Yalanci Sarma

For the filling:
1. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the onions.
2. As the onions start to sweat and become translucent (roughly 3–5 minutes), add the rice and remaining ingredients, including any of the listed herbs and spices you’d like to include. Stir frequently.
3. Cook all ingredients together on medium high heat for 5–7 minutes before reducing heat to a simmer.
4. Let the ingredients simmer for another 10 minutes or so. The goal here is to lightly cook the ingredients but leave the rice slightly uncooked (it will cook more later).

For the grape leaves:
1. As the filling mixture simmers, bring a pot of water to a boil. With the water boiling, add grape leaves and boil for 2–3 minutes.
2. After 2–3 minutes, take out grape leaves and drain. Cut off any remaining stems while the leaves are still soft.
3. Lay a grape leaf on a flat surface with the shiny side up (or the veiny side of the leaf facing down).
4. Place 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons filling in the center of the leaf and shape into a small cylinder.
5. Fold the bottom part of the leaf over the filling and tuck underneath on the other side, enclosing the filling.
6. Roll the filling up the leaf at 1 or 2 more times, depending on the size of the leaf, to wrap it further in the leaf.
7. Fold the left side of the leaf into the center and the right side of the leaf into the center, fully enclosing the filling in the leaf on all sides.
8. Fold the rest of the leaf into a point and roll all the way until all the leaf has been fully rolled.
9. Fill a small pot with the finished grape leaves, tightly packed together, creating multiple layers stacked on top of one another. If you have leftover or “unusable” grape leaves, use them at the bottom of the pot to act as a buffer between the grape leaves and the heat.
10. Mix lemon juice with enough water to submerge the grape leaves and place a small weight (heavy plate or dish) on top of the grape leaves so they’ll stay in place. Please note that this weight should be able to take the upcoming heat from the boiling liquid.
11. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 1 hour.
12. After 1 hour, remove cover and weight from the pot and remove grape leaves from water. Most of it should have been absorbed by now, but there might be a little remaining at the bottom.
13. Take the pot off the heat and serve the leaves.

Recipe adapted from The Armenian Kitchen.