Dolmeh Felfel Recipe

Dolmeh Felfel or Persian stuffed bell peppers is a delicious dish made with bell peppers filled with a flavorful mixture of rice, meat, and other ingredients. The word “Dolmeh” itself is derived from the Turkish word “Dolma” which means”stuffed”.  There are many types of Dolmeh, but stuffed grape leaves (Dolmeh Barg), stuffed bell peppers, stuffed eggplants (Dolmeh Bademjan), and stuffed cabbage rolls (Dolmeh Kalam) are among the most popular ones.

About This Recipe

Dolmeh Felfel is a delicious dish made by stuffing bell peppers with a mixture of ground beef, rice, yellow split peas, herbs, onion, and various spices. Once the bell peppers are stuffed with the mixture, they are cooked in a savory tomato sauce until the bell peppers are soft and the filling is cooked through.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Flavorful: Dolmeh Felfel makes for a crowd-pleasing meal that is easy to make and incredibly flavorful!
• Uses pantry ingredients: This recipe is incredibly easy to make and you can find all the ingredients already in your kitchen.
• Versatile: The Persian stuffed bell peppers are versatile and can be adapted to different tastes. They can be made vegan by substituting the meat with plant-based alternatives.

Dolmeh Felfel Ingredients 

• Bell peppers: You can use green bell peppers or try other colorful bell peppers, such as red, yellow, and orange.
• Rice: Use white rice to make this recipe. If you don’t have Iranian rice available, you can use any kind of long or short-grain rice.
• Yellow split peas: You can typically find yellow split peas at Middle Eastern or Persian grocery stores.
• Herbs: Sabzi Dolmeh or the herbs you need is a combination of fragrant herbs such as scallion, summer savory, tarragon, mint, parsley, and coriander.
• Ground beef: Provides a hearty and flavorful base for the stuffing.
• Onions: Use yellow or white onions for this recipe.
• Tomato paste: Tomato paste gives a nice flavor and red color to the sauce.
• Spice mix(Advieh): I usually keep it simple by just adding salt, black pepper, and turmeric. This is the spice mix I use for this recipe, but you can also add other spices like paprika, garlic powder, or cinnamon.
• Ab Ghooreh or lemon juice: Ab Ghooreh (Persian sour grape juice) adds a bright, zingy flavor. If you don’t have Ab Ghooreh you can use fresh lemon juice instead.

How to Make Dolmeh Felfel 

• Soak the yellow split peas in cold water overnight and change the water a few times.
• Rinse bell peppers under cold water to remove any dirt.
• Cut the tops of bell peppers off (lids) and set them aside. Scoop out the seeds and membranes carefully.
• Cook yellow split peas with water and some salt until soft but not mushy.
• Rinse rice until the water is clear. Add fresh water into a pot. Using a 1:2 rice-to-water ratio is recommended.
• Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Add a little salt to the water.
•  Add rice to the pot of boiling water and give a quick stir. The rice is done after 8-10 minutes when it begins to rise to the top and the water comes back to a boil. Drain and set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add 1 chopped onion into the skillet and fry for a couple of minutes until soft and golden. Add the ground beef, salt, turmeric, and pepper, and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Cook until browned and cooked through.
• Add semi-cooked yellow split peas and rice. Mix well.
• Add chopped herbs and cook just until aromatic for about 2-3 minutes. Set the mixture aside.
• Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the other chopped onion and sauté until glassy and soft.
• Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, and turmeric. Don’t add too much salt because there is salt in the Dolmeh filling.
• Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Finally, add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn to medium-low heat add Ab Ghooreh or lemon juice and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Divide the stuffing equally between bell peppers. Transfer the bell peppers to the pot with simmering sauce carefully and make sure they are standing upright. The tomato sauce should come about halfway up the peppers.
• Cover the pot and cook for about 45 minutes on medium-low heat or until the sauce is thickened, the bell peppers are soft and the filling is cooked through.

Variations

• Vegan Dolmeh: If you want to make vegan Dolmeh, you can simply leave out the ground beef.
• Cheesy Dolmeh: You could also add a little mozzarella cheese on top of each stuffed bell pepper for a more gooey texture.
• Spicy: You could add a dash of hot chili pepper to spice it up a bit.

FAQs

What Is Dolmeh Herb Mix (Sabzi Dolmeh)?

Sabzi Dolmeh is a mix of fragrant herbs such as scallion, summer savory, tarragon, mint, parsley, and coriander. If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand you could substitute dried or frozen herbs.

Why Are Stuffed Bell Peppers Falling Apart?

Cook on medium-low heat to prevent the bell peppers from falling apart.

How to Store the Leftovers?

You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.

Did you like the Dolmeh Felfel recipe? Leave your comment below and If you make this recipe, be sure to tag your photos #yummynotes 

Looking for More Persian Recipes?

• Ghormeh Sabzi Recipe
• Khoresht Karafs Recipe
• Tahchin Recipe 
• Mirza Ghasemi
• Reshteh Polo Recipe
• Persian Macaroni With Potato Tahdig

Dolmeh Felfel Recipe

Serves: 5 Prep Time: 40 Minutes Cooking Time: 80 Minutes 80 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.3/5

( 8 voted )

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Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• ½ cup yellow split peas
• 5 bell peppers
• 300gr ground beef
• 2 large onions
• 1½ cups fresh herbs(scallion, summer savory, tarragon, mint, parsley, coriander), chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1-2 tablespoons Ab Ghooreh or Lemon juice
• Salt, turmeric and black pepper
• Oil

Instructions

Step 1

Soak the yellow split peas in cold water overnight and change the water a few times.

Step 2

Rinse bell peppers under cold water to remove any dirt.

Step 3

Cut the tops of bell peppers off (lids) and set them aside. Scoop out the seeds and membranes carefully.

Step 3

Cook yellow split peas with water and some salt until soft but not mushy.

Step 4

Rinse rice until the water is clear. Add fresh water into a pot. Using a 1:2 rice-to-water ratio is recommended.

Step 5

Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Add a little salt to the water.

Step 6

Add rice to the pot of boiling water and give a quick stir. The rice is done after 8-10 minutes when it begins to rise to the top and the water comes back to a boil. Drain and set aside.

Step 7

In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add 1 chopped onion into the skillet and fry for a couple of minutes until soft and golden. Add the ground beef, salt, turmeric, and pepper, and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Cook until browned and cooked through.

Step 8

Add semi-cooked yellow split peas and rice. Mix well.

Step 9

Add chopped herbs and cook just until aromatic for about 2-3 minutes. Set the mixture aside.

Step 10

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the other chopped onion and sauté until glassy and soft.

Step 11

Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, and turmeric. Don't add too much salt because there is salt in the Dolmeh filling.

Step 12

Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Finally, add 2-3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn to medium-low heat add Ab Ghooreh or lemon juice and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Step 13

Divide the stuffing equally between bell peppers. Transfer the bell peppers to the pot with simmering sauce carefully and make sure they are standing upright. The tomato sauce should come about halfway up the peppers.

Step 14

Cover the pot and cook for about 45 minutes on medium-low heat or until the sauce is thickened, bell peppers are soft and the filling is cooked through.