Stuffed Mallow Sarma Recipe
One of the few positive aspects of the pandemic for us is spending more time in nature than before. During our nature trips, we had the opportunity to collect more from nature and increase our food diversity.
Two of the recipes I have prepared this year by collecting ingredients from nature are green almond cacik and poppy sherbet. While it is incredibly enjoyable to make the food you eat yourself, collecting the ingredients by yourself increases this pleasure many times over. I hope one day I will enjoy cooking with the ingredients I have grown myself.
The mallow is not much different from the sarma (stuffed grape leaves) recipe, but in terms of leaf consistency, it may be more like a swiss chard sarma. Before the leaves are wrapped, they are kept in boiling water and softened. The softened hibiscus leaves are wrapped and placed in a pot, just like grape leaves or any greenery sarma recipe.
It will be easier to wrap if you make sure that they are as large as possible while collecting the mallow leaves. Again, while collecting, look carefully over and under the leaves. There may be insect larvas under them. Do not collect these leaves in vain.
Let me share a general information about sarma recipes while I have shared a sarma recipe after a long time. Sometimes after you open the lid of the sarma pot, it changes color, its color becomes darker in places. You can see some color changes on the photo also. This happens when you take the sarmas out of the pot before they cool. If this image disturbs you and you do not want to experience it, it will be enough to wait until the sarma cool down after cooking. Since it is not an uncomfortable appearance for me and I generally do not have the patience to wait that long, I open the lid after I wait for about 10-15 minutes. This 0-15 minutes waiting time is good for the consistency to settle and the sarmas not to fall apart, so if I am not in a hurry, I try not to skip this short waiting period.
Enjoy ...
Ingredients
- 50-60 mallow leaves,
- 1 cup of rice,
- 1 onion, chopped,
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste,
- 5-6 tablespoons of olive oil,
- 1 handful of chopped fresh mint,
- Pepper flakes,
- Salt,
- Water.
Preparation
- Wash the leaves and place them in a deep bowl,
- Pour enough boiling water to cover them and wait for 10 minutes.,
- Drain the water and add cold water to the leaves,
- For the filling, heat the oil and stir fry the onion until tender,
- Add the tomato paste and stir fry it until it smells good,
- Add the washed and drained rice and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally,
- Add 1 cup of water and mix,
- Add salt, fresh mint, pepper flakes and any other spices you want, mix and cook until the water is absorbed,
- Place a row of small and torn leaves on the base of the pot,
- Cut the stems of the leaves that you will wrap,
- Put 1 teaspoon of stuffing on each leaf lengthwise, fold it from the sides first, then wrap it in a roll and place it in the pot,
- Pour a few spoons of olive oil over them,
- Lay a layer of leaves on top of the wraps and cover with a plate,
- Add enough water to cover the wraps, close the lid and cook on low heat until the rice is soft.
Bon Appetit…