Halal-conscious recipe
Iraqi dolma
Philip Juma's Iraqi dolma with Halal lamb: onion layers, baby peppers and vine leaves stuffed with spiced lamb, rice, pomegranate molasses and tamarind, cooked over lamb chops in lemon and molasses, then turned out onto a platter.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Why Halal checks matter here
The dolma are stuffed with 500 g of lamb mince and cooked over 8 lamb chops, and lamb is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal; the rest is vegetables, rice, spices, lemon, pomegranate molasses and tamarind.
Onion layers, baby peppers and vine leaves are stuffed with spiced lamb mince and rice sharpened with pomegranate molasses and tamarind, then packed over blanched lamb chops with garlic, lemon juice and more molasses, weighed down with a plate and cooked for 55 minutes. The whole pan is turned out onto a platter. Only the lamb needs a Halal source: both the chops and the mince.
It follows Philip Juma's Iraqi dolma for BBC Food, from Saturday Kitchen Best Bites, which serves four. The recipe tip says jars of vine leaves are sold in Middle Eastern shops and large supermarkets.
Set the turned-out dolma in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Lamb chops and lamb mince Lamb is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, and lamb without a Halal mark doesn't say how the animal was slaughtered. Buy the chops and mince from a Halal butcher or in certified packs. See Lamb.
Safe substitutes
- Lamb of unknown slaughter → 8 Halal lamb chops and 500 g Halal lamb mince
Allergens
none
Ingredients
Dolma
- 6 onions, peeled
- 450 g vine leaves, rinsed and drained
- 8 baby peppers, cores removed, left whole
- 8 Halal lamb chops
- 4–5 green cardamom pods
- 8 garlic cloves (6 thinly sliced, 2 left whole)
- 2 lemons, juice only
- 150 ml pomegranate molasses
- to taste salt
Stuffing
- 1 kg basmati or pudding rice, soaked and drained
- 500 g Halal lamb mince (20% fat)
- 20 g salt
- 15 g sunflower oil
- 50 g pomegranate molasses
- 10 g tamarind
- 5 g freshly ground black pepper
- 6 g ground allspice
- 2.5 g ground cinnamon
- 2.5 g ground cardamom
- 2 g ground cloves
- 1.5 g grated nutmeg
- 2.5 g ground rose petals (optional)
Method
- Soften the onions. Carefully cut halfway down each onion, without going past the core. Put them in a pan of salted water and bring to a simmer. When the layers have expanded, drain and set aside.
- Mix the stuffing. Mix all the stuffing ingredients in a bowl with 200 ml water until thoroughly combined.
- Stuff the onions and peppers. Carefully separate the onion layers; you should have about three per onion. Stuff them and the peppers with the filling and set aside.
- Roll the vine leaves. Lay the vine leaves out on a board, put a little filling on each and roll them into small cigar shapes.
- Blanch the lamb chops. Put the lamb chops, cardamom pods and whole garlic cloves in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 6 to 8 minutes. Drain and rinse the lamb under cold water.
- Layer the pan. Scatter the sliced garlic over the bottom of a large saucepan and add the chops. Arrange the vine leaves snugly on and around the meat, then the onions, then the peppers. Season generously with salt. Pour over the lemon juice, the molasses and enough water to just cover the peppers.
- Cook. Put a small plate on top and press down firmly. Bring to the boil on the hob and boil, covered, for 15 minutes. Lower the heat, take off the lid and cook for 40 minutes more.
- Turn out and serve. Put a large serving plate or tray over the pan, flip the dolma onto it and set it in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Food's 'Iraqi dolma' by Philip Juma, from Saturday Kitchen Best Bites (serves 4; prepare 30 minutes to 1 hour, cook 1 to 2 hours. Dolma: 6 peeled onions, each cut halfway down without passing the core and simmered in salted water until the layers expand; 450 g vine leaves, rinsed and drained; 8 baby peppers, cored and left whole; 8 lamb chops brought to the boil with 4 to 5 green cardamom pods and 2 whole garlic cloves, simmered 6 to 8 minutes, drained and rinsed; 6 thinly sliced garlic cloves; the juice of 2 lemons; 150 ml pomegranate molasses; salt. Stuffing, mixed with 200 ml water: 1 kg basmati or pudding rice, soaked and drained; 500 g 20% fat lamb mince; 20 g salt; 15 g sunflower oil; 50 g pomegranate molasses; 10 g tamarind; 5 g black pepper; 6 g ground allspice; 2.5 g each ground cinnamon and cardamom; 2 g ground cloves; 1.5 g grated nutmeg; 2.5 g ground rose petals, optional. The onion layers (about three per onion) and peppers are stuffed and the vine leaves rolled into small cigars; layered over the sliced garlic and chops, salted, covered with the lemon juice, molasses and water, weighed down with a plate, boiled covered 15 minutes, then cooked uncovered 40 minutes more and flipped onto a platter. The recipe tip says jars of Californian vine leaves are sold in Middle Eastern shops and large supermarkets). We specified Halal lamb; the published steps are followed in order, with the stuffing and rolling grouped. BBC Food gives no skill level; we rate it advanced for the stuffing and the turn-out. Nothing else needed changing. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
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Iraqi dolma — BBC Food
Retrieved:
By Philip Juma, from Saturday Kitchen Best Bites. Serves 4; prepare 30 minutes to 1 hour, cook 1 to 2 hours: onion layers, baby peppers and vine leaves stuffed with lamb mince, rice, pomegranate molasses, tamarind and spices; layered over blanched lamb chops with garlic, lemon and molasses, boiled 15 minutes covered and 40 uncovered, and turned out. We specified Halal lamb.
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Lamb analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
What makes lamb Halal: the slaughter.