Yalanchi Sarma

From one of my aunts:

* You should be able to find bottled grape leaves at any grocery store. Just be sure to rinse the leaves well and cut the stems.

*“SHINY” side down and you place about l/2 – 3/4 tsp. of mixture at the bottom of leaf closest to you – place “horizontally” across – roll – up once to cover bottom and then each side in and roll like a cigar. Good luck with that difficult maneuver!

Ingredients:

1 cup Carolina rice (rinsed with cold water)
4 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 cups chopped or (finely sliced onions)
juice of 3- 4 lemons
1 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. dried mint
1 tsp. sugar *(vegan sugar if that's your thing)
1/ 2 bunch fresh dill (leaves only chopped) or l tsp. dried dill weed
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 tsp. Allspice
l/2 cup pignolia nuts
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute onions until yellow. Add rice and fry about 3-4 minutes. Add l/2 cup water. Cook until begins to boil. Add tomato paste, juice of 2 lemons, mix well. Cook 2-3 minutes on low heat. When liquid not quite absorbed, add parsley, dill, S & P, sugar, allspice, and pignolia nuts (optional). Turn off. Let mixture absorb on its own (like pilaf – but there still should be a little bit of liquid –oil when you mix it).

Roll mixture in grape leaves – place in pot. Place a dish upside down. Add l cup boiling water and juice of 3rd lemon (or to taste).

Cook very slow – low heat 30–40 minutes. Let cool in pan. Liquid must be absorbed and cool before serving. (Taste to make sure rice is cooked.)