Grape Leaves Aleppo

I make almost the exact same recipe (from Lebanon), except I use cabbage leaves. I also bake it all in a casserole dish making sure to cover the rolls completely with water, lemon juice, sliced garlic, and some drops of margarine. It is so much easier than doing it on the stove. Salt all over. It is a tangy garlicky lemon flavor that I love!

I absolutely love this recipe. For those of you who find them a little bland please read on. I am a Syrian and my grandmother taught me this recipe. Over the years I have tweeked it a little bit to my liking. Everybody raves how these are the best grape leaves they have ever had. After many many trials and errors I find this to be the best! It is even my boyfriends favorite meal. It is a rather difficult recipe that takes alot of time and effort. Good Luck!! yelah!

Robert- thank you so MUCH! These are absolutely fantastic. They are tangy and PERFECT! I found that I didn't need all of the grape leaves though. I only needed about a jar and a half. If you can't find ground lamb meat, ask your butcher to grind up a lamb roast for you, or plan in advance and call some stores to see if they can order you the ground lamb. The lamb taste is essential! Look for the grape leaves in the olive aisle...they actually had them at the Safeway even though I was prepared to go to an ethnic food store for them. I will be sharing this recipe and making the dish again and again!

This recipe is good however not tasteful enough for my liking. Dont get me wrong, its not bad, but not one of my favorties. I make grape leaves slightly differently. I add onions, tomatoes and garlic to the stuffing and omit the lemon jouce. Also, instead of covering with water I cover them with a simple tomato sauce I make (chopped tomatoes, drop of olive oil, tsp tomato paste, little bit of water and salt are heated till tomatoes soft. when its cooled I just blits it in a blender/food processor. The tomatoes and onions give it a richer taste.

This recipe is just like one of the several ways my mother made stuffed grape leaves. She was also born in Aleppo, Syria, and passed away last April at the age of 93. They are yummy! And a must to make out of lamb, they won't taste right with anything else.

Very close to Grandma's recipe! (She was from the southern part of Syria, while I found that Aleppo is exactly north.) I was pleased with these, and though I followed the recipe exactly, I plan to make a couple minor adjustments next time. I'm going to halve the pepper and increase the allspice by a half-teaspoon. Instead of soaking the rice, Grandma always mixed about 1/2 cup of water into the meat mixture with the dry rice. It gave some moisture for the rice to absorb, without extra prep or an overly tough middle. (She preferred her lamb ground coarsely for most flavor. Short-grain rice is also the traditional rice for stuffing grape leaves.) One more TIP is to use a smaller amount of filling, so that the raw amount is about the size of a short stubby pencil. The finished leaves will be the size of a child's marker. In this way they will be a lovely shape and you will use most of your jarred leaves. Finally, she never added garlic but I LOVED it in these! And next time I will remember to add the olives! I served with extra lemon, plain yogurt, and pita bread and thought I was back in time :)

Beast recipe I ever had for grape leaves. I added a little cinnamon and parsley to the mixture. Cooked in chcken broth along with the water and yes you must put a small plate on top to hold them down. Serve with with a sauce of yogurt, pured garlic and chopped cucumber.

I've never made grape leaves before, but this was easy and turned out very tasty! I added about a teaspoon each of dried dill weed and dried mint and it added a great flavor. Had to substitute ground beef for lamb, I think it would have been even better with lamb. I served it with Tzatziki Sauce (Yogurt and Cucumber Dip) from this website and it was a perfect compliment.

Almost a duplicate of Sitoo's recipe straight from Beirut. Thank you for the memory lane! We use 1:1 rice/lamb (to stretch), and the lamb is deboned/minced by hand. Bones used for stock. Also go heavier on the fresh garlic, scattering unpeeled whole cloves between layers. Sub h/m lamb stock for the water as well. Use a HEAVY bottom pot or put down a steamer basket to avoid scorching. Tradition says use "unusable" leaves to line pot but they still scorch and can ruin the flavor of the whole pot.

This is my absolute favorite recipe on Allrecipes! I have made this recipe over 20 times and it never fails. This is exactly how this Jordanian little lady used to make it for me. I tweeked it a bit...To the rice and lamb mixture, I add a ton of garlic powder. it makes the stuffed grapeleaves so fragrant. I also place extra leaves and lamb bones on the bottom so I don't have any overcooked stuffed grapeleaves sitting on the bottom of the pot. Add extra lemon and lime and garlic slivers throughout. The garlic dissolves at the end of cooking. Serve this with some side basmati rice with a pinch of cinnamon and a good homemade tzatziki sauce, your family will be begging you to make this at every gathering.

This was very good...might I suggest my own Situ's variation (Latakia, Syria 1917). Line the pan with onions to prevent sticking. Top with onions as well. Substitute chicken broth for the water. Quadruple the amount on the allspice and cinnamon. double the lemon juice, bottled is ok. Serve with plain yogurt (leban) and fresh lemon slices and fresh pita bread or syrian bread, very flat pita. Adjust any ingredients for taste. Enjoy the flavor profile!

This recipe was pretty good. Not enough spice for me though. So I added: More allspice and garlic salt in the mixture (second time I made them) and they tasted much better. Also, this recipe states put a plate over the grape leaves while cooking, was a little scarred the plate would crack (I used a porcelain very thick/ microwave safe plate) and it did not crack. I left it in the pot the whole time of cooking. It is true, you do need something to hold down the rolls while boiling or the top ones (leaves) will not get tender and be discolored. Also, after my second batch was done...I dipped them in Virgin Olive Oil.

The more I make this recipe the more my family loves it. The only difference I have done is that I use ground turkey instead of the lamb.

I made these for my boyfriend the other day...my first attempt at making one of his favorite middle eastern foods (he is Jordanian). He said that they tasted just like the ones his mom makes. In my book, this recipe garners all 5 stars! Thanks Robert!

I am half Syrian and I have been making this with my Tha-Tha (grandmother) for 25 years. We did it with ground beef because lamb wasnt readily available. Lamb is certainly the way to go! I loved the addition of the olives!

This recipe is very delicious and very very much like the BEST grapeleaves in the world that my middle eastern aunt makes. Based on her recommendation, I am going to take down the allspice by about half next time and I am going to add some melted butter (6-8oz) to the meat and rice mixture. Also, I was very generous with the lemon juice during the cooking process. And I poured lemon on top of the leaves before serving them too. All in all, this is a wonderful recipe!!

I'd never made anything with grape leaves before but I couldn't resist buying a jar of them because they were so pretty (Gaea brand). They were a trick to get out of the jar but after a lot of rinsing and dunking in lukewarm water they were finally separated from one another. I stacked all my rolls in a bamboo steamer, sprayed them with a little olive oil, and steamed them - it worked extremely well. I just kept adding hot water as it evaporated. I poured the lemon juice on them after they had cooked and they tasted AMAZING. Definitely worth the effort.

We absolutely love this recipe. We do not eat lamb so I use either ground beef or ground turkey. My family can't get enough.

This recipe is close to my Situ's(grandmother). Her name was Muriam and she used cinnamon & nutmeg with the alspice-no salt or pepper(the grape leaves are salty due to the brine they are soaked in), and no garlic or kalamata olives were used. Also, when you stack them the 2nd layer should be laid the opposite way the 1st layer was laid, and so on. These are good with plain yogurt.

Thank you Robert! My family rented a house in the late 1950s and early 60s from a Syrian family. On rent day the lady of the house would give Moma stuffed grape leaves. I have been looking for recipe since and this seems to be it. Kind of expensive with the cup of lemon juice and lamb but worth it. Ma and I are enjoying these.

I am Syrian also (Shammy), my grandmother made this all the time and now I do. Our recipe is extremely similar, however we also use bones in the bottom of the pot for added flavor. Also, they are also delicious with beef if you do not like lamb. This is a staple in my home and we have even made them to pass around at my neices wedding. The restaurant felt honored to have us share this meal with them as well. Thanks for the tip about adding olives, will have to try that next time! :) Yum!

I've used this recipe for years! Grape Leaves don't get much better than this!

Great recipe! My boyfriend is Egyptian and has been missing his mother's grape leaves for years, and he said this really hit the spot. I substituted 1/2 beef 1/2 pork instead of lamb, and followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Taste even better the next day! Thank you!

Very close to the way my mother (and her mother and her mother...) made them. I substitute more allspice for the salt and pepper, use about 20 to 30 whole garlic cloves, and simmer in lemon juice (no water). The taste is bold and tart while the softened garlic cloves become a side dish on their own. Either way, a delicious meal.

Ever since I tried grape leaves at a local restaurant, I have been dying to make them. I finally found a local butcher from whom I could get some ground lamb and decided to make this recipe tonight. Besides the fact that mine were slightly falling apart (the plate I used to hold them down wasn't quite big enough for the pot), they tasted EXACTLY like the ones I order at the restaurant. I followed the recipe exactly, except I cut it down to 6 servings, as 36 servings was way to many for my husband and I. I will most certainly be making them again, we both mmmmm'd and ahhhhhhh's the with every bite!

This recipe was exellent. my husband has been begging me to make this dish for months i made it and he loved it. i made it with ground beef instead of the lamb and it was great.

Finding the taste of lamb a bit bland, I use half lamb and half beef. Also I use beef broth to boil them in and place them on beef ribs. Give the ribs a really good flavor. That was a tip from my mother in law.

I didn't give this recipe a star rating because I changed it. I couldn't find ground lamb anywhere, so I tried a mix of ground beef and pork. This didn't work out at all and I would not try this recipe again.

This is a traditional dish in our household and a favorite among adults and children alike. Although we don't use lemon juice, but i will have to try adding it sometime. Usually we add 6 to 8 stuffed roma tomatoes to the pot of leaves, it adds the most deelish flavor ever! It's fine to substitute a high quality ground beef, especially if you are having guests whom may be apprehensive about lamb, though when we use beef we line the bottom of the pot with a few lamb steaks, so those who really love lamb get it with all the unique flavor the grape leaves impart!!

I haven't made grape leeaves before, so it didn't turn out very good. It came out with a really strong lemon flavor. I also would recommend using baby grape leaves, as the ones I used were very tough and not edible.

Very easy to follow.

These are so delicious.

Not bad, To keep the Leaves on the bottom from sticking used torn leaves or bamboo/wooden skewers to line the bottom before stacking your leaves, I also add a little mint, alt use meatloaf mix , and cut the stems off in a v shape slightly into the leaf (pick fresh leaves 3rd one from the end of the vine for tenderness)

coming from a lebanese woman, this is a great recipe! just like my Sitti's and mom's! we add a bit of cinnamon to our mix

this was a very good recipe that I followed exactly as is excluding the olives. It took me much more time to prepare and cook than it did for Robert. I thought there was a little too much lemon juice but the rest of the family disagreed. The few leftover definatly tasted better after sitting in the ice box overnight. I will make these again some weekend and double the quantity.

we bought stuffed grape leaves at a store and they where pretty good but my husband wanted them with lamb so i tried this recipe and it was great. it was easy and my husband loved it. thank you.

Fantastic recipe but I did make a few changes: reduced the allspice by 1/2 tsp, then added 1 tsp cinnamon (like MY grandma used to use.) I was short on lamb, so I added some canned chickpeas. Also, the lemon juice seemed over the top so I used only 1/2 cup, which seemed just right.

VERY disappointed!!! The instructions are lacking in many ways - soak rice how long & with how much water? Also, if there is heavy stem on the grape leaf you should take it off. Since we live where you don't get Grape Leaves offered at the restaurant, I was hoping this would satisfy. The best ones I've had were from Seattle, WA. They smelt good while cooking, but lacked in taste.

Suggestions, the way we like to cook it, cut the water by half and substitute tomato juice or sauce. Use less lemon juice, the leave should be tart enough. We also like to add some lamb on the top of the leaves, just lay some coocked ribs across the top for extra flavor.

Lovely flavor! Just as I remembered. Thanks for sharing with us.

Fantastic - Thanks for sharing! I used Jasmine rice and omitted the olives because my husband doesn't like them. I also didn't have fresh garlic on hand - so I used a lot of organic minced garlic from a jar. Also - I used Meyer lemons instead of regular ones. I just love having a few of these for lunch - I dip them in a sauce of sour cream, cajun seasoning, and a lot of curry powder!

Its my first time to do this recipe and it taste good, i add some piece of ginger and Cinnamon stick while simmering... I will do this again...

I am using a friends account but want to say I make these almost exactly the same, the way my in laws from Aleppo Syria taught me. My mother in law worked in her fathers restaurant since she was 5 rolling yeb'r't . The only difference that makes them a bit juicer is layering lamb bones in with the yeb'r't while they are cooking. The fat flavors them and gives them an extra nice flavor. I also layer cloves of garlic in with them. :)

I prefer cooking dolmas in tomato sauce instead of water.

I followed recipe as presented. My guests, all experienced cooks, liked the taste and presentation and asked for the recipe for their own use. Since finding this grape leaves recipe I've been trying a new recipe each week. Thanks.