Macedonian Cuisine: Sarma

I present you one of the most delicious Macedonian meals: Sarma. It is basically stuffed cabbage rolls which is prepared mostly in winter. Since it is prepared in larger quantities, sarma is usually eaten for several days. If you can resist the temptation, eat it the next day after preparation, it tastes even better! And this is the simplest recipe for its preparation which each one of you can master in a minute! Take a look!
Servings: 6 yield(s)
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 150 mins
Total Time: 170 mins
Ingredients
    For the rolls
  • 12-16 pieces of sour cabbage leaves (you can buy them at stores, too!)
  • 500 g minced beef
  • 200 g rice
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp red paprika spice
  • 1 tsp ground red paprika
  • 1.5 tbsp vegetable spice
  • 1 tsp dried basil or oregano
  • 3 tbsp cooking oil
  • For the cooking liquid
  • 2 cups of cold water
  • 1.5 tbsp wholemeal flour
  • 1/2 tbsp ground red paprika
Instructions
  1. Prepare the cabbage leaves for rolling. Make sure they have a rectangular shape, if not, make it with scissors. The parts of the cabbage that won't be used for rolling, place them at the bottom of the pan.
  2. Mix the ingredients for the roll filling, and place one 1 tbsp of it on each cabbage roll before you fold it. Place each sarma in the pan, tightly next to each other, in one or two rows.
  3. Mix up the cooking liquid and pour it over the sarmas so it can cover them. Place a plate over the rolls to keep them tight. Bring them to boil over high temperature and then lower the temperature and cook slowly for 2.5-3 hours.