Kıymalı Biber Dolması / Turkish #stuffed pepper with ground meat and how to make Garlic yoghurt sauce

Selam everybody...Merhaba from Turkey...

Kıymalı means (with) meat in Turkish language. Biber means pepper and Dolması/ dolma means stuffed. So Kıymalı Biber Dolması literally means stuffed pepper with meat.

Dolma, Turkish term for stuffed vegetable dishes common in the Middle East and in Mediterranean countries including the Balkans, the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia.

Common vegetables to stuff include tomato,pepper, onion, zucchini, eggplant, and garlic. The stuffing may or may not include meat. Meat dolmas are generally served warm, often with tahini, egg-lemon or garlic yogurt sauce; meatless ones are generally served cold. 

Dishes involving wrapping leaves such as vine leaves or cabbage leaves (Lahana Sarması) around a filling are called sarma, though in many languages the distinction is usually not made. Check my Yaparak sarma here.
Dolma without meat is sometimes called yalancı dolma 'fake dolma' in Turkish. 

And today I am going to share my Biber Dolma. This is not my first biber dolma post because you know this is kinda daily menu especially when biber / pepper season in peak, like this early summer until during summer. Check my previous biber dolma version on Turkish food category.

So here the recipe that I always use now and then. The recipe I got from my mother inlaw long time ago when I just got married my husband and start learning Turkish food ^,^

Ingredients:

• ±  600 gr bell pepper, about 15 medium size
• ±  150 gr ground meat, skip this for a vegetarian version
• ±  200 gr  (1 cup) rice, washed and drained
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 large / 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and grated
• ±  1 tbsp dried mint
• salt to taste
• 1 large egg (optional)
• some tomatoes halved or quartered for topping
• 2~3 tbsp olive oil
• garlic yogurt sauce for serving

Method:

1. Seeded bell peppers by making holes at top of them. Salt inside it lightly and arrange them in a shallow wide pan. Try to fit the pan with the number of your pepper-it's only my optional.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the chopped onion just until translucent, stir in ground meat (if using). Keep stir until the meat changes color. Mix in grated tomatoes followed by rice and dried mint. Stir to combine for about 1 or 2 minutes.
3. Pour about 1½ to 2 cup hot water (or meat stock), season with salt, stir once and cover the pan with the lid, lower the heat and let it cook without stirring for about 10 minutes or until water absorbed. Turn off the heat and let it slightly cool with the lid still on.
4. Open the lid, with a fork or spoon gently stir the rice to remove the remaining steam. Crack 1 egg and quick stir to combine with the rice. If you don't use egg, you can skip this step.
5. Careful spoon the rice into prepared pepper, no need to pack them, just loosely fill your pepper until full. Cover the top with tomato slices. Pour hot water into the pan carefully about ½ of the peppers. Lid on and cook over medium heat for about 25 to 30 minutes or until rice and pepper completely cooked.

Note: If you still have leftover rice and you run out of some pepper, you can hollow some tomatoes and fill them with the rice mixture.

Serve warm or room temperature with sarımsaklı yogurt (yogurt with garlic sauce) or yogurt salad, recipe below, or check this link for video recipe.

Afiyet Olsun.

How to make yogurt salad:

• 1 large cucumber, finely cubed
• 1 handful fresh mint, finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried mint)
• 1 handful of  dill, finely chopped
• 1 cup thick Turkish yogurt
• olive oil
• Pinch of salt
Mix all salad ingredients except olive oil, and mix well. Serve cold or room temperature with glug of olive oil.

How to make yogurt garlic sauce:

• 1 cup thick Turkish yogurt
• 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
• pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients and serve immediately with dolma.

Wait..check out so early! check my other yummy recipes:

Gül boreğı / rose phyllo pastry

Yaparak sarması or Stuffed grape leaves

cabbage leaves (Lahana Sarması) 

Stuffed cabbage in tomato sauce

Kumpir / stuffed baked potato

İslim kebabı