Syrian Stuffed Vine Leaves (Warak Enab)

Prep Time 90 mins
Cook Time 90 mins
Rest Time 5 mins
Total Time 3 hrs 5 mins
Cuisine: ,
Courses:
Servings: 10
Ingredients
  • 800-900 g Grape Vine Leaves (See notes)
  • 4 cup Short Grain or Arabic rice
  • 500 g Minced Lamb or Beef
  • 700 g Lamb with bones cut in medium to large pieces
  • 1 cup Olive Oil (Good quality)
  • 4 tbsp Ghee
  • 1 Full Lemon Juiced
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 2 tsp Arabic 7 spice
  • 1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
  • 8 clove Crushed Garlic
  • 6 clove Whole garlic peeled
  • 1 Large onion slided medium thickness (optional)
  • 1 large potato sliced medium thickness (optional)
Instructions
  1. 1
    Start by removing the leaves from the packaging, soak in warm tap water and slowly peel them apart.
  2. 2
    Fill a medium pot with boiling water and allow the leaves to boil in there for 2 minutes. Drain and immediately replace the boiling water with cold tap water. Allow sitting for a minute before draining the leaves. They are now ready to roll.
  3. 3
    Wash the rice and soak it in boiling water for 10 minutes (do not parboil or leave it longer). Drain the rice and mix it with meat, garlic, seasoning, ghee, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Combine the mixture, and the filling is ready.
  4. 4
    Start layering the pot - at the very base place one layer of the onion slices, followed by the potato and then the chunks of lamb on bone.
  5. 5
    Start rolling - take off the stem of the leaf and place the side with the veins on the inside of the roll where the mixture will be placed.
  6. 6
    For each roll, take less than half a teaspoon of the mixture. Place it in the center and make a line, fold each side of the leaf in and roll the leaf until there's no leaf left and it seals together. Place the rolls tightly alongside one another in the pot on top of the lamb chunks until the pot has filled to the top. Leave a 3cm gap at the top of the pot.
  7. 7
    Place the pot on the smallest fire on the cooker and have the heat on medium. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil all over the rolls (maybe even some extra be generous with this). Place a heavy plate on top of the rolls and place a large cereal bowl filled with water on top of the plate. (This is just to create pressure and stop the rolls from floating around in the pot.) Boil water and slowly pour enough water into the pot until the vine leaves are covered.
  8. 8
    Wait for the water covering the rolls to start boiling. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and remove the cereal bowl (leave the plate in the pot until the very end, it is important you do not remove this). Pace a lid on the pot.
  9. 9
    The total cooking time in the pot will be around 2 hours. When the water starts to dry, check the rolls. If the leaves are soft to the bite and the rice is cooked then switch off the heat, remove the plate and squeeze a whole lemon all over the rolls.
  10. 10
    If they are not cooked, add 1 cup of water at a time until it cooks. Keep a close eye as you don't want this to burn and ruin your hard work.
  11. 11
    If the rolls cook before all the water is dried up, you can gently tilt the pot while creating a little gap with the lid and drain the liquid. Don't throw this away as it is very delicious. Feel free to drink it or pour it over the Yabrak on your plate.
Read it online: https://peanutswirls.com/recipe/syrian-stuffed-vine-leaves-warak-enab/