Dolma - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire

Ottoman cuisine

Ottoman cuisine is the cuisine of the Ottoman Empire and its successors in Anatolia, the Balkans, and much of the Middle East.- Description :...

and surrounding regions such as Russia

Russian cuisine

Russian cuisine is diverse, as Russia is the largest country in the world. Russian cuisine derives its varied character from the vast and multi-cultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of...

, Middle East

Middle Eastern cuisine

Middle-Eastern cuisine, West Asian cuisine, or in some place in the United States, Persian-Mediterranean cuisine is the cuisine of the various countries and peoples of the Middle East . The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity...

and the Caucasus and Central

Central Asian cuisine

The Central Asian cuisines include:* Afghan cuisine* Iranian cuisine* Mongolian cuisine* Cuisine of Kashmir* Kazakh cuisine* Kashmiri cuisine* Kyrgyz cuisine* Pakistani cuisine * Tajik cuisine* Tibetan cuisine* Turkmen cuisine...

and South Asia

South Asian cuisine

South Asian cuisine, also known as Desi cuisine, includes the cuisines from the Indian subcontinent. It has roots in South Asia, including practices taken from the Hindu beliefs practiced by the large population found in the region, alongside influences from neighbouring regions and cultures,...

. Perhaps the best-known is the grape-leaf dolma. Common vegetables to stuff include onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

, zucchini

Zucchini

The zucchini is a summer squash which often grows to nearly a meter in length, but which is usually harvested at half that size or less. It is a hybrid of the cucumber. Along with certain other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini can be dark or light green...

, eggplant, tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

and pepper

Capsicum

Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...

. The stuffing may or may not include meat. Meat dolma are generally served warm, often with sauce; meatless ones are generally served cold, though meatless dolma are eaten both ways in Iran. Both are often eaten with yogurt.

Filling

The filling generally consists of rice, minced meat or grain. In either case, the filling includes onion, parsley, herbs and spices. Meatless fillings are cooked with olive oil and include raisin

Raisin

Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...

s or currants, onion

Onion

, nuts

Nut (fruit)

A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...

or pulses

Pulse (legume)

A pulse is an annual leguminous crop yielding from one to twelve seeds of variable size, shape, and color within a pod. Pulses are used for food and animal feed. The term "pulse", as used by the Food and Agricultural Organization , is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry seed...

Names and etymology

Dolma is a verbal noun

Verbal noun

In linguistics, the verbal noun turns a verb into a noun and corresponds to the infinitive in English language usage. In English the infinitive form of the verb is formed when preceded by to, e.g...

of the Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

verb dolmak, 'to be stuffed', and means 'stuffed thing'.

Dolma is a stuffed vegetable, that is, a vegetable that is hollowed out and filled with stuffing. This applies to courgette, tomato, pepper, eggplant, and the like; stuffed mackerel

Mackerel

Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...

, squid

Squid

Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...

, and mussel

Mussel

The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...

are also called dolma. Dishes involving wrapping leaves such as vine leaves or cabbage leaves around a filling are called sarma
Sarma (food)
Sarma is a dish of grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat. It is found in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire from the Middle East to the Balkans and Central Europe.-Etymology and names:...

though in many languages, the distinction is usually not made. Sarma is derived from the Turkish

Turkish language

verb sarmak which means 'to wrap'. Other variants derive from the Turkish word for 'leaf', yaprak.

Dolma cooked with olive oil without minced meat is sometimes called yalancı which means 'liar' or 'fake' in Turkish

Turkish language

. It is 'fake' because it does not contain meat.

In some countries, the usual name for the dish is a borrowing of dolma or yaprak (meaning 'leaf' in Turkish), in others it is a calque

Calque

In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...

, and sometimes the two coexist with distinct meanings: Albanian

Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...

: japrak; Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

: محشي (maḥshi, 'stuffed') or دولمة (dolma), محشي ورق عنب (maḥshī waraq 'inab, 'stuffed grape leaf'); Kurdish

Kurdish language

Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....

: dolma (دۆلمە), yaprakh(یاپراخ). In Aleppo

Aleppo

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

, the word yabraq (يبرق) refers to stuffed vine leaves, while maḥshī (محشي) refers to stuffed cabbage leaves and stuffed vegetables.

Variants

Among Albanians

Albanians

Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

, minced meat (usually beef), rice and sliced potatoes are cooked in spices (salt, pepper, vegeta

Vegeta (food)

Vegeta is a condiment which is a mixture of spices and various vegetables invented in 1959 by a Bosnian Croat scientist Zlata Bartl, and has become a product sold worldwide....

, paprika

Paprika

Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum . In many European languages, the word paprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot...

), folded into large leaves of steamed or boiled collard greens

Collard greens

Collard greens are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea , the same species as cabbage and broccoli. The plant is grown for its large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, Montenegro,...

, then baked. There are other variations depending on personal taste and availability. White cabbage is used mainly among Albanians in Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

, whereas Albanians in Montenegro

Albanians in Montenegro

Albanians in Montenegro constitute 4.91% of the county's total population. They mainly live in South-Eastern Montenegro, in the region commonly known as Malesija as well as in the municipality of Ulcinj .-Geography:...

use alternately collard greens or white cabbage. In Kosovo, this dish is known as "sarma."

In Armenian cuisine

Armenian cuisine

Armenian cuisine includes the foods and cooking techniques of the Armenian people, the Armenian diaspora and traditional Armenian foods and dishes. The cuisine reflects the history and geography where Armenians have lived as well as incorporating outside influences...

, minced lamb meat or beef is mixed with rice and wrapped into grape leaves (tpov tolma - թփով տոլմա) or occasionally in cabbage leaves (kaghambi tolma - կաղամբի տոլմա). This dish is condimented with coriander, dill, mint, pepper, cinnamon and melted butter. Sometimes chestnuts and peas are part of the mix. Yogurt with garlic is often used as a sauce. Eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, quince and apples are also stuffed with lamb meat or beef and also called dolma. Echmiadzin
Echmiadzin
Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin is a 4th century Armenian church in the town of Ejmiatsin, Armenia. It is also the central cathedral of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church....

tolma utilizes eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, apples, and quinces. There are varying styles of how dolma is made.
In Armenia Tholme usually served with matsun with crushed garlic. To prepare the dish, the meat used in dolma is: pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....

, beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

and a little lamb. Also be sure to use herbs basil

Basil

Basil, or Sweet Basil, is a common name for the culinary herb Ocimum basilicum , of the family Lamiaceae , sometimes known as Saint Joseph's Wort in some English-speaking countries....

, oregano

Oregano

Oregano – scientifically named Origanum vulgare by Carolus Linnaeus – is a common species of Origanum, a genus of the mint family . It is native to warm-temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall,...

, tarragon

Tarragon

Tarragon or dragon's-wort is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae related to wormwood. Corresponding to its species name, a common term for the plant is "dragon herb". It is native to a wide area of the Northern Hemisphere from easternmost Europe across central and eastern Asia to India,...

. When cooking dolma it is necessary to take the most delicate and young leaves. There is also a pasuts dolma - lean dolma, a stuffing that includes lentils, red kidney

Kidney

The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...

beans, peas

PEAS

P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....

, wheat grits

Grits

Grits are a food of American Indian origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eaten at breakfast. They consist of coarsely ground corn, or sometimes alkali-treated corn . They are also sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Muskogee language word...

, fried onions, tomato paste

Tomato paste

Tomato paste is a thick paste that is made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce moisture, straining them to remove the seeds and skin, and cooking them again to reduce them to a thick, rich concentrate...

.
Usually the three vegetables are cooked at the same time in the same pan. Sometimes people add split peas to the filling, but it is only a matter of taste and is therefore optional. Also, eggplant shells are prepared in various ways before they are stuffed. Some blanch them in boiling water, some fry, some make a slit alongside the vegetable, some simply cut off the hat, scoop out the flesh and fill up the cavity with the stuffing.
In Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

, small portions of minced lamb meat (or lamb-and-beef) are mixed with leek and rice. They may be wrapped into grape or cabbage leaves, or be stuffed into eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, apples or quince. The most common varieties of the Azerbaijani dolma are yarpag dolmasi (grape leaf dolma), kalam dolmasi (cabbage leaf dolma), pomidor dolmasi (tomato dolma), badimjan dolmasi (eggplant dolma), bibar dolmasi (green pepper dolma), yalanchi dolma (lit. "false dolma"; meat replaced by rice), pib dolmasi (meat wrapped into linden leaves picked up in mid-May), dali dolma (meat mixed with rice, peas, rapontica, dill and/or mint and stuffed into eggplants), lavangi dolmasi (originated in the Talysh

Talysh

Talysh may refer to:*Talysh people*Talysh language*Talysh Khanate*Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic - a self-declared autonomy, which existed briefly in the south of Azerbaijan in 1993*Talysh Mountains*Talış, Agsu, Azerbaijan*Talış, Hajigabul, Azerbaijan...

region; sour plum paste, grained nuts, onion stuffed in chicken, fish, or eggplant), shirin dolma (lit. "sweet dolma"; meat mixed with chestnuts, plums and concentrated grape juice, and wrapped into cabbage leaves). Sour clotted milk is used as a sauce.

In Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

stuffed vine leaves are called koupepia (Greek). Greek Cypriots call the rest of the stuffed vegetables either gemista (which means something stuffed in Greek) or dolmades (as a plural for dolma). When they stuff with spices and rice, they call them pseftika (fake) and this is done either for fasting or especially when they stuff zucchini flowers.

In Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

there are many different variations of this dish, depending on the region. Some prepare it with an avgolemono (egg and lemon) sauce, others prefer a tomato sauce. Some Greeks cook the dolmathes in a pan in the oven, while others prefer to cook the dolmathes on the stovetop.

In Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, the mixture of ground lamb or beef, rice, split yellow peas, and savory herbs is used as the filling, wrapped either in grape vine leaves (dolmeh barg mo - دلمه برگ مو), cabbage leaves (dolmeh kalam - دلمه کلم), eggplant or aubergine (dolmeh bādenjān - دلمه بادنجان), tomato (dolmeh gojeh farangi - دلمه گوجه‌فرنگی), or in bell peppers (dolmeh felfel - دلمه فلفل).

In Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, dolma is called Mahshi Wara' inab. Unlike other Levant or Turkic countries, dolma in Egypt is eaten hot, not as an appetizer, but could be part of a main dish. It usually has a certain mixture (khaltat wara' inab) that is made of rice, tomato sauce, and little chops of onions and parsley as a stuffing. Dolma in Egypt, unlike other countries, is very small, that you could eat two in one bite. Not only grape leaves are used to make wara' inab in Egypt, but also tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, and cabbage. They also use lettuce, but they cook the stuffing only, not the lettuce then wrap it. Potatoes and artichokes are used, but aren't stuffed with the khaltat wara' inab, but they are stuffed with mixture of mutton and tomato sauce, potatoes and artichokes (mahsi bataatis and mahshi kharshouf) aren't a preferred type of mahshi for vegetarians.

In Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, the mixture of ground lamb or beef with rice is usually made with many different fillings in the same preparing pot, as well as pomegranate

Pomegranate

The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...

juice, prominently used by the Kurds to give it a unique taste. The Assyrians

Assyrian people

The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...

of Iraq may either call it dolma or yaprekh which is the Syriac

Syriac language

Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...

term for stuffed grape leaves. Iraqi Arabs usually served dolma without yoghurt. Often chicken or beef ribs are added to the cooking pot, and sometimes served with the dolma instead of masta or khalwah. Iraqi dolma is usually always cooked and served in a tomato-based sauce.In Mosul Dolma is a very popular food. In mosul they also include courggetes, tomatoes, onions, peppers and grape leaves. They are occasionally smoked.

In Israel

Israeli cuisine

Israeli cuisine comprises local dishes by Jews native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.Israeli cuisine has adopted,...

, vine leaves are commonly stuffed with a combination of meat and rice, although other fillings, such as lentil

Lentil

The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...

s, have evolved among the various Jewish, Arab and Armenian communities.

In Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

the dish is called "gołąbki" and contains rice and meat with different spices, wrapped in white cabbage leaves. It is cooked in water, served warm, often with tomato sauce.

In Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, sarma are wrapped either in grape leaves (sarmale în foi de viţă), in cabbage leaves (sarmale în foi de varză) or in bell peppers (ardei umpluţi
Ardei umpluti
Ardei umpluţi is Romanian for "stuffed peppers". Ardei umpluţi, in the Romanian cuisine, are usually prepared with bell peppers stuffed with ground meat, usually pork, rice, onion and other vegetables and spices...

). They are often eaten with hot mămăliga

Mamaliga

Mămăligă is a porridge made out of yellow maize flour, traditional in Romania and Moldova. It is similar to the Italian polenta.In Transylvania and in Carpathia mămăligă is also called puliszka...

and sour cream or yogurt.

In Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

and the West Bengal state in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica

Trichosanthes dioica

Trichosanthes dioica is also known as the point gourd, parwal , or potol . Colloquially, in India, it is often called green potato. It is widely cultivated in the eastern part of India, particularly in Orissa, Bengal, Assam, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh...

) is used for stuffing fish or meat or vegetables and goes by the name of dolma or the local variant dorma. During the times of the Muslim rulers called Nawabs of Bengal, this dish came to the region with its Turkish name, only the vegetable used to stuff has changed.

In Sweden, Kåldolmar is a Swedish dish inspired by dolma, probably brought to Sweden by king Karl XII

Charles XII of Sweden

Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...

who was held captive by the Turks in Bender

Bender, Moldova

Bender or Bendery, also known as Tighina is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under de facto control of the unrecognized Transnistria Republic since 1992...

after losing the Battle of Poltava

Battle of Poltava

The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...

against the Russians. It is made of cabbage instead of grape leaves and contains minced pork or beef and rice. It is eaten with boiled potatoes, brown sauce and lingonberry jam.

In Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, there are two main categories of dolma; those filled with a meat mixture: minced meat ("kıyma"), onion, pinenut, rice, oil and some spices; and those filled with a rice mixture (without meat): rice, olive oil, pinenuts, currants (or dried figs/cherries), herbs (fresh parsley, dill and mint) and spices (usually allspice

Allspice

Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...

, cinnamon and black pepper). Meat dolma is always eaten hot; meatless ones, "zeytinyağlı dolma" (dolma with olive oil) - "yalancı dolma" (false dolma), usually at room temperature, as a meze

Meze

Meze or mezze is a selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East as dinner or lunch, with or without drinks. In Levantine cuisines and in the Caucasus region, meze is served at the beginning of all large-scale meals....

. Dolma with meat is a main course and always served with yogurt. An egg-milk based sauce is sometimes used for yaprak

Yaprak

Yaprak is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Yaprak" means "leaf".-People:* Yaprak Baltacıoğlu, a Turkish Canadian politician and currently the Deputy Minister of Transport Canada....

sarma

Sarma (food)

Sarma is a dish of grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat. It is found in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire from the Middle East to the Balkans and Central Europe.-Etymology and names:...

with meat in some regions. Common types include peppers

Capsicum

(biber dolma), eggplant/aubergine (patlıcan dolma), zucchini/courgette

Zucchini

(kabak dolma), plum

Plum

A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...

(erikli dolma), collard greens

Collard greens

(karalahana dolma), vine

Vine

A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

, chard

Chard

Chard , is a leafy green vegetable often used in Mediterranean cooking. While the leaves are always green, chard stalks vary in color. Chard has been bred to have highly nutrious leaves at the expense of the root...

and cabbage

Cabbage

Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

leaves (sarma), zucchini flowers (çiçek dolma) or mussels (midye dolma). Tomatoes, pumpkin

Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...

and some fruits such as quince

Quince

The quince , or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region...

, apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

or melon are also used to make dolma in Turkish cuisine. Mumbar dolması is an interesting type of dolma for which the intestine

Intestine

In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...

s of sheep are filled with a mixture of rice and meat and bean. In some regions rice is replaced or mixed with bulgur

Bulgur

Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...

(pounded wheat). The inner part of some vegetables or fruits (which are hollowed out) can be added into the filling.

In the Palestinian Territories

Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...

, stuffed grape leaves are called "Warak Dawali" in Arabic and are stuffed with parsley rice and ground beef or lamb.

Filling

Names and etymology

Variants

See also