Warak Inab

Ingredients for 10 servings:

• 1 pack of vine leaves
• 2 cup(s) rice, raw
• 1 bunch parsley, flat
• 1 tomato(s)
• 200 g beef or lamb (lean, tender meat)
• 1 bell pepper(s)
• 3 potatoes
• 5 garlic cloves
• oil
• 100 g butter
• Spice mix (7 Arabic spices, in Arabic-Turkish shops)
• Sumac, available in Arabic/Turkish shops
• salt and pepper
• 2 onions

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Syrian appetizer – stuffed vine leaves

Wash the vine leaves three times with lukewarm water, as they are very salty. Finely chop the tomato, parsley, 1 onion, bell pepper, and meat and place them in a bowl. Add the rice, melted butter, 4 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of sumac, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of seven Arabian spices. Mix everything well and stuff the vine leaves with two teaspoons. Place about 1 teaspoon of filling on the hairy side, fold the right and left sides over the filling, and roll it up like a cigar. Don’t twist too tightly, as the rice will still swell. Peel and slice the potatoes and 1 onion, and only peel the garlic. Place the potato slices on the bottom of a large pot and place the rolled vine leaves close together on top. Place the garlic, onion slices, and the remaining potato slices between the layers of vine leaves, and continue layering until all the filling is used up. Add 1/2 liter of warm water and place a plate on top. This is important to prevent the stuffed vine leaves from opening. The plate should sit directly on the vine leaves, so it should be slightly smaller in diameter than the pot. Heat until the water boils, add butter, and simmer over low heat for about 20-30 minutes. It tastes delicious warm or cooled! A quick tip: Rolling up the vine leaves is faster with two people and some music!