# 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.

**Iraqi Cuisine · 120 min · 6 servings · 430 kcal per serving**

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.

## Ingredients


### Vegetables
- 3 small — aubergines
- 4 medium — courgettes
- 3 medium — bell peppers
- 2 large — onions
- 250 g — vine leaves

### Filling
- 2 cups — rice, rinsed
- 300 g — minced meat
- ½ cup — parsley and dill
- 2 tbsp — tomato paste
- 1 tsp — Iraqi spice mix + turmeric

### Broth
- 3 tbsp — pomegranate molasses
- 2 cups — stock or water
- 1 lemon — juice of

## 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.
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.

## Tips

- 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.

## FAQ

### 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.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/iraqi-cuisine/iraqi-dolma-stuffed-vegetables-recipe
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-29