Nataly Tchamichian grew up eating sarma, mante, kofte, and all sorts of middle eastern food her mum would make. Nataly would always watch her do the cooking, but she’d never let Nataly help, until one day Nataly’s mother broke her arm and Nataly had to step in to do the cooking.
It was around then that Nataly fell in love with cooking, and realized she’d make a career out of it. One of her mum’s best dishes was her zeytov sarma, but only recently, now that Nataly is a professional chef, did her mother start to trust Nataly to make the sarma herself. Nataly shared her recipe with us.
Nataly’s Zeytov Sarma Tips
Nataly starts her sarma by cooking her onions in oil. She adds a pinch of salt to the pan too, and tells us that whenever you cook onions you should do this, because it helps bring out the water from the onions. “For sarma or anything else.”
Nataly makes this sarma in many configurations. She tells us you can substitute your tomato paste with red pepper paste for a sweeter (and spicier) dish. You can also use more or less pomegranate molasses for a sweeter sarma.
She lets the filling cool before adding the parsley so that the herbs will stay green. Then she tastes it.
“You should always taste it!” she tells us, as she adds a little more salt.
Nataly also tells us all about picking, cleaning, and storing grape leaves. We made a video on that here.
She grabs her first leaf. “When you’re wrapping any leaf, you need to make sure the veins are on the inside.” she tells us, so that you don’t feel them when you’re eating the sarma.
And you have to make sure you remove the stalk from the leaf before you roll your sarma too, otherwise it will be very hard when you bite it.
And if a leaf rips while you’re rolling your sarma, put it aside, and if another leaf rips, you can use the two together to make a new, whole leaf.
Knowing how much filling to put in your sarma takes some practice. “You don’t want it too tight,” Nataly tells us, because the filling can come out when you cook.
Nataly uses a traditional pressure cooker she brought with her to Canada from Syria. “It’s scarier than the modern ones,” she tells us.
She layers the bottom of the pot with carrot and potato slices to stop the sarma from sticking when they cook. She tells us that if you’re cooking a meat sarma, you can replace these with bones.
You can also cook your sarma in a regular pot, or a modern pressure cooker.
Let the sarma cool before serving them! And enjoy this delicious vegan dish.
Dietary Notes
Dairy free, gluten free, nut free, peanut free, vegetarian, vegan
What you’ll need
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup (240 mL) uncooked rice
1 cup (240 mL) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon (15 mL) tomato paste,
1 tablespoon (15 mL red pepper paste
2 tablespoons (30 mL) lemon juice, and more to taste
2 tablespoons (30 mL) pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon (5 mL) cayenne pepper
¼ bunch finely chopped parsley
1 carrot, sliced into thin wedges
1 potato, sliced into thin wedges
30-40 grape leaves
Salt and pepper for seasoning
1 cup (240 mL) water
3 tablespoons (45 mL) olive oil
Steps
In a large saucepan heat oil at high heat. Add onions and a pinch of salt and cook for until the onions begin to turn clear, but not brown.
Add rice and stir to combine so that all the rice is covered with oil.
Reduce heat to medium and add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and red pepper paste. Stir to combine.
Take the pan off the heat and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste.
Let the mixture cool and add parsley. Once mixed, taste the sarma filling and add more salt, pepper, lemon, or molasses as needed.
Take a grape leaf, remove the stalk, and place it veins-up on a plate with the bottom of the leaf facing you. Spoon 1-2 scoops of filling into the leaf and fold the sides of the leaf over the filling. Roll the leaf away from you to create a roll with the filling inside.
Repeat step 6 until you’re out of filling or leaves. If a leaf rips, place a second leaf over the ripped area and continue with step 6.
Layer carrot and potato slices at the bottom of your cooking pot so that the base is covered, and then add your sarma.
Add water, oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and a touch of salt to the pot.
Cooking instructions Pressure Cooker - Heat the pot at high heat for approximately 7 minutes until the pot is at pressure. - Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 3 minutes. - Turn off the heat and let the pot cool for 5 minutes before opening. Cooking pot - On top of your sarma, place a sheet of parchment paper and a heavy pot lid or plate to keep the rolls at the bottom of the pot. - Cover your pot, and cook on medium-to-low heat for 20-30 minutes, until grape leaves are tender.
Remove the sarma from the pot and let cool before serving.
Comments