Sarma is a great dish that had spread from the big empire, now known as Turkey, to the Balkans and to the Middle East. But it didn’t stop there. It has emerged around the world because of people moving from country to country and taking the traditions with them. Consequently, also the way of making it has changed. Moreover, you can also find other names for Sarma, because of the diversity of fillings and recipes around the world. But what really is Sarma? Sarma is simply a stuffed cabbage roll. You can also find other types of wrapping, like grape leaves or monk’s rhubarb (don’t mix it up with rhubarb). But I used fermented cabbage leaves. That type of Sarma reminds me of home.
I remember my mother preparing Sarma every year the day before New Year’s Eve so that we could enjoy them on January the 1st and 2nd. And why is that so? Sarma tastes much better after one day or two. In fact, you can eat Sarma up to a whole week. Then all the flavours perfectly combine together. You will love the light sour taste; especially if you have a hangover from the NYE party. Hahaha.
If you are wondering what fermented cabbage is; simply said it’s pickled cabbage. But for this occasion, the cabbage head is left as a whole. As a result, you get softer and sour cabbage leaves, perfect to make Sarma rolls. Turkish shops are usually well stocked with fermented cabbage.
Prepare a deep pot, a clean working space, a saucepan and lots of toothpicks.
Ingredients for ca 20-25 sarma cabbage rolls:
- 1 head of fermented cabbage (ca 1,5 kg)
- 600 g ground beef
- 2 yellow onions
- 1 l tomato sauce (diced tomato)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp of tomato paste
- chili (optional)
- olive oil
- red sweet paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- salt, pepper
First, start with preparing the filling. Drizzle some olive oil in the saucepan and turn on the heat. Chop the garlic and add it together with the onion and the beef to the pan. Brown the meat until it loses the pink colour and becomes a little darker. Then add 2 Tbsp of tomato sauce, sweet paprika and tomato paste. Season well, stir and cook until all the moisture evaporates. Afterwards, I divided the meat and added the chopped chili to one of the halves. If you don’t like it spicy, just leave the chili out.
In the meantime, while the meat is cooling down, take the cabbage head and carefully remove the leaves one by one, trying not to damage them. You can cut off the thick part at the bottom if it’s too hard. But don’t discard the bad looking and the small leaves. You will need them later on.
Next, start with filling the cabbage leaves. Place up to two spoons of meat on a cabbage leaf, fold the left and right side of the leaf towards the inside and then roll the leaf from the thin part towards the thick part. Secure each cabbage roll with a toothpick or two.
Now prepare a deep pot and cover the bottom with some of the leftover cabbage leaves. Then place one layer of Sarma rolls, a layer of cabbage leaves, a layer of Sarma rolls and so on. Finish with cabbage leaves, which will hold in the flavour.
At the end, add the tomato sauce, bay leaves and water. Add enough water to almost fill up the pot. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 1 hour. For the best taste leave it in the pot to cool down and then refrigerate until you’ll eat it. You can also divide into two smaller pots so that you don’t need to heat up the big pot of Sarmas and they will probably fit better in the fridge.
Serve warm Sarma on the next day and the whole week after that with a ladle of sauce, some homemade bread, mashed or cooked potatoes.
Wish you all a happy New Year!
