Turkish Dolma with Fried Filling

It is still not clear who invented the dolma. Greece, Armenia, Azerbaijan and, of course, Turkey are fighting for this right. It was during the Ottoman Empire that the first written mentions of stuffed vegetables that were served to the Sultan appeared. Perhaps one of the subjects spied on or tried this dish and repeated it at home, so the dolma "went to the people." So it was or not, now you do not know. But every Turkish hostess has her own special recipe for dolma, exactly the same as the one the sultan was treated to.

Ingredients

• 30 large grape leaves
• 500 g lean beef
• 200 g basmati rice
• 2/3 cup boiled or canned chickpeas
• 1 medium onion
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 5 sprigs of mint
• 2 tbsp. l. pomegranate narsharab sauce
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• olive oil
• salt, freshly ground black pepper
• yogurt
• fried onions
• pomegranate seeds

Directions

1. Boil the rice in plenty of boiling salted water. Place on a sieve and let the water drain. Cool slightly.
2. Chop the meat and turn it through a meat grinder with a fine wire rack.
3. Peel and finely chop the onion. Chop the parsley and mint leaves.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions until soft, 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the minced meat with a spatula, until the mince changes color, 7-10 minutes. Put the herbs in the pan, pour in the pomegranate sauce and lemon juice. Cook for 5 minutes, then add cooked rice and chickpeas. Stir the filling well and remove from heat.
5. Soak the grape leaves for 30 minutes. in cold water. Lay the grape leaf veins up. On the base of the sheet, slightly stepping back from the edge, put 1 tbsp. l. fillings. Cover the filling with the bottom edge of the sheet, then the right and left ends, then the top.
6. Pour some olive oil into the bottom of a large, wide saucepan and place the dolma tightly. Mix lemon juice with 1 glass of water and pour over dolma evenly. If necessary, pour in a little more water so that it only covers the dolma, press with a plate. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for 40 minutes.
7. Serve the dolma warm or completely cooled with yogurt, fried onions and pomegranate.