Find a large cabbage, to find a right one you look for the cabbage that when you press it must feel lose, not hard, and light green color. Now, take off and throw away off outer leaves,
Cut end of each the leave, take each leaf one by one, continue until you separate and remove all leaves
Do not tear them, after, you fill water with vinegar and keep them in there about 20 mins.
Prepare the filling: mix your ground beef, chopped onions,with bulgur and rice
Add all spices
Add paste
Parsley
Filling is ready
Boil water, turn off the heat. Take 4 leaves individually and soak in, let leaves stay there about 5 - 8 minutes, until their color turn brighter, put in a colander, rinse with cold water, then put another 4 leaves and soak them in the boiled water, rinse with cold water, repeat until you finish all the leaves.
Take one of the cabbage leaves on a flat surface
Cut away the hard central vein,the piece on the left, is way too small to be stuffed, (we will keep these small pieces aside to place in bottom of cooking pot.)
Here is another leaf, I cut in the middle then side, veiny parts are very hard to roll, so try to get rid off those
I placed walnut size of filling at the base of each leaf.
Roll (bright green color leaves easy to roll and fold)
Fold the edges over and roll again
I placed ripped or small leaves bottom of my cooking pot. Then Arrange the dolmas in the pan seam side down and side by side.
Making sauce : 1 tbs paste and boiling water mix, add some salt and lemon juice
Pour over dolmas. Cut the butter in small pieces and place on top.
The liquid should come at least halfway up the top layer, need more water? Then boil it. Place a heavy plate over leaves. First, high until water boils, then low heat, cook about 45 minutes.
I had left over grape leaves, I used them too. Serve with Turkish yogurt
I have stuffing mixture left, before I put it in the fridge I added one egg and made balls, then I sprinkled some flour and shook the tray, to preventthem to stick eachother, and kept them in the freezer about 1/2 hour. They were frozen, then remove them and put in a freezer safe bag.ready to cook any time.
