Georgia · 100 min · Meat · Main course · For confident cooks
Tolma
In German: Tolma (gefüllte Weinblätter)
For 8 servings · US units
Grape leaves rolled around spiced meat, rice and a mountain of herbs — with cold garlic yogurt
Tolma is the Georgian take on a dish known in countless versions far beyond Georgia: small grape-leaf rolls packed with ground meat, rice and a generous handful of fresh herbs — cilantro, dill, mint, purple basil, tarragon. A cold sauce of matsoni and garlic comes with them, and that cool, sharp spoonful is exactly what the warm rolls want. This is food for a long table, for a supra, and for those spring and summer days when you've got time to sit and roll.
Ingredients
- 50Grape leavesfresh or brined; blanch fresh ones briefly, rinse brined ones well
- 1½ lbGround meatmixed, beef with pork or lamb
- 5¼ ozricerinsed, added raw or briefly parboiled
- 2Onionfinely diced or ground with the meat
- 5 clovesgarlicfor the filling and the yogurt sauce
- 1¾ ozfinely choppedThe fresh leaves of the coriander plant, with a bright, lemony, slightly soapy aroma.Substitute: There is no real substitute: flat-leaf parsley brings colour and freshness but not the distinctive lemony aroma, and dried cilantro tastes of almost nothing.Read more
- ½ ozDillfinely chopped
- ½ ozMintfinely chopped, for the filling
- 1¾ ozbasilpreferably purple basil, finely chopped
- ½ ozleaves only, finely choppedA fresh herb with narrow leaves and a distinct anise note, often used by the bunch in Georgian cooking.Substitute: Where tarragon goes in fresh and in quantity, there is no good substitute, since dried tarragon tastes flat and hay-like. Chervil or fennel fronds come closest to the anise note but are milder and less pungent.Read more
- 1 bunchparsleyas an additional herb in the filling (optional)
- 1 tspPaprikasweet
- 1 tspGeorgian spice blend for the filling (optional)A Georgian blend of dried herbs and ground seeds, chiefly blue fenugreek, coriander and marigold, with a warm, nutty, herbal flavour.Substitute: A rough version can be mixed at home: ground coriander in equal parts with dried dill, summer savory and mint, plus a little ground fenugreek seed or, better, dried fenugreek leaves from an Indian grocer. Ordinary fenugreek is more bitter and sharper than blue fenugreek, so use it sparingly; without marigold the colour and earthy note are missing, and a pinch of turmeric replaces only the colour. The result is recognisably similar but not the same.Read more
- 1 tspground corianderfor the filling (optional)
- ½ tspChili flakespreferably Georgian dried red pepper (optional)
- black pepperfreshly ground
- saltfor filling, cooking water and sauce
- 2⅛ cupswaterhot, for simmering the rolls
- 10½ ozfor the cold garlic sauceGeorgian cultured milk, similar to a thin, distinctly tangy plain yogurt.Substitute: Plain whole-milk yogurt, not strained or Greek-style, loosened with a little milk or kefir, comes fairly close in texture and tang. It tastes somewhat milder and rounder; if the fresh sourness is missing, use a larger share of kefir or buttermilk.Read more
- 1 pinchcinnamonin the yogurt sauce (optional)
- 1¾ ozbutteradded to the filling (optional)
- 1 tbspOlive oilfor the filling (optional)
Method
- Blanch fresh grape leaves briefly in salted water, or pour boiling water over them and refresh in cold water; rinse brined leaves well and soak them. Pat all the leaves dry and trim off any tough stems.
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. If you like, parboil it for 5 to 10 minutes, drain and let it cool — raw works just as well.
- Mix the ground meat thoroughly with the rice, finely diced onion, garlic, chopped herbs, sweet paprika, khmeli suneli, ground coriander, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt. Butter and olive oil make the filling juicier.
- Lay a leaf smooth side down, place about a tablespoon of filling at the stem end, fold the bottom over it, fold in the sides and roll it into a small cylinder — not too tight, the rice needs room.
- Line the bottom of the pot with a few grape leaves and pack the rolls in seam side down, snugly, in layers.
- Pour in hot water or broth until the rolls are just covered and set an upside-down plate on top as a weight so nothing unrolls.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 to 50 minutes, until the rice is tender and the leaves give way easily.
- Meanwhile, stir the matsoni or plain yogurt together with crushed garlic and salt, and keep it cold until serving.
- Lift the tolma out of the pot while still warm and serve with the cold garlic yogurt sauce.
Tips and variations
The meat is up to you: beef with pork, beef with lamb, or straight beef or lamb on its own. The herbs go two good ways too — cilantro, dill and mint, or cilantro with purple basil, dill and tarragon. The sauce takes well to a pinch of cinnamon and a little sugar, and sour cream stands in nicely for matsoni. Tolma is best warm, but lukewarm is good as well — and the next day, at room temperature, the rolls taste rounder still.
Allergens
Contains: Milk (including lactose)
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
