Sarma is a traditional Turkish dish made by wrapping rice and herb filling in grape leaves. The document provides a detailed recipe for making sarma, including instructions on preparing the grape leaves, mixing the rice and herb filling, and carefully rolling and assembling the stuffed grape leaves. The sarma are slowly cooked for 35-45 minutes then served warm or cold, and make a delicious appetizer or side dish, especially when enjoyed with yogurt.

1. G O E S W E L L W I T H Y O G U R T !
SARMA
TURKISH TRADITIONAL TASTE!

2. Sarma
Sarma comes from the
Turkish verb «sarmak»
which means «to wrap.»
Traditionally it is made
from grape leaves.
It can be prepared with rice
and spices (vegetarian) or
with rice and ground meat.
Sarma is easy enough to
make; it just takes time and
patience!; it is very delicious!

3. Ingredients
2 cups rice
1 tomato, diced
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 onions, shredded
200 gr (1/2 lb) grape leaves, fresh/ preserved
2/3 cup olive oil
3 cups water
½ lemon, sliced
2 tbsp dried mint
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar

4. Grape Leaves
If you are using fresh grape
leaves, put the leaves in
boiling water and cook for 5
minutes till they are soft.
Drain and remove the
stems.
If you are using preserved
grape leaves, just remove
the stems. Place the stems
at the bottom of your pot or
saucepan. (It is to prevent
burning the bottom layer)
Fresh leaves
Boiled leaves

5. Step 1:
Add all of the ingredients,
except for the grape leaves
and the juice of 1/2 a lemon,
into a large bowl and mix.

6. Step 2:
Set the table for
rolling your leaves.

7. Step 3:
Start rolling! This takes
awhile, so put on a good
movie, audio book or some
nice music. This is definitely
a multi-tasking project.
Lay the Grape Leaf on a Flat
Surface.

8. Step 4:
Trim the Stem with a
Sharp Paring Knife.

9. Step 5:
To Make it Easier,
You Can Overlap the
Bottom Two Sections.

10. Step 6:
Place a Spoonful of
Filling on the Leaf.

11. Step 7:
Fold the Lower Right
Section Over Filling.

12. Step 8:
Repeat with the
Lower Left Side.

13. Step 9:
Fold the Left Section
in Toward the Center.

14. Step 10:
Overlap the Right
Side of the Leaf
Toward Center.

15. Step 11:
Begin to Carefully
Roll Toward the Top.

16. Step 12:
Continue Rolling Firmly
Toward the Top.

17. Step 13:
A Completed Grape
Leaf Roll.
Congratulations!

18. Step 14:
Gently pile the leaves
on a plate; careful so
they don’t unwrap.

19. Step 15:
Place a few grape leaves on
the bottom of a shallow pot
so the sarma doesn’t burn.
Carefully place the sarma
one by one from the edges
of the pot and work toward
the middle – once bottom
layer is laid start adding
another layer until all the
sarmas are tightly placed.

20. Step 16:
Drizzle a little olive oil, the juice of
1/2 a lemon and a little water so that
the sarmas are 3/4 covered (this
means that usually the top layer is not
covered by any liquid). Take some
fresh mint leaves and a few sliced
garlic cloves and cover the sarmas.
Almost there! Now place a plate over
the sarmas so they don’t unwrap
during cooking. Cover the pot and
cook on low heat for 35-45 minutes.
After about 35 minutes test one to see
if the rice is cooked – cook for longer
accordingly.

21. Step 17:
Let cool and serve warm with
yogurt or by itself. They can also
be served cold. Because of the
lemon juice they keep for about a
week (especially without meat) if
covered and refrigerated.
In Turkish they say “eline sağlık”
to the person who prepared the
dish, meaning “health to your
hands.”
In response the person says “afiyet
olsun” meaning “enjoy the food!”
Afiyet olsun! 

22. TEŞEKKÜR EDERİZ
"Bu proje T.C. Avrupa Birliği Bakanlığı, AB Eğitim ve Gençlik Programları Merkezi Başkanlığınca
(Ulusal Ajans http://www.ua.gov.tr) yürütülen Hayatboyu Öğrenme Programı (LLP) kapsamında ve
Avrupa Komisyonu'ndan sağlanan hibeyle gerçekleştirilmiştir.
Ancak burada yer alan görüşlerden Ulusal Ajans veya Avrupa Komisyonu sorumlu tutulamaz."