingredients

6servings

For the filling
Medium-grain rice · Soaked 30 minutes and drained; basmati also works2 cups
Minced lamb or beef · Not too lean300 g
Tomato paste · Some goes in the filling, some in the broth3 tbsp
Flat-leaf parsley · Finely chopped1 cup
Dill · Fresh, or 1 tbsp dried0.5 cup
Onion · Finely chopped, for the filling1 medium
Baharat · Or mix allspice, cinnamon, black pepper and cumin1 tbsp
Oil · Mixed into the filling3 tbsp
Salt1.5 tsp
Vegetables to stuff
Large onions · Separated into cups; the signature of the dish3
Vine leaves · Rinsed if brined, blanched if fresh30
Chard leaves · Keep the stalks to line the pot10
Peppers · Cut the tops off as lids3 small
Aubergines · Hollowed out2 small
Courgettes · Hollowed out2 small
Tomatoes · Tops cut off, hollowed; keep the pulp for the broth4 large
For the broth
Potatoes · Cut in 1cm slices to line the pot2 large
Tamarind paste · Pomegranate molasses or dried-plum water instead2 tbsp
Lemon juice3 tbsp
Water or stock · Enough to almost cover800 ml
Garlic · Unpeeled, tucked into the gaps6 cloves

Steps

Trim the onions top and bottom and cut one deep slit down one side, then boil them whole for 10 minutes. As they cool the layers slip apart into cups — without the slit the layers tear and cannot be filled.
⏲ 15 min
Cut the tops off the peppers as lids and hollow out the aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes. Keep the tomato pulp for the broth.
⏲ 15 min
Mix the drained rice with the mince, 2 tbsp tomato paste, chopped onion, parsley, dill, baharat, oil and salt using your hands. The rice goes in raw — it cooks by drinking the broth.
⏲ 10 min
Fill every vegetable only two-thirds full. The rice doubles in volume, so a packed shell bursts. This is the single most common failure.
⏲ 20 min
Lay the vine and chard leaves dull side up, put a heaped spoon of filling near the stem end, fold the sides in and roll firmly. Loose rolls unravel as they cook.
⏲ 20 min
Line a heavy pot with a layer of potato slices and the chard stalks. This layer stops everything catching, and it becomes the top when you turn the dish out.
⏲ 3 min
Stand the heavy vegetables — aubergine, courgette, peppers — in first, then wedge the onion cups and leaf rolls into every gap, tucking the garlic between them. Gaps let the stuffed shells topple as they cook.
⏲ 10 min
Stir the remaining tomato paste, tamarind and lemon juice into the water and pour it in until everything is nearly covered. This sourness is what sets Iraqi dolma apart from every other country's.
⏲ 3 min
Invert a heatproof plate on top to weigh it all down and cover the pot. Bring to a boil, then drop to the lowest heat for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Do not stir at any point.
⏲ 75 min
Check the broth has almost all been absorbed, take it off the heat and rest 10 minutes. Cover with a platter wider than the pot and flip it over in one movement — the potatoes land on top and the layers hold.
⏲ 10 min

Tips & Variations

Variations

The vegetable mix is a household decision: onions and vine leaves are the minimum. Everything else follows the season — cabbage leaves and turnips both turn up in Iraq.
Without meat: rice, herbs and tomato paste alone make the version eaten in Ramadan or on meat-free days. A handful of nuts keeps it from tasting thin.
With pomegranate molasses: used instead of tamarind it adds sweetness to the sourness and a much deeper colour.
Dried plums and apricots: a few tucked between the vegetables layer sweet against sour, a style common around Mosul.
On a bed of lamb chops: laid under the vegetables instead of potato they enrich the broth and give you a second dish out of the same pot.
Build a crust: raise the heat slightly for the last 10 minutes and the bottom potatoes brown into the dark crust visible in the photo — in Iraq that part gets claimed first.

Tips

Slit the onions before boiling. It is the only way to get whole, unbroken cups. Use the boiling water in the broth.
Two-thirds full, no more. The rice doubles; a full shell splits. Roll the leaves the same way — snug rather than tight, with the ends tucked firmly.
Potato underneath, a plate on top. The potato stops the base scorching and the weight stops everything floating loose in the simmering broth. Miss either one and the dish collapses when you turn it out.
Never stir it. Once packed, it is finished being handled. Test doneness by lifting out one leaf roll and tasting it.
The sourness is the identity. Without tamarind or pomegranate molasses this is just stuffed vegetables in rice. Taste at the end and add more lemon if it falls flat.
It is better the next day. It reheats without falling apart, which is why in Iraq the morning after a feast is when people look forward to eating it.

✏️ Improve this recipe

edits: 0 ·Edit history