Yalanchi is a delicious and healthy Armenian appetizer. It consists of grape leaves stuffed with a vegetarian filling made of rice, onion, herbs, lemon juice and sometimes tomato paste. The name yalanchi means "fake" or "liar", because the dish does not contain any meat, unlike the traditional dolma or sarma.
Dolma and sarma are general terms used for many varieties of vegetables and leaves stuffed with meat and rice. Dolma means "stuffed thing" and sarma means "wrapped thing". These dishes are common in many cuisines throughout the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Depending on the region, the ingredients for the stuffing and the cooking techniques are slightly different. Some versions contain meat, while others are vegetarian.
The version I have done here is very similar to the greek dolmades.
Ingredients
Rolling Ingredients
1 cup white rice
1-2 onions finely chopped
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped herbs (parsley, mint, dill)
40 grape leaves
1 teaspoon salt
Cooking Ingredients
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
water to top it off
Method
Prep the leaves. Blanch fresh grape leaves for 30 minutes or soak jarred leaves in boiling water for 15 minutes. Trim off stems.
Sauté chopped onions in 1/2 cup olive oil, in a sauce pan until translucent but not brown. Add rice and sauté for 1 minute more while stirring. Add 1 1/4 cups water, and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Bring to a simmer over medium heat then lower heat. Cook for 7 minutes over low heat or until water is mostly absorbed.
Season rice with salt, and mix in the chopped herbs. Remove to a medium bowl to cool slightly.
Line the bottom and sides of a medium saucepan with grape leaves.
Roll by placing a teaspoon or two of the rice filling in the bottom center of the leaf, shiny side down. Fold the sides of the leaf in, then roll it up tightly.
Place all of the rolled grape leaves snugly into the lined pot.
Drizzle 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 cup lemon juice over the grape leaves. Top the rest off with water till it just covers the roll. Place a plate over top to hold them in place while cooking.
Cover pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer on medium/low for 30-40 minutes, or until only oil remains.
Remove from heat, remove lid and let cool for 30 minutes before moving to a serving plate or bowl.
Serve cold or room temp. Garnish with lemon and parsley.
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