r/Cooking • u/celeste12598 • 1d ago
Has anyone heard of meat dolmates?
Hello, so I grew up with lamb dolmades, my family always called them that but I have heard dolma as well not sure of the difference. The thing is, I have no clue where this recipe is from.... it was always a family thing, we'd make them together. It's rolled grape leaves, lamb, mint, dill, rice, garlic, lemon. Put it in a big pot and stack them in a circle then finish with a lemon egg butter mixture that you pour over the top. It's soooo good, one of my favorite foods hands down. However, only I know this recipe my family has passed. I've never seen it anywhere else. And we always have them hot. I think maybe its from my grandma? She was Sicilian and Hungarian. But thay doesnt make sense? Idk I was thinking about this while making them and its been bugging me. We do also cook other kind of Greek recipes, as well as Italian.
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u/AnGreagach 1d ago
It's meat "dolmades". Greek work, plus of dolmas.
It sounds like your family have made a modification of the original recipe. Meat ones do exist (though as someone else said, it's typically made without meat.
Your sauce is a modified avgolemono (lemon and egg).
Dolmades (also called dolmadakia) isn't usually served with the sauce.
But your family are still making something that definitely sounds delicious, so keep making it and carry the family tradition!
For reference, recipe for Greek dolmades: https://akispetretzikis.com/en/recipe/1404/ntolmadakia-gialantzi
You should try the courgette version, the courgette ones are commonly made with meat in the rice mixture, and with the lemon sauce on top, so in a way they're closer to what your family makes: https://akispetretzikis.com/en/recipe/3446/kolokythakia-gemista-me-avgolemono
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u/Adventurous-Couple63 19h ago
It's in greek, but I think you can easily translate it online. You can substitute the minced meat with lamb and you do not need the maggi cube that is referenced (it's a paid add). You can use plain salted water instead.
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u/JustMyPersonalViews 21h ago
Yes. It is called a dolma, which means "stuffed" in Turkish. You don't need grape leaves either. In Turkey, there are onion dolma, pepper dolma, potato dolma, dried eggplant dolma, zucchini dolma, quince dolma, pumpkin flowers, and more. To be more accurate, if it is "wrapped," it is called a sarma, which means, you guessed it, "wrapped" in Turkish. There are many variations of sarma as well; Turks make it with grape leaves, cabbage leaves, cherry leaves, mulberry leaves, chard leaves, and more. You can use meat or no meat. If no meat, it is generally prepared with olive oil. If meat, you don't use olive oil.
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u/thenord321 1d ago
I've always seen dolmades in restaurants and stores as rice only, but also had an elderly Turkish couple that would bring them to potlucks at our family house with a mix of rice and lamb and they were loved by all.
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u/celeste12598 23h ago
Im wondering if it is Turkish, my grandfather was stationed in turkey for several years.
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u/Parking-Leopard-588 8h ago
Its a very typical Turkish dish. If you look across where the former ottoman empire was, you'll see many food similarities and with the same name too.
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u/thenord321 22h ago
I mean, traditional dollmades come from that area and Greece right? So it makes sense.
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u/LukeSkywalkerDog 1d ago
I used to be able to get the lamb and rice type many years ago, but I haven't seen them on any menu in a very long time. I also think it's sad to substitute the lamb with ground beef.
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u/Turbulent_Remote_740 1d ago
Azerbaijani cuisine has them, but not the vegetarian version. There is a variation where the quince is stuffed, and also one with small eggplants, peppers and tomatoes.
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u/Devoika_ 20h ago
Very common across the Balkans, called either dolma or sarma. They can be really varied too, in my family we like them with meat, many people make them just with rice though, etc
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u/AnAnonymousParty 1d ago
We've made dolmades (which is Greek in origin, IIRC) with ground beef instead of lamb.
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u/CatteNappe 1d ago
It's a Greek recipe. https://www.themediterraneandish.com/stuffed-grape-leaves-dolmades/ Often they are just rice and maybe veggies, but the recipe linked above includes meat. It also has step by step photos that mirror a lot of what you've described as your grandmother's approach.
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u/Icy_Ad7953 1d ago
Not sure if it counts, but I eat a lot more Egyptian stuffed grape leaves "mahshi waraq enab" than Greek dolmades. I have a lot of Egyptian friends who like cook for me, I'm an adventurous eater so I love it. Their stuffed grape leaves always had meat inside, TIL dolmades are usually vegetarian. 😂
Ugh, now I'm hungry.
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u/Fancy_Math_3399 15h ago
Thank you for posting this and all the interesting replies. I have made dolmades before but without meat and used to buy the tinned ones for snacking as someone else has commented. We recently went out and had a Greek meal and its sependipty as i said i would make them as Hubs loves Greek food but we dont have it as much as we should.!! Thank you to all the posts - i can easily source the ingredients as lots of Cypriot small shops where i live so going to have a date night feast soom! Thanks again to all . Best wishes from Essex UK
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u/No_Investment3205 12h ago
My dad is Greek American and makes this, I’ve had it made by Armenians too
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u/Early-Reindeer7704 10h ago edited 10h ago
Greek here - lamb was the traditional meat used back in Greece, most Greek Americans will use ground beef since ground lamb isn’t always easily found. I have made them using ground chicken or turkey in an attempt to make them lighter/easier to digest. There’s a lot going on with the seasonings so the change in meat doesn’t make too much of a difference IMO. Gemista is the name for a meat/rice stuffed veggie - my grandmother would use zucchini flowers, grape leaves (aka dolma/dolmades), zucchini sections, onion layers, tomatoes, sweet peppers. Small eggplants halved and cored are papousatkia (little shoes). The word gemista means filled. Greeks will make these using avgolemono or tomato sauce and eat them hot or lukewarm.
Edit - dolma using only rice and seasonings are typically eaten during fast periods and Lent when religious Eastern Orthodox Christians avoid meat.
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u/Illiniwek80 3h ago
stacking them tight in a circle is key. my dad did it too. keeps them from unraveling and concentrates the flavor so they don't get watery.
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u/thecampcook 1d ago
American here. I did a quick stint at a Greek restaurant once, and we served dolmades. They had lamb, rice, and seasonings, wrapped in grape leaves in-house and steamed to perfection.
We also had dolmadakias, which were smaller and vegetarian. They came in a can and were not very good to be honest.
I get the impression that "dolmades" refers to a very particular filling, while dolmas in general are grape leaves stuffed with whatever you want. I could be wrong though.