By Joan Nathan
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- 4(35)
- Notes
- Read community notes
A vinegar syrup, mixing sweet and sour, flavors the rice in this recipe from Maryam Maddahi, an Iranian Jew living in Southern California. The dish, which she learned long ago from her mother in Tehran, is also packed with tart lemon flavors and sweetness from dried fruit, like raisins, barberries, apricots, prunes. It made its way to The Times in 2010, after being playing a part in the Maddahis’ Sabbath table, alongside appetizers packed with herbs.
Featured in: An Iranian Seder in Beverly Hills
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Ingredients
Yield:About 40 stuffed grape leaves
- 2cups red wine vinegar
- 1cup sugar
- 1½cups plus 3 tablespoons basmati rice
- 1teaspoon salt
- ¼cup grapeseed or vegetable oil
- 2onions, finely chopped, about 1½ cups
- 1cup raisins, rinsed and drained
- 1cup barberries, rinsed and drained (see note)
- 2tablespoons sour salt or lemon powder, or the juice of 2 lemons (see note)
- One 16-ounce jar grape leaves, stems removed, rinsed and dried
- 1½cups dried apricots
- 1½cups dried Iranian golden prunes (see note) or dried plums
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (40 servings)
109 calories; 2 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 62 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a small saucepan, combine vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, and simmer until a thin syrup forms, about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan.
Step
2
In a medium saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add 1½ cups of the rice, and salt. Boil until rice is al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and let rice cool.
Step
3
In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, heat oil and add onions. Sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add raisins and barberries and sauté a minute or two. Add rice, sour salt, lemon powder or lemon juice, and 2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar syrup (enough for a balance of sweet and sour). Save remaining syrup.
Step
4
Pour ½ cup water into a heavy 5-quart pot and scatter in remaining 3 tablespoons rice, to prevent leaves from sticking to pot. On a work surface, place a grape leaf dull side up, and place 1 tablespoon of rice mixture close to the stem. Fold over both sides of leaf and roll up to close. Place seam side down in pot, continuing until there is a single tightly packed layer. Scatter half the apricots and prunes on top. Make a second layer and scatter remaining fruit on top.
Step
5
Add ¼ cup water to reserved syrup and pour over stuffed grape leaves. Place small heat-proof plate on leaves as weight. Cover pot tightly, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until leaves are tender, about 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tip
- Barberries, sour salt, lemon powder and golden prunes are sold in Middle Eastern stores and some supermarkets.
Ratings
4
out of 5
35
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Cooking Notes
Lance
The filling is well-balanced, with an appealing contrast of textures and flavors. And the process outlined in the recipe proves easy to follow. But the syrup is absolutely overpowering, nearly ruining the dish (salvaged only by making a tzatziki sauce to counteract the intensely, overwhelmingly sour syrup). If making again, I would omit the syrup altogether, and cook in an equivalent amount of flavorful broth.
runner6460
My husband is Sephardic and we make a meat version of this dish. The filling is ground meat and rice. Instead of making a syrup our mixture is Tamarind sauce (oot) mixed with sugar and water reserved from soaking the apricots. We also use grape leaves on the bottom of the pot instead of rice.
Mirry
I was skeptical about the amount of sour ingredients in this recipe (vinegar, barberries, and 2 tablespoons citric acid!), so I reduced the citric acid by a third, and the filling was ridiculously sour. I rescued it with several tablespoons of honey, but I wonder if the amount here was an error.
Kora
I’m glad you liked them. It was fun to make something different. I used half the vinegar for the syrup and only used about one third of the vinegar syrup when I steamed them. I also only used one lemon but it was very juicy. I had read the reviews and some people said it was so sour so I adjusted for that. If you have trouble opening the link I’ll send it to you in a different way - Jessie
Mirry
I was skeptical about the amount of sour ingredients in this recipe (vinegar, barberries, and 2 tablespoons citric acid!), so I reduced the citric acid by a third, and the filling was ridiculously sour. I rescued it with several tablespoons of honey, but I wonder if the amount here was an error.
runner6460
My husband is Sephardic and we make a meat version of this dish. The filling is ground meat and rice. Instead of making a syrup our mixture is Tamarind sauce (oot) mixed with sugar and water reserved from soaking the apricots. We also use grape leaves on the bottom of the pot instead of rice.
Lance
The filling is well-balanced, with an appealing contrast of textures and flavors. And the process outlined in the recipe proves easy to follow. But the syrup is absolutely overpowering, nearly ruining the dish (salvaged only by making a tzatziki sauce to counteract the intensely, overwhelmingly sour syrup). If making again, I would omit the syrup altogether, and cook in an equivalent amount of flavorful broth.
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