Karl XII lived for a few years in Turkey, and one of the things he imported were the dolma. Of course, since we don't have grape leaves, we use cabbage instead, and they went from appetizers to whole dinner dishes.
Actually, before I posted that I searched the web to check whether the singular was in fact what I thought it was, and to sort out why the writing on the package I had said "Dolmas" when I'd always heard "dolmades" growing up. And the most informative thing I found was an archive of a newsgroup or mailing list discussion (I didn't pay attention to the origin) that started off being about making them, turned into a discussion of the origins of the dish and of the name, and then degenerated into a Greeks-vs.-Turks argument (*sigh*) with bits of everybody-vs.-everybody mocking and flaming thrown in just to keep the main flamefest from being too repetetive. The Swedish cabbage-leaf dish was mentioned. Eventually someone asked why folks were discussing millennia-old politics on a forum about sourdough.
The main claim was that "dolma" means "stuffing" in Turkish. I figure I can ascertain the truth of that statement by asking silmaril ...
So why do the Greek restaurants in London (and some of the Toronto ones) call them "dolmathes"? Is that some regional pronunciation?
I ate an entire can of dolmas/dolmades/dolmathes just the other week. I'd been craving them, and I finally found a grocery store that stocks the ready-mades in a can. FYI, I can also eat only one potato chip, and will pass up the opportunity to eat peanuts almost anytime (blech, peanuts), but eat only one stuffed grape leaf?! Ferpeckly unpossible, Diggory.
If I make it to Pennsic this year (I may, as I just landed a contract that'll probably pay me about $1600!), bring some and we'll fight over the last one -- three ways, if Anniemal is there... Aleksandr doesn't like them, more fool him. ;-)
(no subject)
Karl XII lived for a few years in Turkey, and one of the things he imported were the dolma. Of course, since we don't have grape leaves, we use cabbage instead, and they went from appetizers to whole dinner dishes.
(no subject)
Actually, before I posted that I searched the web to check whether the singular was in fact what I thought it was, and to sort out why the writing on the package I had said "Dolmas" when I'd always heard "dolmades" growing up. And the most informative thing I found was an archive of a newsgroup or mailing list discussion (I didn't pay attention to the origin) that started off being about making them, turned into a discussion of the origins of the dish and of the name, and then degenerated into a Greeks-vs.-Turks argument (*sigh*) with bits of everybody-vs.-everybody mocking and flaming thrown in just to keep the main flamefest from being too repetetive. The Swedish cabbage-leaf dish was mentioned. Eventually someone asked why folks were discussing millennia-old politics on a forum about sourdough.
The main claim was that "dolma" means "stuffing" in Turkish. I figure I can ascertain the truth of that statement by asking
(no subject)
I ate an entire can of dolmas/dolmades/dolmathes just the other week. I'd been craving them, and I finally found a grocery store that stocks the ready-mades in a can. FYI, I can also eat only one potato chip, and will pass up the opportunity to eat peanuts almost anytime (blech, peanuts), but eat only one stuffed grape leaf?! Ferpeckly unpossible, Diggory.
If I make it to Pennsic this year (I may, as I just landed a contract that'll probably pay me about $1600!), bring some and we'll fight over the last one -- three ways, if Anniemal is there... Aleksandr doesn't like them, more fool him. ;-)
(no subject)
What makes it weird is that the selfsame ingredients made into a casserole is something I eat with great appetite.