In the early days of this website, I wrote a piece about George which you can read by clicking here.

I was delighted to see his mother’s recipe for Grape Leaf Sarma on his Face Book page recently and immediately contacted him (or his staff) to see if he’d allow me to share it on The Armenian Kitchen.

A few days later, the recipe was emailed to me!

Thanks to George and his mother, I present to you George Duran’s Mom’s Sarma Recipe!

George Duran’s Mom’s Grape Leaf Sarma Recipe

Stuffed grape leaf recipe, also known as sarma, by Chef George Duran's mother.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Wrapping the Grape Leaves & Resting Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Ingredients

  

Filling Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• ¾ cups rice (medium grain)
• 1 large tomato (finely chopped)
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp red pepper paste
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 5½ garlic cloves (pressed)
• 1 tsp Kosher salt

Grape Leaves

• 1 jar grape leaves

Liquid Ingredients

• 1½ cups water
• 1 chicken boullion cube
• 1 lemon (juiced)
• 2 tbsp butter

Instructions

 

• Soaked the grape leaves or an hour and squeeze.
• In a large bowl mix all of the filling ingredients together.
• Place liquid ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to simmer. Set aside until ready to use.
• Using one grape leaf at a time, place it on your work surface, shiny side down. Trim and discard each grape leaf stem.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the rice mixture to the middle of the grape leaf.
• Fold the sides over the rice and roll the leaf into a small log shape, about the size of your thumb. Repeat with the remaining rice.
• Line the bottom of a medium stock pot with torn grape leaves, then arrange the stuffed leaves in the pot.
• When the dish is full, cover the stuffed leaves with several layers of flat grape leaves and pour in reserved stock liquid.
• Place a small dish upside-down on top of grape leaves and cover and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Let rest for 15-20 minutes. before serving.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!