Albanian Cabbage Rolls (Sarma)

These stuffed cabbage rolls are called Sarma in several Balkan countries. I grew up in Albania and both my mom and my grandma made these cabbage rolls during winter time.

Cabbage Rolls or Stuffed Cabbage Leaves Around the World

While the recipe I’m sharing with you, it’s the one my mom and my grandma made (same as many other Albanian families), I’m also aware that cabbage rolls or stuffed cabbage leaves are known in many other countries.

In Albania we mostly use ground beef in the filling and add lemon juice and lemon slices when we cook the rolls. In my house we mostly call these cabbage rolls sarma.

Here are some names of this dish around the world. Feel free to add in comments how you call stuffed cabbage in your family or your native country:)). I’ll update the list accordingly.

• Polish – Golabki
• Bosnian – Sarma (same for Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia etc)
• Greek – Lahanodolmades
• Turkish – Lahana Sarma
• Ukrainian – Holubtsi
• Italian – Cavolo Ripieno
• Lebanese – Malfouf
• Israeli – Holishkes (maybe other words too since Holishkes might have a Eastern European root).

Ingredients for Sarma

So before I list the ingredients, please keep in mind that this is how we make sarmas at my home and I appreciate the differences across regions/families and countries.

• Cabbage head – either one large cabbage head or two smaller ones. I always prefer one large one because the leafs are bigger and easier to roll.
• Ground beef – about 1 pound of ground beef.
• Onions – 4 small or 2 large yellow onions.
• Rice – about half cup of rice
• Garlic cloves – usually 3 garlic cloves
• Seasonings – Oregano, Paprika, Marjoram, Parsley
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper – mostly to taste
• Olive oil
• Lemon – most recipes require some kind of acidity for this dish to balance out the flavors. We use lemon but some other recipes use vinegar.
• Tomato Sauce

Note: Most Albanians use a what we call white cabbage. And if you live in USA like I do, you might have noticed that green cabbage is more prevalent. Some ethnic markets will carry white cabbage.

Let’s Make Cabbage Rolls

So the recipe is not difficult at all, if you have Mediterranean, Balkan or Eastern European families you have for sure seen moms and grandmas making all kinds of stuffed veggies.

• Remove a pyramid shape part of the cabbage head. Turn it upside down and add it to a pot large enough to cover the cabbage with water. Set it to boil, covered.
• Once cabbage is soft add it to a colander and let it cool down. Even when outer layers of the cabbage have cooled off, be mindful that inner part of the cabbage is still hot and steamy.
• Prepare stuffing with sauteed onions, minced garlic, ground beef, rice and seasonings.
• Separate the cabbage leaves, cut the thicker part and roll 1 tablespoon of the filling inside than roll and close it like an envelope.
• Use couple of cabbage leaves to layer the bottom of the pot. Add the cabbage rolls one by one in. Cover with more cabbage leaves and few slices of lemon. Use a heavy dish to weigh the rolls down.
• Add a mix of tomato sauce and water over the rolls and set to cook, as soon as it boils, lower temperature to simmer and cover the pot. Cook for at least 1.5 hours. The slower, the better.
  

Step by Step Process Pictures

If you like cabbage recipes feel free to check out my Cabbage Mango salad, Cabbage & Blood Orange salad or this Braised Cabbage with Ground Beef dish.

If you would like to save this recipe for later, please feel free to pin one of the pictures to your boards in Pinterest. I love hearing from you in comments if you made the recipe, your adjustments or even your family recipe. Thank you:)).

Thank you for reading my blog! It means a lot to me and my family!

More Albanian Recipes

You can find a lot of my Albanian recipes in this article about Albanian Cuisine. Here are some individual recipes you can look at as well:).

• Stuffed Grape Leaves (Japrak)
• Stuffed Peppers (Speca te Mbushura)
• Stuffed Zucchini (Kunguj te Mbushur)