Added: 3 years ago
From: dedemed
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  • krinos grape leaves in jar are horrible... dry and will ruin your food !!!!

  • @katerinasassy I like using Orlando brand or Alafiya :)

  • hi dede, how long can you keep them in the fridge after they cool down???

  • @Chorongi I would say up to 5 days :)

  • Dede - does using fresh lemon juice make a big difference in this recipe - just checking since it's a lot of juice. Thanks!

  • @lesliecraw well fresh lemon juice is always better but if you don't have any handy then bottled lemon juice will work as well :)

  • So, I made these but the rice is hard. I don't know if it's undercooked, or if I packed it too much or it dried out our what. Would I be safe to re-boil them? What could I have done wrong?

  • @nickvicious1 yes it is safe to just add some more water and cook it a little longer, that will help cook the rice, you may just have not cooked it long enough or maybe it needed more liquid.

  • Hi Dede, before I roll the grape leaves, should I boil them first for about 10 minutes so that they are easier to roll and so that they stay in place and do not open up even if I use the ones from the jar?

  • @roko310s well you don't have to boil them if they are already jarred but yes you can boil them for 10 minutes, drain them and then let them cool down. THis may help you separate them before rolling :)

  • I forgot to say, the grape leaves are salty ( in the jar), I tasted it but then I added a little more salt: :( Dede can you make a Tunisian almond drink recipe? I tryed but it come out looking like cloudy water:(

  • @MegaPuffykitty hmmmm i've never heard of this drink, do you know what it is called?

  • love your video's but I think I messed up. I did your recipe but, ...I put a bowl not a plate over my pot :( and now im hoping it will be fine.. umm :(

  • @MegaPuffykitty it will be fine, just let take the bowl off 20 minutes before the food is done cooking

  • Great to see the cooking technique visually. Reading about it didn't do it justice. 

  • @Madisonmofo I agree :)

  • @dedemed I made a giant batch last night and they turned out wonderfully.

  • @Madisonmofo wonderful!

  • are they also called warak dawaly?

  • @hiddeneye100 yes they are :)

  • Thank you for your patience teaching how to ma ke dolmas (or sarmas),though you make it look easy ( and probably is), an hour to cook them and two hours or orvernight to let them seat it makes it a little bit to long, unless you can make a bunch....therefore my question....how much can the dolmas (or sarmas) last for snacks or main dish for the following day or days?

  • @ao92655 well these will last for a week when refrigerated so you can make a big pot of them and just eat it all week long or you can make it a few days in advance if you need it for a party :)

  • Thank you for this incredible recipe, you are a great teacher!

  • @linathan33 thank you for your support :)

  • How are you Dedemed :) I want to thank you for the nice video first of all and it looks delicious.

    Hmm, we don't use sliced potato or carrot for bottom :) One more thing I wanted to say, in fact this dish is called sarma (means wrapped). Dolma itself means stuffed/filled exactly, and it is filled/stuffed vegetables. But this I told is just a nuance of course. Thanks again and again for such nicely made video of this dish, bye bye :)

  • @09kn09 well you are so welcome and thank you for enlightening me on what the correct wording is, I appreciate that :)

  • Dear Dede

    Your dolma video is COMPLETELY AWESOME. You are polished and articulate and have motivated me to prepare this delightful dish. I am a Personal Chef and tomorrow I am going to make your exact dolma recipe or my client. THANK YOU SWEET LADY!

  • @7277466ruby you are so welcome, I hope that everyone liked it, thank you for your support :)

  • omg dede my mouth is watering :D

    I used to eat these things every week but since i move to the U.S every thing change

    thank u for these amazing RECIPE

    thumps up and subscribe 

  • @MrMO4ever you are so welcome, I'm so glad that I could lead you back to good food :)

  • You have very nice stage presence....nice job conveying information, and then explaining it all, step by step. Kudos to you dear. Just one thing, and you'd have a perfect "how to" video. Don't touch your hair, or your face while doing the video. I know, it sounds trivial, but it caught my eye. Otherwise, I'm going out to buy grape leaves and try to make 'em like you did. Your husband is very lucky!

    God bless !!

  • @chivone21 thank you for the sweet comments and I agree, I did see that afterwards, I tie my hair up in most of my new videos :)

  • I just subscribed to you !

    I used to live in Mi, & recently moved to texas so my mom needs more ideas for arabic food, she makes amazing food, but the only problem is, in michigan we had dearborn to buy everything, but down here, there are no stores like Dearborn had so it's very hard for her to find things to make ):

    hahaha thanks you for these amazing videos, my mouth is watering ! :D

  • @nicolexlove16 you are so welcome and check out my store page for some of the ingredients you can buy there. Otherwise try looking for Mediterranean or Middle Eastern markets near you online.

  • where are you from?

  • @MissPheonix1 Detroit, MI my parents are Lebanese :)

  • so delicious

  • grape leaves are sooooo good(:

  • Great video!

  • @magdalulu thanks for your support ;)

  • Love it. 

  • @LilaMya22 thanks :)

  • I am looking through comments and didn't see asked yet.. what if no plate will fit on top of the leaves? We only have lids for the pots, but if it's very necessary then I'll go get a plate.

    Thank you!

  • @PamelaVeg well it doesn't have to be a plate but you do need something to weigh down on the leaves so that they don't over expand and fall apart :)

  • @dedemed

    I actually did go out and get a plate at a store for just $1.50. The grape leaves came out really tasty! When cooled, they did firm up too much for my taste, but reheated in the microwave they were great. I brought them into work and my co-workers loved them! I gave one your recipe/page link because she wanted to make them. I would let people making these know that they should use the whole amount of lemon juice that you suggest, and I would also tell them it's not hard at all to do!

  • @PamelaVeg hey Pamela, I am so glad that you liked the recipe, I'm sure your friends will like it too!

    Send them to my site and you all can join my Facebook too!

  • Thanks, Dede!

    I ended up getting a plate for $1.50 at a discount place. Used fresh mint, but otherwise the recipe was identical. I would say that the leaves were best hot/warm. Really tasty and easy. I would definitely suggest reheating them in the microwave fore 1:30-2:00 min. I would also tell people to go with the full amount of lemon juice. One of my co-workers has Lebanese heritage and they really enjoyed them! Thanks again!

  • @PamelaVeg that's wonderful, send them to my site for other great recipes that you and they will enjoy :)

  • Nice clean video, very clear!.. definitely subscribing!

    Grape leaves is my all time favorite dish/snack/food/munch.

    I eat grape leaves at my dad's house, they make the ones with meat and light tomato sauce, very sour and tasty. :)~

    But I find it very intimidating.. I will give it a try..

    I NEED TO LEARN THIS! >:-)

    Greetings from Dubai.

  • @Rewayah you are so welcome, check out my site for the written recipes. after you make it once it will always be super easy and it always tastes great :)

  • Excellent thank you - made 120 for a party - turned out suberb.

  • @citysafe amazing!

  • This was an excellent video, clear enunciation, precise instructions, nice visual performance.

  • @DrJoani thanks you so much for the kind words of support :)

  • you said to cool them... the greek ones i've had are warm... do you warm them back up? how..?

  • @historyissecondhand these can be served, warm, cold or at room temperature, they are great anyway! Traditionally the grape leaves made with meat and rice are served warm :)

  • @historyissecondhand you could have them warm, cold or at room temperature, they are really great at any temperature :)

  • stuffed grape leaves are amazing. my lebanese mom makes them =P

  • @cod4vshalo Lol, so does my Lebanese mom :)

  • are u kurdish dedemed?

  • @tupacisincuba nope, Lebanese :)

  • @tupacisincuba Ok, I see. Yours are good too, but do you guys ever use cabbage too? We usually have both cabbage and grape leaves.

  • @tupacisincuba Yes, I have a stuffed rolled cabbage video as well, but they are a little different :)

  • @dedemed IWhat is the difference between canned and fresh grape leaves? When I bought my house the previous owners were Lebanese and I inherited their grape vine. It grows vigorously every summer and I want to know which leaves to select and how to prepare them for the cooking process.

  • @ua259253 I am so sorry, I just saw this message. Well you can definitely use the fresh grape leaves. Just pick them and boil them for about 20 minutes in a big pot of hot water with 2-3 teaspoons of salt. Drain them, let them cool and then follow my recipes :)

  • I had these cold and hot and cold is gross, rice too mushy. The Grecians make them best, hot with an amazing hot Hollandaise sauce! So good. My Mother is French and she makes them that way, my friends go nuts for them that way. Try them this way, you all will know what I mean and you can fill with rice and chopped meat too.

  • @MYHOLLANDGIRL Very interesting take on the grape leaves. Yes they are great with meat as well, check out my meat rolled grape leaves video :)

  • Do you eat this cold or hot?

  • @MariamYousif you can eat it either way, it tastes great anyway :)

  • Dede, thanks for the response! Please! A few more questions!

    1. Do you add lemon juice to BOTH the rice mixture and then ALSO the pot during cooking?

    2. There's no tight fitting lid on the pot, just the plate & heavy object?

    3. When you say add water to the brim of the leaves, you mean just to the edges of the top layer but NOT covering the top layer?

    Gosh, thank you SO much! You are an AWESOME cook! :)

  • @RobbiebethS 1-yes you add lemon juice to both, the recipe is written out on my site with directions

    2-correct

    3-yes, you need to barely cover the top layer but not completely.

  • Hello! I loved this video! I tried a recipe for this that I got off the internet and it was good, but some of the rice didnt' cook! Did you layer the grape leaves or just have ONE layer in the pan?

  • @RobbiebethS You need to layer the grape leaves, I usually put about 5 layers :)

  • So we got... grape leaves in jar, long grain white rice, lemon juice, chopped green onion, chopped yellow onion, cayenne pepper, mint, chopped parsley, chopped tomatoes, olive oil, and what about a bunch of sliced almonds, pine nuts or pinoles? thank you Dede

  • @mekhitar you can definitely add any kind of nuts that you like :)

  • My step grandfather is lebanses and im full white, hes like my father but anyways he made these for as long as i can remember...

  • I prefer Azeri dolma, but I will try to cook yours too.

    Thanks!

  • i make the stuffing with cooked cold rice--then roll it in my sushi rolls----i dont like fiddleing with the grape leave--and i unwrap then when i buy them and eat it like that---it stays together formed ----i dip it in hummus yummy

  • great video! thank you for making the time to put this together. i'm going to forward this to some friends and try to make myself some wara2 3areesh! haven't had homemade ones since my grandmother used to make them many years ago

  • i love dolmaaaaa

    but when you add spice it ruins it (Y)

  • cool i love dolma am half iraqi, persian, and greek so we love dolmaa!!! by the waywhere u from??

  • @nennu15

    I am frond Detroit, MI :)

  • @dedemed no i mean where u from lol?? what u iraqi or what??

  • Lebanese :)

  • looks delicious! my grandmother makes these with a great yogurt garlic sauce.

  • @braktuun my mum too with yogurt garlicy souce! yumm

  • she is right

  • Question: Do you cook the meat stuffed grape leaves on low heat or medium low heat for the first 40 minutes, etc?

  • medium low heat, check out my site ;)

  • I love stuffed grape leaves, Dolma...Mmmmm it's one of my favorite Meditterenean foods. I can't wait to make this! Thanks Dede!!! :)

  • yum my favorite good luck :) with your show

  • I will be making for her:

    Dolmathes/Dolma/Grape leaves

    Beef Shawarmas

    Baklava, topped with strawberries. i know, not traditional, but she likes fresh strawberries :)

  • As med. food is food of passion, I figured i'd share this with you:

    I'm using three of your recipies to make an incredibly special meal for an incredibly special lady this week.  Thank you dede. :)

  • i am chaldean and we put meat

    in our dolma it is very lemony

    and tastes really good

  • yum, i have the meat stuffed grape leaf recipe up as well, check it out on my site :)

  • Hello Dede, which brand of Fillo dough is good?

    thanks.

  • any brand is good, just get what's on sale, they are all pretty much the same thing :)

  • Your website is awesome. I just favorited it. Are you Lebanese? I'm half and I've been wanting to make this kind of food for awhile but my arabic cookbooks are kinda hard to understand and sometimes finding the ingredients is hard. Shookran!

  • I'm so glad that I can help you :) Yes I am LEbanese and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

  • I could tell ur arabic by the way u pronounce the food names :) hahaha nice video!

  • happy cooking!

  • Are you jewish? You're stunningly beautiful.

  • No, I am not Jewish :) But thank you for the compliment, don't forget to check out my site.

  • Is this similar to Chaldean dolma? Because I know they use meat in theirs and it is very lemony. I want to make it how they make it, so how similar is it? I did catch a few similarities though, so I'm convinced it might be the same. let me know, because I'm willing to give this a try! :D

  • It is similar to Chaldean dolma, I do have the recipe with meat, check out my video "Grape leaves with meat", it's on my site as well :)

  • Wow that looks good (the food and the girl).

  • thank you :) check out my site!

  • These were GREAT! I am addicted to them! Thanks Dede!

  • yes, they are very addicting :)

  • These are the largest grape leaves i have ever seen..i make mine just a bit smaller than my thumb!

  • DIfferent people make them different sizes, as long as they taste good :)

  • instead of water I can boil them in tomato sauce?

  • yes you definitely can add some tomato sauce to the pot and just let them cook same as the recipe :)

  • Hi Dede, I tasted this recipe and it is wonderful and very nutricious, Thanks and keep the good work, God Bless

  • you are so welcome :)

  • do you have to put the steak 1st then the grapeleaves or do everything with out the steak

  • well these are veggie grape leaves, if you want my to try it with meat then check out my meat stuffed grape leaves video

  • hey my leaves taste too hard do you know how to make them soft?

  • the best thing to do is to boil the leaves before you roll them. Try boiling them for about 30 minutes then letting them cool before boiling, this should help make them more tender for when you cook them.

  • arent u supposedto add tomato paste??

  • some people like to add tomato paste some people don't. If you prefer it with tomato paste you can add tomato paste. Always adapt recipes to your preferences :)

  • Hey dede, is it possible to freeze the cooked mahshi, such as wara2 3nab, and then microwave when needed? simply because its time consuming to make and so if i can freeze it i will make it in a bigger quantity.

  • actually you should not freeze it cooked but you should freeze it before you cook it and then when you are ready to cook it then just take out of the freezer and put in a pot and proceed to cooking :)

  • do you have to cook the rice

  • nope, you do not need to cook the rice, check out my site and you can get the written directions and recipe :)

  • thank you dede, i really love your recipes as well your website, i had tried the grape leaves and the battata harra, omg it taste soo good. thanks sis.

  • I love grape leaves there are some differences between yours and ours but the result is the same I suppose Yalangy is the best appetizer ever :D I just love it ..

    by the way where are you from ??

  • I am Lebanese :)

    Thanks for the comment

  • well this is my best :D and I perfect them as well :D where are you from ??

  • I am Lebanese from Detroit, MIchigan :)

  • Thank you Dede, very helpful!

  • your recipes look very yummy and great to eat and your falafil was very delicious and mouth watering I really apreciate your recipes dede ;D

  • thank you and Happy Cooking!

  • I just love your cooking clips dede, you make it look real easy. I am from the caribbean island of curacao and we have a completely different style of cooking. I have been living in holland for the past couple of years and I have developed an interest in mediterranean and arabic cuisine. i'm sure gonna try out some of your wonderfull recipes, will let you know how they came out !!

    keep sending us new clips of your yummy yummy recipes.

  • Thank you for the nice comments and for your support :)

  • dedemed: You look so beautiful, but unfortunately you're married. Can you please tell your husband, that I hate him. :-)

    Well, coming back to business: How do I prepare raw grape leaves to look like the ones that come out of a jar. Also, another question: Can I just cook grape leaves like spinach or swiss chard and eat it.

    You rock girl !!!

  • My yaya always called these fila, but they werent vegetarian (stuffed with lamb or beef) and she didnt use mint. But it seems like the same concept. If you can get fresh grape leaves it makes a world of difference in the flavor and tenderness. Plus the jarred version is very unhealthy for anyone with blood pressure or kidney problems, with about 100 mg of sodium per leaf. For a nice variation, add slices of lemon (sliced like tomato) about every other layer in the pot.

  • I will be making the lamb and rice ones soon :)

    True about the grape leaves but you should rinse them. and not everyone has access to fresh grape leaves so using the jarred ones is the best alternative.

  • good job. I would mention the two sides of grape leaves, and use the side that has the vanes for stuffing. I know you know it , would help. Also would be nice to mention that using fresh leaves after dipping in hot water provides the best tast.

    Again thanks

    Bassam

  • Very true Bassan, there are 2 sides to the grape leaf and I will mention it in my next grape leaves video when I stuff them with rice and lamb :)

  • The store I go to sells them for 35 cents a piece. This recipe will save me so much money...I am so grateful for YouTube and all the opportunities it gives me to make wonderful food.

    You are soooo beautiful, Dede

  • thank you for such sweet comments, yes cooking at home saves so much money, the money you save you can spend on shopping :)

  • i am bulgarian  we eat this meal with plain yorgyt and garlic

  • sounds yummy :)

  • Today is the first time I come across your videos. I think I finally found what I needed to start getting into the mood of coooking. U r great and ur sharing this with alll simply shows how helpful and caring r u. THank u DEDE

  • thank you so much, don't forget to check out my site and let me know of any recipe you are looking for :)

  • Thank you for the easy to follow instructions! I'll have to try this next time my Egyptian mother-in-law comes by.

  • you will definitely impress her with this :)

  • Love this recipe. Time consuming but easy to make. As soon as we finished a batch I would make another. This went on for about a month. I have tried several of your recipes and have loved them all. Thank you Dede.

  • good to know you liked it, yes they can be addictive but they are still healthy :) thank you for your support!

  • My best friend growing up was Egyptian. Her mom made these with meat and we loved them. Do you have a meat version of this dish?

  • Yes, it should be out next month. Don't forget to visit my website :)

  • hey dede do you use ghee, arabic butter when you cook...?The grape leaves turn out much tasier.

  • I do from time to time but it is not always readily available to everyone so regular butter is ok :)

  • Oooo Dede ... I bet your husband is the luckyest man ... I tried this few times my friend's mom comes to the US and he always invites us to amaizing dinners. I bet his mom is the best cook in the world. this recipe is called yelanji or something like this and there is another recipe with meet not vegitables and it is great I love your cooking ;-)

  • Really nice video.. you're very sweet! Now, why couldn't I have married someone like you?

  • hi dede, i loved ur video.. very descriptive and helpful. i have to admit that i'm one of those ppl who r intimidated by rolling the grape leaves coz previously i've tried but failed. anywys i've a question: the lemon juice does it have to come out from lemon fruit or can i use a preserved one from a bottle? thnx and i hope my next attempt to roll the grape leaves b successful...

  • yes you can use lemon in a bottle, as long as it is real lemons :) Thank you for the nice ocmments.

  • the funny things is my fiance made those but he burnt the pot hahaha I told him to put carrots in the pot n he was like... "oh, now i remember my mom used to do the same thing" lol if he remembered earlier my pot wud b still alive ...

    but the food was still good well the ones tht were on top anyway ...

    lookin forward for more videos :)

  • lol that is a funny story at least he tryed lol

  • Dede, you can be a wonderful chindren's cooking show host. No joke, it is actually a great idea why not try doing this with children. My son likes to help in the kitchen he is 4 years old.

  • That actually sounds like a wonderful idea, I would love to do videos with children...now I just have to find the children who want to learn how to cook :)

  • hi dede thank u for the videos im italian and i have a lebanese fiance... aaaaand i wanna suprise him so tytytyty v much... btw may i ask frm where u are?

    keep up the superb work, love

    roberta

  • HI Roberta, I love Italy, it is a beautiful country with wonderful flavors :) I am American born but my parents are Lebanese.

    HAPPY COOKING!

  • Hi dede ,I am so glad I landed on ur vdos on youtube.We have so many lebanese restaurants here and I always wanted to learn med. cooking.The way you explain ething makes it so easy .I have tried hummus, tabouli , cheese rolls , stuffed grape leaves, garlic sauce and batata hara...everything is GREAT.Thanks a bundle.I am always so happy with the nutritious ingredients EV oilve oil , veggies, parsley , lentils .

  • THank you, i'm so glad to have such a wonderful supporter, keep on cooking!

  • Man, Dolma, the quintessential greek side dish. Going to cook these up at my next dinner party.

  • Thanks Dede for the carrot idea. I use my own grape leaves when they are young and tender. Never thought I needed the carrots, but they would be delicious!

  • dede, subhan allah, you are so beautiful and fun to watch speak. May allah bless you and your family.

  • MmMMmMMmMMMMMMMM loooks yummmmmmmy

  • I am going to try this..I adore meditarranean/lebanese food. There's a place called Alladins here where I buy this dish as well as another fav..foole n damas.. I've got to try and find my supplies & ingredients...

  • Hi!.. i was wondering.. i buy the grape leaves that come in a bottle with some kind of "juice", the thing is that, after cooking this dish.. the leaves remain kinda hard, they don't soften that much! so it's not very nice to eat cause you can taste the leave a lot!.. why do you think this is?? and what can i do to soften the leaves a bit more???

    Thanks!

  • If you are encountering this problem with the leaves, then it's best to put them in a pot with hot water and boil them for 20 minutes, then rinse them in cold water and drain them. This helps to pre-cook the leaves before stuffing them and that way they will cook simultaneously with the rice. Sometimes grape leaves are harder to cook depending on the season that they are harvested. If you boil them first then it is pretty much fool proof :)

  • Awesome!! thank you! :)

  • Kool! u make just like my family! were persian so i get to eat a lot of cusines! But my mom knows a few recipes with the grape leaves cause they have a lot of different ways to make it1

  • Wow...you're lucky you get to experience all types of cuisine :)

  • Dede, Did you find anything out about the grape leaves rolling machine yet? Called the number I gave you and they were out not for a month b4 getting any in. Will let you know when. Take Care, I make the Syrian style, love them with a little bit of hot sauce in each bite. Yum Yum.

  • I did find a store that carries it occasionally but they were out and didn't know when they would be getting any. I'll keep checking :)

  • If u wana make it non Veg do u just add mince to it or does the recipe vary a lil? Thanks.

  • Actually it is a completely different stuffing for the meat recipe. YOu need 1 lb ground meat, 1 cup white rice, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp salt and some black pepper. THen cook the same way with the water and about 1/2 cup of lemon juice.

  • Thanks Dede 4 ur quick reply. My daughter love em so I'll make em 4 her.