Iraqi Dolma: Five Stuffed Vegetables in One Pot
Iraqi dolma is a mix of vegetables — aubergine, courgette, pepper, onion and vine leaves — filled with rice, minced meat, herbs and spices, packed into a pot heaviest-first, and cooked for an hour under a weight in a tomato and pomegranate-molasses broth.
- Prep
- 50 min
- Cook
- 70 min
- Total
- 120 min
- Calories
- 430
Photo: Kritzolina — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Dolma is Iraq's best-known dish and its most generous: one pot holding five different stuffed vegetables, all taking their flavour from a single pomegranate-molasses broth.
Method
-
1
Hollow the vegetables
Hollow out the aubergines and courgettes with a corer, seed the peppers, and boil the onions for five minutes so the layers separate.
⏱ 30 min -
2
The filling
Mix the rice with the meat, herbs, tomato paste, spices and two spoons of oil. The mixture should be moist.
⏱ 10 min -
3
Filling them
Fill each vegetable only two-thirds full — the rice expands. Roll the vine leaves into small parcels.
⏱ 25 min -
4
Packing the pot
In a wide pot: line the base with tomato slices or spare leaves, pack the aubergines and onions on the bottom, then the courgettes and peppers, with the vine leaves on top.
⏱ 10 min -
5
Cooking
Mix the stock with the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and salt, and pour it in until it covers two-thirds of the contents. Set a heavy plate on top, cover, and cook over low heat for an hour and a quarter.
⏱ 70 min
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Tips that actually matter
- The order matters: heaviest at the bottom, most delicate on top, or the softer vegetables collapse.
- Pomegranate molasses is what separates Iraqi dolma from Egyptian mahshi.
- Let it rest twenty minutes after cooking before you turn it out onto a platter.
People also ask
Some of the rice was still raw.
The broth didn't reach it. Make sure the liquid covers two-thirds of the pot, and top up with hot stock if it dries out early.
Can I make it without meat?
Yes — vegetarian dolma is common in Iraq. Increase the rice, herbs and oil in place of the meat.
How is it different from Egyptian mahshi?
Dolma combines five vegetables in one pot and uses pomegranate molasses; Egyptian mahshi focuses on one or two vegetables in a tomato sauce.
Cook mode
Iraqi Dolma: Five Stuffed Vegetables in One Pot
-
1
Hollow the vegetables
Hollow out the aubergines and courgettes with a corer, seed the peppers, and boil the onions for five minutes so the layers separate.
-
2
The filling
Mix the rice with the meat, herbs, tomato paste, spices and two spoons of oil. The mixture should be moist.
-
3
Filling them
Fill each vegetable only two-thirds full — the rice expands. Roll the vine leaves into small parcels.
-
4
Packing the pot
In a wide pot: line the base with tomato slices or spare leaves, pack the aubergines and onions on the bottom, then the courgettes and peppers, with the vine leaves on top.
-
5
Cooking
Mix the stock with the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and salt, and pour it in until it covers two-thirds of the contents. Set a heavy plate on top, cover, and cook over low heat for an hour and a quarter.
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