Cabbage Rolls with Chickpeas, Rice and Minced Meat

Stuffed cabbage rolls with chickpeas, rice and minced meat are perfect for a hearty lunch or dinner. The dish turns out to be juicy, aromatic and very appetizing. In these stuffed cabbage rolls, the usual filling of meat and rice is also supplemented with chickpeas, and they need to be rolled up in a cone, not an envelope. The dish is not fried, but stewed in a pan or cauldron, which minimizes its fat content. Cooking is not difficult at all, but it will be interesting to please the family with the novelty of a seemingly familiar dish.

Summary

Ingredients

• White cabbage – 1 head of cabbage (1.5-2 kg)
• Minced meat (beef) – 400-500 g
• Chickpeas – 80 g
• Rice – 80 g
• Lemon – 1 pc.
• Bulb onions – 1 pc. (120 g)
• Garlic – 2 cloves
• Butter – 50 g
• Bay leaf – 2 pcs.
• Dried mint – 1 pinch
• Ground black pepper – to taste
• Ground red pepper – to taste
• Salt to taste

Additionally (for filing):

• Sour cream – to taste
• Fresh greens – to taste

Instructions

1. We wash the chickpeas and soak them in cold water for 6-8 hours.
2. After time has passed, we prepare the products.
   The butter should be room temperature.

   

3. We wash the chickpeas again and fill them with clean water (300-350 ml). We put on heat and boil until tender (30-40 minutes). Cool it down.
4. Cut the stalk in the cabbage head.
5. Put the cabbage in a saucepan and fill it with water, add some salt to the water.
   Boil the cabbage for 10 minutes, until the leaves are soft.
   If you have a small saucepan and the water does not completely cover the cabbage, turn the cabbage over and cook for 5-10 minutes longer during the cooking process.
6. Then we rinse the rice again and put it on a sieve.
7. Peel the onion, rinse and cut into small cubes.
   Peel the garlic and pass it through a press.
8. Combine minced meat, chickpeas, rice, butter, mint, red and black pepper in a bowl. Salt the minced meat.
9. Knead the minced meat well until smooth.

   

10. Remove soft leaves from cabbage.
11. We cut each sheet in half and cut off the seals.
12. Put 1-2 tablespoon on the short edge of the sheet. minced meat spoons.
13. We fold the sheet with a filling with a cone.
14. Do this with the remaining cabbage leaves and filling. (I got 12 stuffed cabbage rolls.) Put the stuffed cabbage rolls in a cauldron or deep frying pan.
15. Wash the lemon and squeeze the juice out of it. We spread bay leaves on stuffed cabbage rolls. Pour lemon juice over the dish evenly.
16. Salt 250-300 ml of water.
17. Fill cabbage rolls with salted water and set to heat. Simmer the dish under the lid over low heat for 1 hour.

    

18. Stuffed cabbage rolls with chickpeas, rice and minced meat are ready.
19. Serve cabbage rolls with sour cream and herbs.

Enjoy your meal!