Iraqi Dolma Stuffed Onions
White onion layers with rice, lamb, cinnamon and pomegranate molasses.
Preparation: 35 min · Cooking: 55 min · Total: 1 hr 35 min · 2 servings
Ingredients
- Medium white onions — 2
- 120 ml Dry short-grain rice
- 150 g Raw minced lamb
- 2 tbsp Pomegranate molasses
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 120 ml Initial hot cooking water
- 0.25 tsp Ground cinnamon
- Salt, to taste
- Water for rinsing and blanching, discarded
- Conditional boiling water, if needed (optional) — Separate from the measured initial liquid; add small measured amounts only if drying before fully cooked.
Instructions
Measure this recipe and prepare safely
For the base 2 servings of Iraqi Dolma Stuffed Onions, measure the ingredient list before starting. Cup = 240 ml, tbsp = 15 ml and tsp = 5 ml. Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat food and refrigerate perishables until needed.
Slit the onions safely
Make one lengthwise cut from one side of each onion to its core. Keep the opposite side intact where possible to release usable layers.
Blanch and separate the layers
Blanch onions in process water, beginning checks around 5 minutes until layers loosen. Drain and cool until safe to handle. Peel usable layers; keep unsuitable cores separate, not forced into wrappers.
Blanch and separate the layers: 300 seconds
Mix the raw filling
Mix 120 ml dry rice, 150 g raw lamb, 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 0.25 tsp cinnamon and salt. Half uses 60 ml rice, not a unitless quarter.
Fill with expansion room
Fill loosely and leave space for raw rice to expand. Fit the filling to usable wrapper size, not a fixed spoonful. Cook any excess filling immediately in a separate covered pan with conditional measured hot water. Do not force extra filling into undersized wrappers. Cook overflow until the rice is tender and meat reaches the selected 74°C.
Arrange the parcels
Wrap the usable onion layers loosely around suitable filling portions. Arrange snugly in a fitting pan or equivalent pans at larger scales, rather than forcing a single layer into an undersized pot. No unlisted fat is added.
Add the measured initial liquid
Pour in 120 ml initial hot water down the inner wall. Half uses 60 ml; fourfold 480 ml. Conditional top-ups and separate-filling water remain distinct from this initial amount.
Choose a suitable weight and simmer
Use a clean food-safe weight rated for stovetop simmering. It must fit inside the pot and allow steam and liquid circulation. An ordinary decorative plate is unsuitable. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer under the normal lid.
Check fillings and liquid
Begin checks around 45 minutes of gentle simmering. Monitor the liquid and add small measured boiling-water top-ups if drying; do not scorch the bottom. Check tender rice in the largest parcels and in any separate filling pan. Check the thickest centres with a clean thermometer: the selected household target is 74°C. The guidance minimum for ground beef/lamb is 71°C; 74°C is a conservative choice, not a universal legal requirement.
Check fillings and liquid: 2700 seconds
Finish any separate filling
Any excess filling must finish cooking in its separate covered pan now. Check that its rice is tender and its meat centre reaches the selected 74°C; the parcels being ready does not prove that this pan is ready.
Serve without a heavy-pot inversion
Remove the weight carefully away from steam. Lift the parcels with a spoon or spatula and serve any cooked excess filling alongside. Do not invert a heavy hot pot or deliberately burn the bottom. Serve only after confirming the selected 74°C filling target.
Portion and store safely
Refrigerate promptly in shallow portions, aiming within 1 hour, at 4°C or colder. Use within 24 hours. Do not leave a deep pot to cool on the counter. This selected household limit is not a validated shelf life.
Tips
- Ingredient quantities scale exactly; instruction quantities describe the base 2-serving batch. Use equivalent vessels or manageable batches. Times remind you to check, not to ignore doneness.
Common mistakes
- Do not add ingredients from the previous scaffold or treat initial water, discarded process water and optional top-ups as one fixed consumed total.
Substitutions
- Only alternatives explicitly named in the ingredient list are included in this master.
Storage
Refrigerate promptly in shallow portions, aiming within 1 hour, at 4°C or colder. Use within 24 hours. Do not leave a deep pot to cool on the counter. This selected household limit is not a validated shelf life.
Reheating
Reheat appropriate leftovers at most once to 74°C throughout, then serve immediately. Rice must be cooled promptly and kept no longer than 24 hours; reheating does not rescue mishandled food.
About this recipe
Iraqi Dolma Stuffed Onions is presented here as an owner-supplied Iraqi household version. Specific ancient origins or universal regional claims have not been independently verified.
Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.