Sarma (food)

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Image:Sarmale.jpg
Sarma in cabbage leaves

Sarma (Turkish, sarma; Southern Slavic, сарма or sarma; Romanian, sarmale; Arabic يبرق yabraq) is the name of a grape, cabbage or chard leaf roll common to Southeastern Europe and adjacent areas. It is traditionally prepared in the former Ottoman countries or neighboring countries such as Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine. In Turkey, sarma also refers to some type of desserts that are prepared through rolling phyllo dough around a mixture, such as saray sarma or fıstık sarma.

Sarma is a verbal noun derived from the Turkish verb sarmak meaning "wrapping" or "rolling" in Turkish. Sarma is similar to its cousin dolma, and the two names for such rolls are used interchangeably in many languages.

The popular Russian version is called "голубцы" (golubtsy), and is usually made of cabbage leaves.

In German cuisine a similar dish is known as Kohlrollen, Kohlrouladen or Krautwickel.

Image:Bsarma.jpg
Bosnian Sarma in pickled cabbage leaves

[edit] Preparation

Minced meat (usually beef, pork, veal, or a combination thereof), rice, onions, and various spices, including salt, pepper and various local herbs are mixed together and then rolled into large plant leaves, which may be cabbage (fresh or pickled), chard, patience, vine leaf (fresh or pickled) or broadleaf plantain leaves. The combination is then cooked together in boiling water for few hours. While specific recipes vary across the region, it is uniformly recognized that the best cooking method is slow boiling in large clay pots. A special ingredient, flour browned in fat, is often added at the end of the process. Other fine-tuned flavors include cherry tree leaves in some locations; other recipes require the use of pork fat—the number of minor differences is virtually innumerable across the region. Vegetarian variants as well as those made with fish exist.

In Turkey, the word "sarma" is used interchangeably with dolma for stuffed vine leaves, cabbage or chard. Most of the time, the name of the vegetable used is added to describe the dish such as lahana sarma (cabbage) or yaprak sarma (grape leaves). However, as the term refers to preparation ("to be wrapped"), some desserts are also called "sarma", for instance, pistachio sarma and saray sarma. As with dolma, sarma is combined with yoghurt when it contains minced meat (beef, meal, lamb) and is served hot. The filling of sarma in Turkey usually contains rice, herbs, onion, currants and pine nuts, herbs such as parsley and dill, and several spices including cinnamon and black pepper.

In continental parts of Croatia sarma is identical to Bosnian type and includes rice and minced meat also it includes dried smoked beef. But in Dalmatia, there is a special subtype arambašići (named after Turkish soldiers - harambaše) typical for Dalmatian hinterland. Stuffing of arambašići does not include rice, meat is diced and spices include lemon, cinnamon, cloves and muscat nuts. Unlike in muslim cultures, sarma in Croatia is cooked in a same pot with dry pork, prosciutto bone or sausages. It's a typical meal of New Year's Eve. It's also cooked by Italians who exiled from Dalmatia after World War II, specially those who live in the Italian Northwest. Italian writer Enzo Bettiza included arambašići (sarma) as a one of the five central meals of Dalmatian cuisine in it's autobiographical book L'Esilio (The Exile).

Unlike other eastern European cultures, the peoples of Southeastern Europe overwhelmingly use sour cabbage as opposed to fresh cabbage. At the end of the autumn, families traditionally prepare the sour cabbage (as whole cabbage, or as individual leaves, but not shredded) for sarma-making.

Another kind of sarma are those rolled in (grape) vine leaves— smaller and with slightly different taste (see dolma).

Sarma is normally a heavy dish (though families are increasingly using healthier options such as olive oil or other oils instead of the traditional pork fat). Thus, it is usually eaten during winter. Traditionally, they are served along with polenta or potatoes, which are sometimes mashed. Other optional add-ons include sour cream, yogurt and horseradish.

Cabbage rolls served in tomato sauce, though common in North America, are much less common in Southeastern Europe. Unlike its Polish or Ukrainian equivalents, the filling is predominantly meat, as opposed to rice—in fact, it is only in recent times that rice has been added to sarma. Originally sarma was made with barley.

[edit] Serving

It is virtually impossible to make sarma for a small number of people, unless they are willing to help themselves to huge servings. Traditionally, a pot filled with sarme/sarmale is usually prepared for an entire family. Sarma is often served as a one of the main dishes during wedding ceremonies. In diasporic communities, it is often cherished as a reminder of their former homelands.

In Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia sarmale (сарма) is a traditional meal for Christmas (in Romania also for Easter).

This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2007)
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he:סרמלה

es:Sarma nl:Sarma ro:Sarmale ru:Долма sr:Сарма tr:Sarma uk:Голубці

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