Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 2 cups short-grain rice - Jasmine/Egyptian rice
- 2 large tomatoes - small dice
- 1 cup tightly packed curly parsley, finely chopped
- 3 stalks green onion - thinly sliced
- ⅛ cup tightly packed fresh mint, finely chopped
Spice mix/sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 2 lemons - freshly squeezed
- 1 tbsp salt - adjust to taste
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
For the Pot:
- 2 potatoes - sliced into ½ inch circles
- 2 tomatoes - sliced into ½ inch circles
- 5-6 garlic cloves
- Reserved liquid from the stuffing
- Jarred grape leaves - will need about 80. Store the rest for later.
Instructions
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain and drop into a large bowl. Set aside for later.
- Finely chop the veggies for the stuffing. Whisk up the spice mix/sauce in a small bowl. Add everything to the bowl of rice and give it a good mix. Let it sit to soak up the flavors for 30 minutes. Once done, place a strainer in a separate bowl, and drop in the Yalanji filling, reserving the liquids for later.
- Rinse the vine leaves under water (room temp) to wash off the liquids caught from the jar.
- Snip off the hanging strings, and place each vine leaf on a clean plate with the soft side down.
- Add 1 heaping tsp of the stuffing to the center of each individual leaf. Fold over the bottom, tuck in the sides, and roll all the way through.
- Slice the potatoes and tomatoes. Place them at the bottom of a large pot.
- Add the stuffed grape leaves on top of the tomatoes, holding them tightly in place. Stick in the garlic cloves in between layers.
- Add the reserved liquid, with more water to top off the grape leaves, if needed.
- Bring it to a boil. Place a heat-proof plate upside down to cover and hold everything in place.
- Turn down the heat to low and cook for an hour to an hour and a half, until soft and tender. Serve cold.
Notes
If you want to stuff veggies instead:
You can use the Yalanji filling from this recipe to stuff vegetables rather than rolling grape leaves. I used 8 small eggplants, and 4 large zucchinis (or 8-10 small).
Using a corer, carefully core out the insides, as close to the skin as possible.
Using your hands, fill in the veggies with the Yalanji filling to stuff it all the way through.
Make sure not to stuff them tightly here. Instead, tap the bottom of the eggplant/zucchini on a surface to spread the filling evenly inside.
The rest of the process is the same, but the cooking time will be slightly different.
It may take longer to cook the vegetables, depending on their size. Keep an eye out until they’re soft and tender.
If the zucchinis are large, you will want to cut them in half first, before coring.
Find more of Waseem’s recipes on his website & Instagram.
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