afoona
Homemade Stuffed Grape Leaves
Meat

Homemade Stuffed Grape Leaves

Homemade stuffed grape leaves with a rich filling of lamb and rice, seasoned with mint and lemon. A beloved traditional dish.

⏱ 2 hr🍽 4 servings 🌍 Middle Eastern👩‍🍳 Afoona🧩 2 parts
🥩 Meat🌾 Gluten-free

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meatball mix

  1. 1
    Soak the rice 30 minutes in cold water and drain well.
    ⚙ SoakingBowl
  2. 2
    Grate the onion.
    Grater
  3. 3
    Mix the ground meat with the onion, parsley, mint, cumin, baharat, cinnamon, rice, olive oil, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.

To assemble

  1. 4
    Place a little of the mixture in the center of each leaf, fold in both sides and roll up.
  2. 5
    Line the bottom of the wide pot with a few grape leaves.
    Wide, shallow pot
  3. 6
    Arrange the rolls tightly in a wide pot, seam side down.
    Wide, shallow pot
  4. 7
    Mix the stock and lemon juice and pour over the rolls.
  5. 8
    Set an inverted plate on the rolls so they don't come apart while cooking.
    💡The plate keeps the rolls packed and whole while cooking, so they don't float or open.
  6. 9
    Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 45–60 minutes, until the rice and meat are done.
    ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid
    💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
  7. 10
    Serve hot with plain yogurt.
695calories
26 gprotein
70 gcarbs
32 gfat
● protein 15%● carbs 41%● fat 43%

Per serving (456 g), of 4 servings

For the Meatball mix · To assemble ·

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⚖ About the ingredients

🔧 Tools needed (5) · 🍳 One cooking vessel

  • Stove · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
  • Lid · Also works: Aluminum foil (tight aluminum foil) · Plate (an upside-down plate)
  • Wide, shallow pot · Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (None) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Pot (Layers instead of a single layer)
  • Bowl · Also works: Pot (None)
  • Grater · Also works: Food processor (Grating disc, more to wash) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Knife (Chop finely, different texture)

By the steps, as the recipe is built now: another version or addition can change the list.

🧩 Built from…

Meatball mix → Stuffed Leaves

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