Categories: AppetizersClassicEasyFavoritesGrain & LegumesMeatlessMeatless Lenten DishesSalads

Chef George Duran shares his mother’s Grape Leaf Sarma recipe!

5 years ago

I’ve been a fan of Chef George Duran, even before I learned he is Armenian. Once that was revealed, I was even more interested in following his career.

Chef George Duran. Source- House & Home Nashville

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.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Wrapping the Grape Leaves & Resting Time 1 20

Total Time 2 50

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.

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View Comments

Carol Hoon says:

November 12, 2025 at 4:15 pm

Is the rice supposed to be cooked? Thank you! We have a new neighbor who is Armenian and I've invited him to Thanksgiving dinner, as he is not traveling home to family and want to get this right. :)
- Robyn Kalajian says:
  
  November 12, 2025 at 4:46 pm
  
  Hi Carol, the rice does not need to be cooked ahead of time. It should get soft enough as it cooks inside the wrapped grape leaves. If you feel George Duran's initial cooking time isn't sufficient for the rice to become tender, by all means, feel free to cook the sarmas a few minutes longer than the 30 minutes he recommends. I hope this helps, and Happy Thanksgiving!