Stuffed Cabbage in Tomato sauce

Another idea for stuffed cabbage. It inspired by Turkish cuisine, lahana sarması but this stuffed cabbage we will cook in tomato sauce, slightly gravy and I bet it will be repeatable menu on your family's dinner table later on.

Ingredients:

1.       One whole medium-size cabbage.
2.        ±200 gr minced beef.
3.       1 ½ cup rice. Wash and drain.
4.       1 big size onion. Finely Chopped
5.       Dried mint  ± 2 tsp
6.       Sweet red paprika powder  ± 2 tsp.
7.       Black or white pepper powder ± ½ tsp
8.       Enough salt to taste
9.       ½ Cup Olive oil.
10.       ± 2 Cup boiled water (or more if needed)

For gravy sauce

•   2 tbsp homemade tomato pasta (I mix with chili paste 1 tbsp), dilute it with 2~3 cup hot water
•   Dried oregano ± 1 tbsp
•   Enough salt, sugar and pepper powder to taste.

Mix all sauce ingredients, set aside.




Method:

1) Carefully remove each cabbage leaves and cook in boiling water just until wilted (about 15~20 minutes). Drain. Discard "leaves' bones" (hard part in the middle). I usually cut each leaves into two parts right in that middle. Set aside.

2) Heat olive oil, Stir fry the minced beef. Cook until it changes color. Stir in onions until fragrant and transparent. Mix in rice and other spices. Pour in 2 cups hot water, stir well and cover the pan. Low the heat and cook until rice absorbed all water. Turn off the fire.
3) Take one piece of cabbage leaves, place the stuffing mixture on cabbage leaves. Fold and form triangle shape (or you can just do roll shape if you want). Do it until all stuffing mixture finish. Arrange neatly in a deep saucepan with lid. Pour with gravy sauce mixture, cover and cook them util done, for about 20~30 minutes.


Served it hot with it's gravy and sprinkle with oregano.