Stuffed cabbage rolls have a long history and many countries have them in their cuisine with a different name. Turks and Armenians name them “Dolma”. Russians call them "lenivye golubtsy" (lazy cabbage rolls). Poles call them “Gołąbki” meaning ‘little pigeons’ while Czechs and Slovaks refer to them as “Holubky”. They are known as “Sarma” to Serbs, Croatians and Bulgarians and “Sarmale” to Romanians. Swedes and Danes call them “Kåldolmar” while in Finland they are known as “kaalikääryle”. Whatever their name, stuffed cabbage have a filling of rice (cooked or uncooked), meat and sausage, and a variety of spices. They are either baked, steamed or boiled. In India we deep fry them with a vege-filling.
Since meat is used in Sarmale, I chose chicken and turkey sausage - both halal.
Sarmale is simple and tastes much like its cousin from Russia, it is a bit more sour and salty though.
For a friend whose national dish is Sarmale, I searched the internet and prepared it for her as a birthday gift. I know it is a strange gift but it is likely that it will be appreciated - since it is hard to prepare and then there is not a single restaurant from her country here in Seoul.
I'll continue after a nap, I'm so full after eating these, a large cup pf coffee and a couple of chocolates. My post after the nap kicked off with posting pics.
Posts
sarahinsouthkorea
