Authentic Turkish Dolma, these are Sweet Bell Pepper Dolmas, amazing!!

 Turkish Dolmas.- Maybe you're aware of the different types of "Dolmas" there are, from Stuffed Grape Leaves, Tomatoes and Sweet Red Bell Peppers and more.... These will be Sweet Bell Peppers today.

You'll see how the combination of spices come together to give a flavorful stuffing plus a sauce that will finish the dish. Comforting, wonderful flavors that your family will love!

I'm using ground beef for these but you're not limited to red meat, I love the Lamb Stuffed Grape Leaves, but any stuffing will be amazing, ground pork, chicken, cheese, vegetables....

To make this recipe you'll need:    This makes 20 stuffed peppers, if you want less then divide the ingredients:

20 Bell Peppers, any color

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

FOR THE STUFFING:

200 g ground meat

1 large onion, grated

1 Tbl salt

5 Garlic cloves, grated

1/3 cup Tomato sauce

1 Tbl Red Pepper paste

4 tomatoes

1/2 tsp Cumin, ground

1/2 tsp Allspice, ground

1/2 tsp black pepper, ground

2 Tbl butter, softened

1/3 cup Olive Oil

12 sprigs of Parsley, finely chopped

12 sprigs Mint, finely chopped

1 1/4 cup rice

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 cups hot water

1 Tbl Butter, softened

1/3 cup Tomato puree

1 Tbl Tomato Paste (if you don't have any then double Tomato puree)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 pinch sugar

3 Tbl Olive Oil

PREPARATION:

· Remove the stems of the bell peppers by pressing your thumb down gently and take out the extra seeds. Thus, you will have a perfect hole for stuffing. · Mix the sugar and salt and rub inside of the peppers with the mixture to explode the cells so that flavors of the stuffing mixture will get into the skin of the pepper. · Cut the sides of the tomatoes and set aside to use them as lids. Grate the rest of the tomatoes for stuffing mixture. · Soak the rice into water for 15 minutes. · Combine the minced meat with the onion, salt, garlic and knead it. · Add the tomato puree, pepper paste, grated tomatoes, olive oil, butter, black pepper, cumin, and allspice. · Then add the rice, parsley and fresh mint and mix until all the ingredients are combined. · To make the sauce, mix the hot water, butter, tomato puree, tomato paste, salt, black pepper, sugar, and olive oil in a beaker. · Add 200 ml sauce to stuffing mixture to make it juicier and tastier. · With a teaspoon fill each pepper with the stuffing. Make sure that you don’t overfill your peppers. Rice should have enough space to expand while it cooks. Close the peppers with the tomato lids. · After filling the peppers place them tightly into a large, shallow, and oven-safe pot. · Pour the tomato sauce on peppers, cover with the lid, and start to cook it on high heat until it boils. Then turn the heat on low and cook for 25 minutes. · After 25 minutes, take the lid and place the pot into the oven, a little higher than the middle rack. Bake at 200C (392F) on upper and lower heat with fan for 30 minutes until partially browned. Your great Turkish dolma is ready to dig in. I strongly recommend serving with yoghurt.

Enjoy this wonderful dish!!!