On the Balkans we are eating.... SARMI

I'm starting series it's titled (as obvious :-):-):-))"on the Balkans we're eating..." and the first is about SARMI...where are the Balkans? - we are group of countries right here.....what is SARMI - it is very well known dish in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. Basically it is stuffed grape leaves or stuffed pickled cabbage leaves with minced meat with rice...:-) The word SARMI is Turkish - it is from their verb SARMAK and it  means "to wrap up" which is what you are doing when you are cooking this delicious dish:-):-) Here is my version for cooking this meal - I'm making two kind sarmi in one big pot - with meat and with no meat, because I'm trying to avoid meat just for now...

What you need?: 1....For sarmi with meat: 1. pickled cabbage;2. One chopped onion (I'm making small portions you can increase the quantities for everything if you want more) 3. Minced meat - I used about 300 gramme and it was beef meat, so I added a little bit oil in it because it is very dry not oily and juicy as the pork meat; 4. One tea cup of rice; 5. If you have you can put one soup spoon tomatoes souse, but pure, without herbs in it, for more moisture in the mixture; 6. Salt and pepper;
2....For sarmi without the meat:  1. Leaves from the same cabbage; 2. One tea cup of rice; 3. One small carrot, pilled and chopped;4. And...here is my invention...chopped mushrooms - when they are cooked they look like bits of meat; 5. One soup spoon of tomato souse again 6. And salt and pepper of your taste..:-):-)

Making SARMI: 1. De-leaf the cabbage; 2. in  two bowls make the two different mixes - the one with the meat - put every ingredient from 2. to 6. and mix it well with hands, then in the second bowl I'm mixing all the ingredients from 2. to 6. again mix with clean hands; 3. First I made the meat sarmi - you are taking small amount of the mixture put it on the cabbage leaf and you wrap up :-) then I placed the meat wraps on the bottom of the pot, as it is shown on the picture :-) 4. Then I washed my hands and made the same wraps with the no-meat mixture and put them on  the top of the pot (I put cabbage leaves between the two kinds of sarmi to distinguish the meat from no-meat sarmi :-):-):-):-)) 5. Pour water to fulfill the pot and boil - I boiled them for about an hour, to be sure, you should try one to see if the rice is cooked...:-) 6. Serve with yogurt and enjoy..
Suggestion: if you do not have pickled cabbage I assume that you can try to make sarmi if you first steam the cabbage leaves - this idea is from the recipe of sarmi wrapped up with the grape leaves...but you will loose this unique taste then...

Hope you like this kind a strange recipe for some...please write if you want more Balkan food or drinks..:-)

На Балканите се хапваме...сарми

Мисля да започна рубрика, която ще се казва "На Балканите си хапваме...." и да представям различни ястия от нашия регион, които, както се случва често, по нашите зeми, не е много ясно дали са наши, български, или са гръцки, или турски, или на някой друг съсед, рецепти...:-) В английското описание се спрях подробно на етимологията на думата "сарма", като и на думата "Балкани" и що е то, няма да се спирам на това в българския текст ;-) ;-) ;-)

През почивните дни готвих сарми със зеле, /от там дойде и идеята/, като направих в една тенджера, такива с месо и сарми без месо /зелето ми бе любезно предоставено от приятелка ;-)/. Не мисля да описвам съставките за рецептата подробно тук, както и как се прави - знам, че всяко българче ги знае, сармичките с месо - от това как се готвят, през това как се хапват ;-) ;-)...Ще отбележа, че въведох обаче иновация в рецептата на моите безмесните сарми - в плънката сложих: ориз, настъргано морковче, малко доматено пюре и...ситно нарязани гъби печурки, които като се свариха заприличаха на малки парченца месце. Второ уточнение, за да разпозная месни от безмесни сарми, сложих между тях слой листа от зелето...Последно уточнение първо наредих в тенджерата месните сарми, като по-блажни :-) Май е това... опитайте ;-)

 Гарнирах безмесните сармички с кисело мляко