Dolma (stuffed Grape Leaves), Iraqi-style

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 (16 ounce) jar grape leaves
• 2 lbs beef or 2 lbs lamb, minced
• 1 cup long-grain uncooked rice (basmati rice works best)
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 4 -5 carrots
• water

Recipe

• 1 soak grape leaves in water for 20 minutes. drain.
• 2 peel and slice carrots lengthwise and line bottom of pot with them. this helps keep the grape leaves from sticking to the pot.
• 3 soak rice in hot water for 10 minutes and drain. in a large bowl, combine rice, beef, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and all spices.
• 4 place each grape leaf shiny side down with stem end toward you on a flat surface. cut off stem. place 1 tbsp of rice mixture on leaf near the stem end. roll top over once, fold ends in, and continue to roll completely (rolling away from you). repeat with remaining leaves.
• 5 arrange rolled grape leaves in pot seam side down, tightly packed. place each layer in opposite direction of previous layer, in a criss-cross fashion. for even cooking, try to have no more than 4 layers.
• 6 combine lemon juice and oil and pour over grape leaves. top with water until approximately 1" below top layer.
• 7 place large plate on top, and place a heavy weight on plate (a foil-wrapped brick works great).
• 8 bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, until rice is thoroughly cooked. allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
• 9 serve with lemon wedges or greek yogurt. enjoy!