Amasya-style meat-stuffed vine leaf rolls (etli yaprak sarma) are the end result of a long preparation that begins with grape leaves picked from the vineyards of the Yeşilırmak valley in spring and pickled in brine for the winter. In this dish, tied closely to the vineyard culture of the City of Princes, the work begins long before the pot goes on the fire, on the day the leaf is plucked from the vine. In spring the tender leaves are used fresh; the rest are kept in jars, which allows the dish to be made in almost any month of the year.

The defining feature of the local sarma is its meat filling. In contrast to the cold, light olive-oil versions, Amasya takes minced meat as its basis; some households prefer lamb, others veal. The thinness of the leaf roll is also treated as a measure of skill here: the thinner and neater the roll, the more highly the dish is regarded. This standard also shows that the dish is not bound to a single recipe but rests on a manual skill that varies from house to house.

The Tradition of Sarma and Dolma

The culture of stuffed and wrapped foods (dolma and sarma) is one of the oldest sections of Turkish cuisine. Anything that can be wrapped or filled is a candidate for the tradition; wild herbs gathered from nature, garden vegetables, fruits and leaves have all, over time, met a filling. Among leaves, the grape leaf is the most widely used for both meat and olive-oil sarma. Sarma is made by wrapping fillings that vary by region, chiefly bulgur or rice, in grape, white cabbage, kale, mulberry or cherry leaves, and it is remembered as a dish of Ottoman culinary origin.

The written history of the dish reaches back to Ottoman cookery books. From the records of Şirvânî, a fifteenth-century writer on food, it is understood that dolma at that time entered the pot sometimes as a dish in its own right and sometimes as a companion to a meat dish. At the 1539 festival, the tables of pashas and beys carried, alongside pilafs and kebabs, two kinds of dolma: stuffed squash and stuffed aubergine. That dolma was not only a banquet dish is shown by a price register (narh defteri) of 1640: in the cook-shops of Istanbul, twenty cabbage rolls were sold for one akçe.

The sixteenth-century form of the vine leaf roll can be followed in the observations of the traveller Hans Dernschwam. In Istanbul, he writes, minced meat was placed inside a grape leaf and rolled like an apple pastry, sour plums were laid under the leaves and the rolls were cooked in water, and the Turks held the dish in high regard; he adds that leaves were sold everywhere for this purpose. Dolmas made with rice and olive oil, on the other hand, appeared in the middle of the nineteenth century and, being meatless, were called "false dolma" (yalancı dolma). Works such as Melceü't-Tabbâhîn, Kitâb-ı Me'kûlât and Yeni Usûl Yemek Kitabı contain various recipes for vine leaf dolma; the dish is thus a recorded member of Ottoman cuisine at the palace, the mansion and the city table alike.

On the origin of dolma there is no definite conclusion. The word derives from the Turkish verb dolmak, "to fill", and the term is said to have arisen in the kitchen of Topkapı Palace; yet pre-Ottoman Arab cooking also has recipes for aubergine stuffed with meat, and similar dishes are made over a wide geography from the Balkans to the South Caucasus, and from the Middle East to Iran. Azerbaijan's tradition of making and sharing dolma was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage lists in 2017. It is therefore hard to attach vine leaf sarma to a single nation or city; what falls to Amasya is to have made a shared dish into something distinct with its own ingredients and method.

The variety of sarma at the Ottoman table is also visible in the recipe tradition. Vine leaf rolls with sour cherries, developed from an Ottoman-era recipe, are known as an Istanbul dish scented with cinnamon, rich in pine nuts and raisins, with sweet and sour tastes together; today lemon slices usually take the place of the sourness of the sour cherry. The spread of meat-filled cabbage rolls is also curious: it is cited as one of the dishes that King Charles XII of Sweden, who stayed for years under Ottoman protection, took back to Sweden with his retinue, and similar dishes are said to have passed into Hungarian and Polish cuisine through Ottoman influence. Sarma made with grape leaves is known in Nevşehir, Tokat and the Aegean, either with olive oil or with minced meat, while on the Black Sea kale generally takes its place.

Dolma and Sarma in Amasya Cuisine

Thanks to the city's historical accumulation and rich flora, Amasya cuisine has a broad repertoire. Among the local dishes listed by the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, soups, meat dishes, desserts and pastries are given separately. The meat dishes include names such as bean dolma (bakla dolması), liver sarma, göbek dolması, mumbar, keşkek, meat and okra stew, mıhlama and juicy meatballs. The same list also contains çatal soup, toyga soup, cracked-wheat soup, yuka dessert and Amasya çörek; the place of grain, pulses and pastry in the region can be understood from this inventory. The stuffed dishes among the meat dishes, in turn, show that the dolma and sarma tradition in the region is not confined to vine leaves. Mumbar dolma is made by filling sheep's intestine with a seasoned rice filling and is cooked in almost every home. Göbek dolma is prepared with rib meat, liver, caul fat, pistachios, currants and rice; it is first fried in fat, then boiled and finally baked, and for this reason it is considered a heavy dish suited to winter.

The best-known example of this tradition is the bean dolma. A mixture of boiled dried broad beans and cracked wheat is wrapped in vine leaves and cooked together with bone-in meat placed at the bottom of the pot. The drying of the beans on strings in summer shows that the dish is a preparation made with winter in mind. In the region, bean dolma is a collective task, in which neighbours and relatives gather before holidays, weddings and engagements to roll the leaves; the rolling technique is passed from grandmothers to mothers and from mothers to young girls. Meat-stuffed vine leaf rolls can be thought of as a branch of this tradition closer to the everyday table: the filling contains rice, minced meat is the basis, and the dish is mostly prepared at home.

Preparing the Leaf

The first condition of a good sarma is the choice of leaf. Young leaves are preferred, because they soften when cooked and lend themselves to thin rolling. Freshly picked leaves are blanched before use to soften them. Brined leaves, since they have been kept in salt water, are passed through hot water and rid of their salt. In many homes the brined leaves are left in water overnight, washed in the morning, briefly blanched in boiling water and then placed in a colander; in this way the salt goes and the leaf does not tear during rolling.

The habit of storing leaves for winter is a common precaution in regions that grow vines. The brine stretches the short season when the leaf is at its most tender over a whole year. In Amasya, therefore, spring becomes the season of the fresh leaf and winter the season of sarma made with leaves taken out of the brine.

Preparing the Filling

The filling of Amasya-style meat sarma is prepared with onion, tomato paste and mint alongside rice and minced meat. The rice is first washed in plenty of water. Finely chopped onion is lightly fried in oil in a pot, the minced meat is added and cooked until the water it releases has been absorbed. Then the rice, tomato paste, black pepper, salt and mint are mixed into the filling; as a local practice, a pinch of dried mint is used alongside the mint. Although mint looks like a small detail here, it is the element that determines the aroma of the dish.

The kind of mince gives the filling a different character. Lamb mince brings a distinct smell and richness, veal mince leaves a lighter and more neutral taste. Which one is chosen generally depends on the family's habit.

Rolling and Cooking

Each leaf is opened with its veined side facing inward, about a finger's worth of filling is placed on it, the edges are first closed, and the leaf is rolled tightly to the thickness of a finger. In Amasya this finger-thin roll is a mark of skill: the thinner and more even the roll, the more it is admired, because it both looks neater and does not fall apart while cooking. The rolls are arranged side by side, row after row, at the bottom of the pot.

Placing an upturned plate on top as a weight is one of the old customs of Amasya cuisine. The weight of the plate prevents the boiling water from shifting the rolls. Hot water is added to the pot to cover the rolls by a finger's width, together with a little mixture of butter and olive oil. The dish is cooked over low heat until the water is absorbed. Letting the finished rolls rest for a while, so that the filling takes up all its liquid and the leaf softens, is a step often recommended in the region's home recipes.

Varieties in the Home Kitchen

The vine leaf sarma known as Amasya-style does not have a single recipe. Home recipes in the region keep the same structure while differing in ingredients. One is made with a meatless filling: boiled green lentils, bulgur, rice, finely chopped parsley, mint, red pepper flakes, onion and tomato paste are mixed, the rolls are made short and somewhat plump, and after being arranged in the pot they are cooked for about an hour over low heat with a sauce of tomato paste and oil. This recipe differs from the meat version, but because it goes by the name of the region it shows the meatless face of Amasya-style sarma.

Another home recipe is the olive-oil sarma with dried broad beans. The beans and coarsely cracked wheat for aşure are soaked the night before, boiled in the morning and cooked until they have absorbed their water. Chopped onion is fried in olive oil until golden, the boiled beans and wheat are mixed in with it, and peeled, diced tomato, spring onion, mint, parsley and spices are added. The rolls are arranged over lamb chops placed at the bottom of the pot. A sauce of water, olive oil, lemon juice and red pepper flakes is poured over them, an inner lid is set on top and they are cooked over low heat. Made at holidays, this sarma is close to bean dolma in the flavour the bone leaves in the pot. Considered together, the two recipes show that vine leaf sarma in Amasya does not sit in a single mould but within a framework that changes from house to house.

At the Table

In Amasya, meat-stuffed vine leaf rolls are among the important dishes of wedding, holiday and guest tables. They are served with garlic yogurt and sometimes with sizzling butter and red pepper flakes poured over them. The sourness of the yogurt balances the fat of the meat filling, while the butter gives the sarma the familiar warmth of Anatolian cooking. The mildly sour taste of the grape leaf and the scent of mint set the character of the sarma among the other dishes on the table.

In the region the thinness of the sarma and the order of its arrangement are regarded as a sign of the hostess's skill, so the sarma that will be offered to a guest is prepared with care. The passing down of dolma and sarma knowledge within the family supports this: in Amasya it is often said that young girls must know how to roll bean dolma, and the technique is taught from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law and from mother to daughter. Rolling leaves is often a collective job; friends, neighbours and relatives gather, and the work is done and the knowledge shared at the same time.

Bean Dolma and the Geographical Indication

Amasya's dolma tradition received official registration in 2021, when bean dolma obtained a geographical indication. The application made by the Amasya Union of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office had a favourable outcome, and the registration was recorded with the date of 17 August 2021. At the presentation meeting held in September at the Büyük Amasya Hotel, the governor of Amasya at the time, Mustafa Masatlı, stressed the importance of the registration for gastronomy tourism; bean dolma was served to those attending. A resident of Dadı village also described how the dish is rolled together before weddings and engagements.

There is a small disagreement in the sources about the shape of the dolma. Some records say bean dolma is rolled in a hexagonal shape, others that it is gathered into a five-cornered bundle. Such a difference is common in handmade products and suggests that the shape of the roll varies from house to house. The dish is served by placing the dolmas at the bottom of a copper tray with the meat on top and adding yogurt; chopped dry onion may be fried in butter and poured over it. The cooking time is about two hours over low heat.

Meat-stuffed vine leaf rolls do not yet have such a registration. The other vine leaf rolls that have received a geographical indication in Turkey, however, show how widespread the dish is. Arapgir dolaması was registered on 24 November 2021, Beypazarı dolması on 20 May 2022, Malatya tevek leaf sarma on 23 May 2022 and Erzurum sour dolma on 27 October 2022. Each rests on a different filling; Arapgir uses mince, tail fat and bulgur, Beypazarı rice and lamb, and Malatya bulgur, rice and medium-fat mince. On this map vine leaf sarma lives in many corners of Anatolia under a different name and a different measure.

Vineyard and Leaf

In Amasya the vine leaf is not merely a cooking ingredient but an extension of the city's vineyard culture. The vineyards extending along the Yeşilırmak valley bring the leaf to the table as well as the grape. Gathering the leaf in spring and putting it in brine is a preparation that frees the dish from the season, and it is still carried out in homes in the region.

The relationship of meat-stuffed vine leaf rolls to Amasya's other flavours is also notable. The city's cuisine brings together the herbs of the Black Sea and the grains of the Yeşilırmak plain; pulses, cracked wheat, bulgur and pastry hold an important place in daily eating. Sarma is one of the meat links in this repertoire. Just as long-cooked dishes prepared for crowds, such as keşkek, are set on wedding and holiday tables, sarma takes its place at the same tables.

Chronology

15th century: Şirvânî's record on food shows dolma being cooked as a companion to a meat dish.

1539: At a festival table two kinds of dolma, stuffed squash and stuffed aubergine, are offered to pashas and beys.

1640: An Istanbul price register records twenty cabbage rolls for one akçe.

Mid-19th century: The "false dolma" with rice and olive oil enters Ottoman cuisine.

2017: Azerbaijan's tradition of making and sharing dolma is inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage lists.

17 August 2021: Amasya bean dolma receives a geographical indication.

Sources

Official sources

Other sources

Online sources