Iraqi Lamb Dolma

Begin soaking your rice in plenty of water.

In a medium saucepan, poach your lamb ribs in cardamom, and one garlic bulb (cut in half). Bring to the boil, removing the ‘scum’ as it boils. Drain and set aside.

Cut the ends from your white onions and then make an incision halfway down not going past the core/middle.

In a medium saucepan, on a low simmer, poach the onions in salted water for 10-15 mins. You should see the onion layers coming apart.

Once soft, run cold water over the onions. Carefully remove each onion layer and set aside.

Prep your vine leaves by removing from the jar and rinsing in cold water.

For your peppers, make a slit in each and set aside.

Now that your vegetables are all ready, let’s start on the stuffing.

Drain the rice and add to a large bowl. Add the lamb mince.

Dry mix all the spices and 20g salt. Add to the rice and lamb along with the sunflower oil, half your pomegranate molasses, tamarind paste, and water.

Stuff your onions and peppers.

Roll your vine leaves.

Now we can begin layering the pot.

In a medium saucepan, place the lamb ribs at the bottom of the pot. Layer on your vine leaves, followed by the onions and then, finally, the baby peppers.

Finely slice one bulb of garlic and add to the saucepan.

Drizzle with the remaining pomegranate molasses and the juice of your lemons.

Season with salt and add water until it reaches the peppers.

Bring to a boil with the lid on. Then bring down to a simmer until the water has reduced. After 1 hour, remove from the heat and you’re ready for that dolma reveal.