Dolma

Dolma
Whole stuffed pepper and tomato dolma
CourseAppetizer or main dish
Region or stateEastern Mediterranean, Balkans, Levant, Anatolia or Turkey, South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), Iraq, Greece, Albania, Cyprus, Kosovo, Iran, Central Asia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Libya.
Serving temperatureHot or room temperature
Main ingredientsVaries
Variationsvegetables, seafood, fruit, offal
Dolma making and sharing tradition, a marker of cultural identity
CountryAzerbaijan
Reference01188
RegionEurope and North America
Inscription history
Inscription2017 (12th session)
ListRepresentative

Dolma (Turkish for "stuffed") is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, typically made with a filling of rice, minced meat, offal, seafood, fruit, or any combination of these inside either a leaf wrapping or a hollow or hollowed-out vegetable (e.g. a bell pepper). Leaf-wrapped dolma, specifically, are known as sarma, made by rolling grape, cabbage, or other leaves around the filling. Less commonly, both fruits and meat (particularly offal) may also be stuffed with similar fillings and termed dolma. Dolma can be served warm or at room temperature and are common in modern cuisines of regions and nations that once were part of the Ottoman Empire.