The story of one dish

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The story of one dish

• Tolma from the birth to stomach

By one Armenian girl
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Tell me what you eat...
and I tell who you are.
Well, not quite. Tolma is very popular meal
among many nations, and now it is hard to tell
whom it originally came from. During the time
Armenian, Greece, Georgian, Persian, Arabic,
Turkish, Romanian, Russian, etc. developed its
own variations, and often gave its own names, and
now the differences are obvious. Of course,
everyone claims its variant being if not the
first, at least the best o) But this claim also
became senseless, because lots of variants
appeared in the same national cuisine depending
from the place of living, preferences and
creativity of people, and even the time of year
o) Furthermore, each family developed its own
traditions, and the tastes and preferences also
differ. The one thing remained it is a
traditional national meal, family meal, as well
as tasty and satisfying meal.
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Find similarities
So what is the same and main in all tolma-like
meals. Briefly, its some stuff filled in some
vegetable or wrapped in some leaf. Well,
vegetable can be a tomato, eggplant, pepper,
apple, quince, squash, zuccini, potato, etc., and
the leaf can be a grape, bean, cabbage or even
onion leaf, and the main component of stuff can
be various types of meat with some rice, or
mainly rice or there is a version with mixture of
bean/pea family members. Among other components
are onion, tomato, herbs, spices, etc. Of course,
you can put in the pot cut apples, nuts, dry
fruits, onion, etc. After cooking (boiling) you
have it hot if it is with meat, and you usually
have it cold with things other than meat.
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One Armenian familys tradition

• On each Armenian holiday table tolma is the main
  and necessary dish.
• Well, I tried to learn it from my mother, and my
  mother learnt it from her mother, etc.
• Ill tell you some details and tips I learnt
  about summer tolma.
• Believe me, my mother prepares it really well o)

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Filling

• 1 kg ground beef (or lamb)
• 1 handful of rice (50 g)
• 3-4 small heads of ground onion (200 g)
• 1 egg
• 2 cut tomato (or tomato paste)
• 0.5-1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• various fresh cut herbs (dill, parsley, basil,
  cilantro)
• various dry herbs
• 1.5 tea spoon of salt
• some butter, if the meat is not fatty

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Beat until it will breathe

• Mix the ingredients.
• Slowly add 200g of warm boiled water while
  continuing to mix.
• Beat the meat like the dough, until it will
  start to breathe.

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Vegetable garden
Summer tolma

• 1 kg cabbage
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 4 medium bell peppers
• 2-3 medium eggplants

Tips. If the wrapping will be with only cabbage,
then take 2 kg You can have a few apples and
quinces as well. Use half-ready/prepared quinces
(boil a little).
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Digging the garden

• Tomato. Cut from the top, but not until the end
  to have a cover. Dig/hollow out the inside (put
  it into the plate, you will use it later).
• Pepper. Remove the inside seeds and other stuff.
  You also can have a cover like for tomato.

• Eggplant. Cut into few pieces, cut a cover,
  remove the inside stuff.

Tip. Treat apples and quinces like tomato.
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White strip, black strip

• You have a choice with eggplant to have it
  unpeeled, to have it dressed like zebra, or to
  be naked (rare). Depends on the quality of the
  eggplant and your taste.
• If it has thick peel, then you would like to have
  it peeled out.
• But if the vegetable is not strong enough, then
  it might be pulled down and be not suitable for
  filling with meat and boiling.
• The compromise is zebra style.

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Slowly Undressing

• Cut and remove the inside hard core of the
  cabbage.
• Put it into boiling water.
• One by one pull off the leaves, leave them
  several minutes in the water to soften a little
  before removing from the pot.

Tip Cabbage is preferably to be with gentle and
big leaves for easy and nice wrapping.
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Cutting the dress

• Remove/cut the hard part of the leaf, and if it
  is not very big you can use it all for wrapping
  one tolma.
• You can cut the leaf in the middle, and have two
  pieces for wrapping.

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Feeding the baby

• Tomato. Fill it with meat and cover the cap.
• Pepper. Fill it.
• Eggplant. Remember to put the cap push the small
  piece you cut a little inside.

Tip you can put a little sugar in the apples.
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Wrapping

• Wrap tight, so it wont fall apart.
• If you have one leaf, wrap it from two sides.
• If you have half of the leaf, wrap from one side
  trying to make a hole on the other side as
  small as possible. Press the meat which comes out
  inside or if it is too much, remove it.

Tip. Remember, everything needs some practice o)
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Cheek to cheek

• Put some butter at the bottom of the pot.
• Put a few leaves at the bottom (to avoid possible
  consequences of strong heat).
• Wrap/fill and put tolma close to each other, so
  they wont fall apart during cooking.
• Start with the walls of the pot, go to the
  center.
• Finish one layer before starting next one.

Tip. You can add cut apples, onion, dried fruits,
etc.
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Get ready to cook

• Fill the half pot with water if its a summer
  tolma, and full if its only cabbage tolma.
• Add tomato hollow outs (or just two tomatoes).
• Add 0.5 tablespoon of salt.
• Cover with overturn plate, press the plate down,
  put the pot cover.
• Have it cook on slow heat about 60-80 minutes
  after the water starts to boil.

Tip. To be sure if tolma is ready, check the rice.
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Make it tasty not only for your tongue but for
your eyes
Tip You can decorate with herbs, have it with
tomato sauce, etc.
Have a nice appetite!
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Use your imagination

• Ok, now its time for you to invent your own
  tolma. You are free to create, although it will
  be hard to invent something new, but you have
  whole variety of vegetables and fruits in US, not
  talking about genetically modified ones o)