Sarma with sour cabbage
Sarma is a popular dish in almost all Balkan countries, but different recipes and ingredients are used. The word "sarma" comes from the Turkish word "sarmak" which means "curl" in translation. In Turkey there are various types of salty and sweet sarms. In our country, the charm is meant exclusively for salty dish with sour cabbage or yaprak sarma made of leaves of grapes. The main ingredients are sour cabbage, minced meat and rice. Some family recipes include placing sarmas in the oven to "burn it" giving it a special smoke. As you can see - the variation is countless and I bring you a recipe for charm that is being prepared in my family today. Sarma is otherwise served with mashed potatoes, or homemade white bread.
Ingredients:
- 1 sour cabbage(approx. 2,5 kg)
- 500 g of ground meat
- 2 large bowl onions
- 3-4 white garlic cloves
- 2 carrots
- 150 g rice
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 100 g dried meat
- 2-2,5 l water
- salt, red pepper-Podravka, vegeta seasoning-Podravka
- 12 spoons oil (about 90 ml)
- 3 spoons of red pepper-Podravka
- 3 bowl of flour-Finnesa (about 70 g)
Preparation:
1)Start with sour cabbage and carefully separate the leaves. At the end of the middle there always remains a part with very small leaves. Cut this piece into rougher pieces and use while backing so your sarms will not burn up.
2)Depending on cabbage acid, you should wash the leaves in a slightly different way. The cabbage I use is quite mild so you can wash them with hot water or dip them in a bowl full of water and then put it aside to descend.If you use bought sour cabbage, which is often very acidic and salty, you can sink the leaves in boiling water and then wash them with cold water or leave it in the cold water overnight and then squeeze in the morning.
3)When you have washed the leaves, remove the thickening on the edges in the manner shown in the video.
4)Prepare the filling: red onion, carrot and onion should be thrown into as few cubes (I use a multipractic). Mix them with meat, washed rice, oil and spices such as salt, pepper and vegeta. I know it's strange for some, but I would recommend that you try the mixture to see if it is salty enough, because the taste of the filling decides on the ultimate taste of the sarma.
5)Wrap the sarme by putting a smaller amount of meat in the shape of a roller at one end of the leaf. Leave the leaf once on the underside, then on the left side and then sip - firm but not firmly, as it will increase and need the place when cooking rice.
6)When you have laid all the sarms in the pot, put a smaller plate on top that will serve as a burden as the sarms will not open or begin to swim on the surface
7)Pour the sarme with approximately 1.5 liters of warm water to cover them.As soon as the water has boiled, reduce the fire.After about half an hour, check how much water is left and, if necessary, get even hot water so that sarms are always covered
8) After cooking, remove the plate and bay leaf, and pour the water in which the sarms are cooked into a bowl, and prepare the hatch. In the pot, heat the oil, add flour and ground pepper and fry a little. Then gradually add the water in which the sarms were cooked. Leave this sauce for about 5 minutes to squeeze a little while until it thickens. Spice it with salt, pepper and a small amount of sugar (a spoon or two) if it seems to be a bit sour.
Tips:
+ If the sauce is not thick enough, make another one, but this time, cut off the flour, oil and pepper measures, so that the sauce will not be too fat or excessive in the end
+ If your filling remains, freeze it and use it for the next round of sarma
+If you make more sarma you can freeze them raw or cooked.When you need them, heat them on a medium heat and add more water if necessary