Warak Dawali (Stuffed Grape Leaves)  Recipe (2024)

Excellent recipe. Again, I use family recipe for Dolma from Syrian mom. By all means follow this one. Helpful hint #1 - Google Dolma Video for visual in rolling the grape leaves. Hint #2 - Dolma freeze very well in Zip or Vacuum bags without the sauce in meal size portions, 6-12/bag. Freeze sauce in ice cube trays then put 5-10 in Zip bags, combine with thawed Dolma when heating up, suggest double boiler.

In our family (also Egyptian), my grandmother always added lots of minced parsley, onion & garlic to the filling (and in her version there was no cinnamon or allspice).....as well as some lemon juice. Rather than lamb chops, one can slice onions and place on the bottom of the pot (as well as the central stem from the leaves) or bones if one desires. I think it would be hard to not have delicious warrak einab....they are a labor of love and I've never met anyone who didn't find them delicious.

I made this for a winter solstice feast. It was worth the effort. I followed the advice of the other commenters to throw in a finely diced onion, chopped garlic, and parsley to the rice mix. I used a chuck roast, so I did not parboil the meat. I seasoned the steaks with salt and pepper, but cut down a bit on the salt in the broth. The meat was tender and the dolmas, delicious. The dish filled my dutch oven right up to the top - I had to keep a close eye on it so it wouldn't boil over.

As someone with an allium sensitivity, it is awesome to see a grape leaf recipe without onion or garlic. Thank you!

This looks delicious but our extended family is vegetarian. I was thinking of replacing the ground beef with chickpeas or crumbled paneer. What else might be a good substitute for the grape leaves and the chuck roast/lamb chops?

some one commented on adding in fresh garlic, onion and parsley...10\10 recommend doing so. Also added red chili flakes to the broth mixture for a little spice and it was wonderful.

Whenever we make grape leaves we allow them to cool completely COVERED. This allows rolls to retain natural greenish color, rather than blackening.

Persian/ Moroccan/Iraqi Jews eat stuffed grape leaves, as do the Greeks and many in southern Italy. I doubt any of them eat it with lamb chops and Chuck roast, or ribs though. Looking forward to trying this colossus.

I grew up on halupki (rice and ground beef rolled up in cabbage with a tomato based cooking liquid). The cooking and assembly of both are similar. It takes time to make so I would only make it for special family gatherings. Yes, it was that good and everyone loved it. I skipped the parboil step and added onions to the base of the pan so that things wouldn’t stick to the bottom. I placed quartered Campari tomatoes around the lamb. The grape leaves were easy to use and loved the flavors.

I’ve always had this made with 3tbs pomegranate molasses mixed into the rice stuffing and 1tbs mixed into the simmering liquid. Elevates the dish incredibly!

I made this for a winter solstice feast. It was worth the effort. I followed the advice of the other commenters to throw in a finely diced onion, chopped garlic, and parsley to the rice mix. I used a chuck roast, so I did not parboil the meat. I seasoned the steaks with salt and pepper, but cut down a bit on the salt in the broth. The meat was tender and the dolmas, delicious. The dish filled my dutch oven right up to the top - I had to keep a close eye on it so it wouldn't boil over.

Would like to know how much water or broth to use if cooking in a pressure cooker.

In our family (also Egyptian), my grandmother always added lots of minced parsley, onion & garlic to the filling (and in her version there was no cinnamon or allspice).....as well as some lemon juice. Rather than lamb chops, one can slice onions and place on the bottom of the pot (as well as the central stem from the leaves) or bones if one desires. I think it would be hard to not have delicious warrak einab....they are a labor of love and I've never met anyone who didn't find them delicious.

Excellent recipe. Again, I use family recipe for Dolma from Syrian mom. By all means follow this one. Helpful hint #1 - Google Dolma Video for visual in rolling the grape leaves. Hint #2 - Dolma freeze very well in Zip or Vacuum bags without the sauce in meal size portions, 6-12/bag. Freeze sauce in ice cube trays then put 5-10 in Zip bags, combine with thawed Dolma when heating up, suggest double boiler.