The Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are a very tasty dish and a big part of the Bulgarian cuisine. They can be prepared with or without meat and can be served hot or cold.
In this post you will find out how to make at home delicious Zelevi sarmi in a vegan version, the one that all Bulgarians eat with love in the night before Christmas.
What are Sarmi
A very typical dish in the Bulgarian cuisine, sarmi are actually from Turkish origin. The word "sarma" in Turkish means "wrapped". And while you can use many different kinds of leaf vegetables for this dish, the most common ones in Bulgaria are made with grape leaves or with cabbage.
The current recipe doesn't contain meat and is also traditional for the night before Christmas when all Bulgarians have a vegan dinner. If you would like to make sarmi with minced meat, check out my recipe for Stuffed Grape Leaves (Lozovi Sarmi). You can use the same stuffing for both kinds of leaves.
What ingredients you need
The first and most important ingredient for this recipe are the cabbage leaves. Normally in Bulgaria we use pickled cabbage leaves which have gone through a fermentation process. This is a common local way to preserve cabbage, which during the winter is used for different types of dishes, including a salad.
Nowadays it is more and more difficult to find pickled cabbage even in Bulgaria, because the process is tedious and requires space. But you can make sarmi with canned cabbage leaves (if you find such) or with fresh cabbage cooked shortly in salted water with vinegar or lemon juice. In the recipe below you will find instructions how to do it.
You would also need rice for the cabbage rolls: any kind works. As the dish is vegan, instead of meat you need vegetables: carrots and mushrooms. I also like to add just a little raisins but if you don't like the sweet taste, you can skip them.
Another important ingredient is onion as it contributes a lot for the taste of this dish.
Last but not least you would need spices: dried savory, dried spearmint and fresh parsley. I never add spearmint because I don't like it but it is a big part of Bulgarian cuisine.
You can find the complete ingredient list with the quantities below the post, in the recipe card.
Recipe variations
While the current recipe is one of the most common sarmi variations, which we make at home with my mom, there are literally hundreds of stuffing options. I will give you few, some of them borrowed from my blogging friend Stanka Stoyanova who is also one of Taco and Tiramisu authors:
- Rice, leeks and mushrooms
- Rice, leeks, raisins and cumin
- Rice, walnuts and raisins
- Rice, carrots, onion, garlic and dill
- Rice and olives
- Rice, onions and spices
- Rice, celery, onions and carrots
- Bulgur instead of rice
I personally would always add onions as without them I find the dish lacking some taste. But you can skip it when you have other flavour options.
It is definitely worth trying cabbage sarmi: a bit of an exotic dish which however is very tasty and quite easy.
If you made this recipe, please let me know how it went! I am always happy to receive your feedback.
📖 Recipe
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls {Zelevi Sarmi}
Ingredients
- 10 large cabbage leaves or 20 small, fresh or pickled
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 3,5 oz/ 100 g cremini mushrooms finely chopped
- 1 large carrot finely chopped
- 1 1/3 cup/ 230 g rice any kind
- 1/3 cup/ 50 g raisins optional
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried savory
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped, optional
- 1/2 tsp dried spearmint optional
- salt to taste
Instructions
If using pickled cabbage:
- Cut the large leaves in two, removing the hard ribs at the bottom of each leaf. Stack the leaves on a plate and set aside.
If using fresh cabbage:
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to boil. Add 3 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice and 1 tbsp sea salt. Insert the cabbage leaves in the boiling water and lower the temperature. Cook for 3-5 minutes covered with a lid or until tender and flexible.
- Remove the cabbage from the water and let cool. Cut in half the large leaves, removing the hard ribs.
For the filling:
- Heat the oil in a non stick pan and sauté the onion for 1-2 minutes. Add the carrots and the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.
- Add the rice and cook for few minutes, until translucent. Add the spices and the raisins, stir and remove from heat.
Assemble and cook:
- Extend the cabbage leaves on a kitchen board. Fill each one with 1-2 tbsp of the filling, depending on the size of the leaf. Wrap the filling into the leaf and roll it.
- Arrange the cabbage rolls in a pot with the wrapped part facing the bottom. Place them closely one next to another. You can make 2 or 3 layers of sarmi, depending on how big is your pot.
- Place an inverted plate on top of your sarmi and cover the pot with a lid. Pour 1 - 1,5 cups of water into the pot: make sure the water level reaches the top roll sarmi so that the rice gets cooked.
- Cook for 25-30 minutes on the stove at a low heat. Don't allow the water to boil violently so that the cabbage rolls stay neat.
- The dish is ready when the rice is completely cooked. Remove from heat and serve immediately with some of the sauce from the pot.
Notes
- Store leftovers in airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- You can serve the leftovers cold or reheated in a microwave.
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About the author
Food Blogger, Photographer and Cookbook Author. Founder of the sites Dani's Cookings and Taco & Tiramisu.
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