World Cup Special - Iraq

 It was great to see Iraq back in the World Cup (last seen in Mexico in 1986) and it seemed apt to celebrate with dolma; vegetables stuffed with rice and usually meat.  With my version I decided to use smoked tofu as my protein.  Dolma has it's roots in Ottoman cuisine and whereever the Ottoman's were you will find some version of dolma.  There seem to be versions from Romanian and Hungary in the west to Iran in the east.  So I suspect that I might be cooking some variations of this.  Word of warning this is quite a laborious dish to make but it is so worth it.

Dolma

Ingredients

For the stuffing mixture:

• 335g Smoked tofu cubed
• 400g / 2 cups medium grain rice (I use basmati rice)
• 4 tbsp tomato paste , equivalent to 156 ml
• 40ml / 0.17 cup pomegranate molasses 
• 1.5 small onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 red or orange bell peppers
• 60ml/ 0.25 cup olive oil
• 1.5 tsp salt
• Good grind of black pepper

For the vegetables:

• 1.5 aubergine, medium sized aubergine
• 1 courgette
• 4 shallots
• 2 red peppers, small
• 10 grape/swiss chard/cabbage leaves
• Good glug of olive oil for the bottom of the saucepan

For the cooking liquid:

• 600ml/ 2.5 cups water
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 31 ml / 0.13 cup pomegranate molasses 

Instructions 

For the stuffing mixture:

1. Start by finely dicing the onions and red peppers and mincing the garlic
2. Wash the rice well until the water runs clear and drain 
3. Mix together the all the ingredients for the stuffing( tofu, rice, vegetables, garlic, tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, oil, salt and pepper). Use your hands and mix until very well combined and then set aide.

Preparing the vegetables:

1. For the aubergine: cut the aubergine into 2 to 3 pieces. 
2. Using a sharp pairing knife, place the aubergine on a cutting board sideways with your hand on top. Start coring around the inside of the aubergine, going around and around and slowly inserting the knife in deeper as you go around. Do this until you reach the other side or until you can use your fingers to scoop out the flesh. If you don’t get it all out, keep using your knife to cut away the flesh. You can also insert your knife from the other side to help loosen the flesh further.
3. For the courgette start by scraping away the skin using a sharp knife, then trim the ends. Cut the courgette into 3 pieces then core using the same method as the aubergine
4. For the pepper carefully cut around the stem and remove it, then using your fingers, remove the inner seeds and any white parts. You can use a small knife to get in there and loosen them
5. For the onion first peel the onion, then dig around the end where the root was and carve it out slightly (this helps separate the layers). Make a long cut lengthwise all the way to the centre – do not cut past the centre. Then microwave the onions for 1 minute to soften the layers slightly (you can also boil for a minute). Wait for it to cool, then use your fingers to carefully dislodge the layers and pop them out
6. For the swiss chard or cabbage : before stuffing, wash the leaves well and then submerge in a bowl of boiling water for 3 seconds. Remove them and place them on a tray. This helps wilt the leaves and makes them more pliable for stuffing. Then, cut the thick stems off the leaves, and cut the leaf into 2 or 3 pieces, depending on the size.
7. For the grape leaves: grape leaves come in jars submerged in water . Generally the leaves are salted, so before using them, soak them in water for at least an hour to get rid of excess salt, then wash them a few times and drain. You can squeeze them carefully to get rid of excess water. 
8. Stuffing the vegetables and stacking:
9. Start by adding 1/4 olive oil to the bottom of the pot, then line the bottom with the flesh of the aubergine and courgette that you carved out
10. Then stuff the “rigid” vegetables first: aubergine, courgette and pepper. Fill them 3/4 of the way because the rice will expand during cooking. Stack the aubergine and courgette together so they remain in place
11. Then stuff the onions and squeeze them into all the empty spots
12. Finally stuff the swiss chard/cabbage/grape leaves and use them to fill in all the cervices and tightly pack everything in.
13. To roll the leaves, place a small amount in the middle of the leaf. Fold the sides over, then roll the leaf keeping a tight grip. Place in the pot seam side down 

Cooking the dolma:

1. Prepare the cooking liquid by mixing all the ingredients together well until the tomato paste has dissolved (you can use hot water to help this)
2. Pour the liquid into the saucepan gently ensuring it goes all the way up to half way through the top layer. Don’t completely submerge the top layer.
3. Place a flat plate on top of the pot to keep everything in place
4. Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat for 15 minutes. Then, taste and adjust the seasoning of the liquid (add more salt or acid if you need to).
5. After 15 minutes, remove the plate and give the pot a jiggle to help the water travel downwards. Decrease the heat to medium and allow it to cook for another 15 minutes
6. Finally, decrease the heat to low and cook for 1 hour. Taste it after the hour and make sure all the vegetables are really soft
7. Allow the dolma to stand for 10-15 minutes, then flip it into a round metal tray with raised sides. If you don’t have a round platter or tray, you can use a spoon to spoon the dolma into a platter. This was my method as the saucepan was far too heavy.
8. Dig in and enjoy!