Cabbage Dolma (Dolma't Chalama)

Assyrian Cabbage Dolma is so delicious! The flavorful filling is enhanced with the sour and slightly sweet tomato sauce the dolma cooks in. The result is tender cabbage rolls that just melt-in-your-mouth. I like to serve dolma with a garlic and dill yogurt sauce found in my Swiss chard Dolma recipe.

About This Recipe

Cabbage Dolma or Cabbage Rolls is one of those recipes that shared by many cultures. This including Assyrians, Arabs, Armenians, the Pole, and Greeks.

Assyrians call this dish "Dolma't Chalama" which means "Cabbage Dolma." Unlike many of my recipes, Cabbage Rolls are more universal.

Although I could try to claim that Assyrians were the first to make dolma, I'm not going there. The important thing is that cabbage rolls are appreciated throughout the world.

How to Make This Recipe

Carve the core out of the cabbage using a sharp knife, or a serrated grapefruit knife. Discard the core.

Add cabbage to a large stockpot, and cover with water. Boil until the leaves begin to soften and start pulling away from the cabbage.

As the leaves change color and become soft and pliable, use tongs to carefully pull away the outer leaves, and place them on a platter.

Avoid overcooking the leaves which will cause them to fall apart. Continue to strip the leaves away until you’re left with the smaller leaves in the center.

Remove the thick veins from the center of the larger leaves.

Use the leaf spines to line the bottom of an 8-quart Dutch oven. This step is necessary so that the dolma does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Cut the large cabbage leaves into two or three pieces each.

Prepare the Filling

Wash rice, then soak in water and set aside. Chop the parsley, and cilantro, and add to a large bowl. Mince onion and garlic, and add to the same bowl. Mix in all the filling spices. Strain the rice and add it to the bowl. Finally, add the tomato paste and oil. Mix thoroughly until combined.

Assemble Dolma

Place approximately 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each cabbage leaf and roll up to cover the filling.

There's no wrong or right way to do roll the dolma, just avoid making them too big.

Place the dolma in the leaf-lined Dutch oven, in straight rows until the bottom is covered.

After you are done with each layer or dolma, sprinkle with a teaspoon of dill. Continue until you have used up all the cabbage and the filling mixture.

Cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes. The dolma will release some of its juices, and will partially steam cook. Meanwhile, make the sauce.

Sauce

Whisk the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan until well blended. Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat.

Pour the sauce over the dolma. Turn heat to the lowest setting and simmer until the juices are absorbed and the rice is tender. This can take anywhere from 1 to 1½ hours. 

Although you're going to want to dig in, have patience. You must allow the dolma to cool for a little bit, or it will fall apart when you're dishing it out.

Expert Tips

• If you run out of cabbage leaves and still have filling remaining, you can use onions. Just peel a medium-sized onion, cut the ends, and make a slit half-way through the onion. Boil for approximately 25 minutes.
• Strip the onion layers and stuff them with the remaining mixture.
• Another option for lining the bottom of the pot is to use grape leaves instead of the cabbage leaf spines. Make sure you wash them before using them.
• If you're like me and prefer dolma with meat, just replace one cup of rice with one pound of finely diced beef or lamb.
• Sometimes the bottom of the pot is lined with steak. The steak cooks in the dolma juices and ends up extremely tender and delicious.
• Some recommend freezing the cabbage instead of boiling it before stuffing it. Although freezing the cabbage does soften it, the cabbage ends up being undercooked since it's not cooked prior to stuffing.

Here's a video of me and mom making cabbage dolma; Check out how sassy she was!

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Dolma / Cabbage Rolls (Doma't Chalama)

Vegetarian Assyrian cabbage rolls (dolma) stuffed with rice and herbs.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Assyrian, Middle Eastern

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 412kcal

Author: Hilda Sterner

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 large head of cabbage
• ▢ 3 cups jasmine rice
• ▢ 1 bunch Italian parsley (chopped)
• ▢ 1 bunch cilantro (chopped)
• ▢ 1 medium onion (diced)
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• ▢ 1 tbsp salt
• ▢ 2 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 1 tsp allspice
• ▢ 1 tsp curry powder
• ▢ 1 tbsp paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp citric acid
• ▢ 6 oz tomato paste
• ▢ ½ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 tbsp dill weed (or ⅓ cup fresh dill)

Sauce:

• ▢ 6 oz tomato paste
• ▢ 3 cups water
• ▢ 1 tbsp sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp citric acid
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ▢ 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

• Carve the core out of the cabbage using a sharp knife, or a serrated grapefruit knife. Discard the core.
• Add cabbage to a large stockpot and cover with water. Boil until the leaves begin to soften and start pulling away from the cabbage.
• As the leaves change color and become soft and pliable, use tongs to carefully pull away the outer leaves, and place on a platter. Avoid overcooking the leaves which will cause them to fall apart. Continue to strip the leaves away until you’re left with the smaller leaves in the center.
• Remove the thick veins from the center of the larger leaves.
• Use the leaf spines to line the bottom of an 8-quart Dutch oven. This step is necessary so that the dolma does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
• Cut the rest of the cabbage leaf into smaller portions, which will be used to roll the mix in.

Filling

• Wash rice, then soak in water and set aside. Chop the parsley, and cilantro, and add to a large bowl. Mince onion and garlic, and add to the same bowl. Mix in all the filling spices. Strain the rice and add it to the bowl. Finally, add the tomato paste and oil. Mix thoroughly until combined.

Assembly

• Place approximately 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each cabbage leaf and roll up to cover the filling.
• There's no wrong or right way to do roll the dolma, just avoid making them too big.
• Place the dolma in the leaf-lined pot in straight rows until the bottom is covered.
• After you are done with each layer or dolma, sprinkle with a teaspoon of dill. Continue until you have used up all the cabbage and the filling mixture.
• Cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes. The dolma will release some of its juices, and will partially steam cook. During this time, you can move on to making the sauce.

Sauce

• Whisk the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan until well blended. Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat.
• Pour the sauce over the dolma. Turn heat to the lowest setting and simmer until the juices are absorbed and the rice is tender. This can take anywhere from 1 to 1½ hours.
• Although you're going to want to dig in, have patience. You must allow the dolma to cool for a little bit, or it will fall apart when you're dishing it out.

Notes

• If you run out of cabbage leaves and still have filling remaining, you can use onions. Just peel a medium-sized onion, cut the ends off, and make a slit half-way through the onion. Boil for approximately 25 minutes. Then strip the onion layers and stuff them with the remaining mixture.
• Another option for lining the bottom of the pot is to use grape leaves instead of the cabbage leaf spines. Make sure you wash them before using them.
• Sometimes the bottom of the pot is lined with steak. The steak cooks in the dolma juices and ends up extremely tender and delicious.
• If you want meat in the dolma, replace one cup of rice with one pound of finely diced (not ground) beef or lamb.
• Some recommend freezing the cabbage instead of boiling it before stuffing it. Although freezing the cabbage does soften it, the cabbage ends up being undercooked since it's not cooked prior to stuffing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1plate | Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 1678mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 17g

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This recipe was published on June 22, 2017 and was edited on December 23, 2020 by rewriting the recipe steps and adjusting the seasoning slightly.