These vegan dolma are made of grape-leaves stuffed with walnut-lentil mince, herbs and bulgur wheat. Azerbaijani dolma are unique in their small, bite-sized shaped, making these a lovely appetizer served with a yogurt dip.
Overview of Azerbaijan
I’ll be honest- I never quite knew which continent Azerbaijan was located. On doing some research into the country for this post, I now realize why there was a gap in my knowledge. Azerbaijan is actually a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia!
The country is bounded by the Caucasus mountains on one side and the Caspian Sea on the other. It’s unique positioning makes it full of beautiful and diverse landscapes. Azerbaijan also offers an interesting mix of tradition and modernization. The capital city, Baku, is a perfect example of this mix. Here, you’ll find an architectural mix of East-meets-West. One minute, you can be staring at modern shiny modern skyscrapers and the next, at a medieval old town steeped in history.
Azerbaijani Cuisine
Azerbaijan has been blessed with advantageous terrain for agriculture and food production. Thanks to it’s abundant grasslands and access to the Caspian sea, the Azerbaijani diet is rich in a wide range of fresh produce, meats, fish and milk products.
Because of it’s geographical position at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan cuisine has made many influences over the years. The cuisine would be most akin to Middle Eastern, particularly Iranian. However, there are also evident regional influences from Turkey and the Mediterranean in Azerbaijani food.
Many dishes in Azerbaijan tend to be meat-based, with mutton an especially prominent feature. However, Azerbaijani cuisine is also known for its abundance of fruits and vegetables. Fresh herbs are abundant and are used liberally to flavour dishes. Rice and wheat are the main sources of carbohydrates.
Popular Azerbaijani Recipes
- Dovga– This traditional Azeri dish is a yoghurt soup that is served warm or cold, with rice, chickpeas and herbs.
- Qutab– A savoury pancake filled with either meat, cheese or spinach and eaten with a yoghurt sauce.
- Dolma– Dolma in Azerbaijan most commonly are made of grape leaves or cabbage stuffed with fillings such as rice, herbs, and meat. However, vegetarian/vegan dolma are also very popular.
- Plov (Pilaf)- Azerbaijan’s national dish. This pilaf is characterized by saffron-flavoured rice cooked with aromatic herbs and varying meats or vegetables.
- Pakhlava (Baklava)– This dessert may not be exclusive to Azerbaijan but it is very well-loved here. It is essentially layers of pastry stuffed with nuts or pistachios and coated with honey or syrup.
- Azerbaijani Sherbet- The most widespread drink in the country, it is a sweet, cold drink made by boiling water and infusing it with sugar and various fruits.
Making Vegan Dolma with Bulgur Wheat
Before I go any further, I have a confession. I’ve never had a particularly positive experience with dolma (stuffed vine leaves). In the past, all the dolma I have tried have been pretty bland. Floss and I wanted to challenge ourselves to make a flavourful Azerbaijani dolma, without meat.
In the end, we managed to pack a decent amount of flavour into these little morsels. Similar to when making Afghan aushak, the addition of a hearty walnut-lentil mince really elevates these vegan dolma to rival their meat-filled counterparts. We also switched out the typical rice stuffing for bulgur wheat, which added another layer of textural pizzazz to these vegan dolma.
What exactly is a dolma?
If you hear the word dolma and think of stuffed vine leaves, you’re not alone. I had always thought dolma referred exclusively to these little green parcels. However, during recipe research, I discovered that the word dolma actually just refers to a stuffed vegetable. The word dolma comes from the Turkish verb dolmak, which literally means “to be stuffed”.
Ingredients for vegan dolma
- Vine leaves- The key ingredient for these dolma are the vine leaves (grape leaves), which unfortunately aren’t the easiest thing to get hold of. Either you’ll need to get them fresh and preserve them yourself, or purchase a jar of brined vine leaves. We found a jar of these in a Greek specialty store.
- Bulgur wheat- We opted to stuff our dolma with bulgur wheat as a fun variation on the typical rice-stuffed morsels. If you don’t want to use bulgur wheat, simply sub for rice.
- Herbs- When it comes to dolma, the more herbs you use, the merrier! Feel free to substitute parsley/ mint for whatever fresh herbs you have on hand. Whatever you do, make sure you use fresh herbs. Dried herbs just won’t have the same flavour punch.
- Lentil-walnut mince- In order to create the most flavourful vegan dolma possible, we included a lentil-walnut mince in our filling. However, you can certainly keep it simple by making these dolma without the mince.
How to make vegan dolma
Azerbaijan has more than 25 variations of dolma. While stuffed grape leaves are the most common type of dolma, people also stuff zucchini, eggplant, cabbage and tomatoes. Traditionally, dolma are stuffed with beef or lamb mince, rice, onion and herbs. With this vegan dolma recipe, we wanted to recreate something as true to a typical dolma as possible.
1. Make bulgur wheat filling– In a large bowl, mix together bulgur wheat, spring onions, tomatoes, chopped herbs, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Make vegan mince filling- Meanwhile, heat oil in pan over medium heat and sauté onion until translucent. Add in garlic, tomato paste and mustard seeds and sauté for another minute. Put mixture from pan in food processor with lentils and toasted walnuts. Pulse until mixture is combined but still retains texture.
3. Assemble dolma- Cover the bottom of large pot completely with layers of vine leaves. Open up vine leaves on counter. Place about a tablespoon of the bulgur wheat filling and 1/2 tablespoon of vegetarian mince in the centre of each leaf (adjust according to the size of the leaf). Fold the sides of the leaves into the centre, then the bottom, then roll tightly so filling is completely enclosed. If any filling is peaking through, just roll with another vine leaf. Place rolled vine leaves in the lined pot, fitting together as tightly as possible. If you want more guidance, see below for a detailed description of how to roll the dolma!
4. Cook dolma- Pour water over filled grape leaves to make sure they are completely covered, then add 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup olive oil over. Place a tart pan atop leaves in pot; top with heavy heatproof dish or plate to weigh down. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to very low. Continue to simmer for about 45 minutes, until bulgur filling is tender. Take off heat and allow Dolma to cool in the pot to room temperature before serving. Gently remove from liquid with a slotted spoon to serve.
How to roll dolma
Rolling up the vine leaves is the most fiddly part of this recipe. My biggest piece of advice is to make sure your dolma are tightly sealed, with no filling peeking through. If in doubt, wrap the filling in a second vine leaf to really secure it in there. We learnt this the hard way: half of our dolma fell to pieces when we took them out of the pot. So please, learn from our mistakes. Here is a little visual guide on rolling up your dolma:
- On a flat surface, place a leaf with the stem towards you, with the veins of the leaf facing down.
- Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of the leaf.
- Fold the side leaves in towards the centre.
- Fold the bottom leaves to completely cover the filling.
- Continue to roll up to the top point of the leaf.
Serving suggestions for vegan dolma
Most typically, dolma are served in Azerbaijan with a drizzle of lemon juice and olive oil with a side of garlic yogurt. We served up our Azerbaijani dolma with this fresh beetroot yogurt salad.
Vegan Dolma Recipe- Azerbaijani Cuisine
These vegan dolma are made of grape-leaves stuffed with walnut-lentil mince, herbs and bulgur wheat. Azerbaijani dolma are unique in their small, bite-sized shaped, making these a lovely appetizer served with a yogurt dip.
Ingredients
Bulgur Wheat Filling
- 1 1/2 cups bulgur wheat
- 4 spring onions (finely chopped)
- 2 to matoes (diced)
- 1/2 cup parsley (chopped)
- 1/2 cup mint (chopped)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Vegan Mince Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 cup walnuts (lightly toasted)
- 1 tin of brown lentils (drained)
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Dolma
- 300 g jar of vine leaves in brine
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Make bulgur wheat filling- In a large bowl, mix together bulgur wheat, spring onions, tomatoes, chopped herbs, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Make vegan mince filling- Meanwhile, heat oil in pan over medium heat and sauté onion until translucent. Add in garlic, tomato paste and mustard seeds and sauté for another minute. Put mixture from pan in food processor with lentils and toasted walnuts. Pulse until mixture is combined but still retains texture.
- Assemble dolma- Cover the bottom of large pot completely with layers of vine leaves. Open up vine leaves on counter. Place about a tablespoon of the bulgur wheat filling and 1/2 tablespoon of vegetarian mince in the centre of each leaf (adjust according to the size of the leaf). Fold the sides of the leaves into the centre, then the bottom, then roll tightly so filling is completely enclosed. If any filling is peaking through, just roll with another vine leaf. Place rolled vine leaves in the lined pot, fitting together as tightly as possible.
- Cook dolma- Pour water over filled grape leaves to make sure they are completely covered, then add 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup olive oil over. Place a tart pan atop leaves in pot; top with heavy heatproof dish or plate to weigh down. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to very low. Continue to simmer for about 45 minutes, until bulgur filling is tender. Take off heat and allow Dolma to cool in the pot to room temperature before serving. Gently remove from liquid with a slotted spoon to serve.
Other Middle Eastern dishes to try
- Badrijani Nigvzit Recipe: Vegan Georgian Eggplant Rolls
- Vospov Kofte Recipe: Lentil Kofte with Salad from Armenia
- Mahalabia Recipe: A Layered Chia Pudding Dessert from Bahrain
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