Dolma Festival in Armenia

The Dolma Festival in Armenia, also known as Uduli, is an annual festival that is held annually near the city of Armavir, Armenia. The traditional Turkish dish dolma made of ground beef, lamb and spices wrapped in grape leaves, cabbage leaves and vegetables.^[1]

During the festival, chefs from Armenia and other countries aim to cook different kinds of stuffed vegetable dishes known as dolma. During the competition, festival guests can watch Armenian dances, listen to songs, and taste the dolma. At the end of the festival, a jury chooses the best chef. The winner gets a special prize — a golden statue.^{[citation needed]}

Armenian cuisine uses many spices and herbs, including salt, garlic, red pepper, dried mint (in Western Armenia), cumin, coriander, sumac, cinnamon, cloves and mahleb.

Dolma

Dolma is one of the most popular dishes in Turkish culture.It is also popular in Balkan culture. Dolma is prepared from minced lamb or beef mixed with rice, fresh herbs and spices, wrapped in grape or cabbage leaves, seasonings such as coriander, dill, mint, pepper and cinnamon also used in food.

History

The now-ubiquitous dolma has a long and complicated history - they were first mentioned over two millenia ago, when it appeared as a food in Crete at Knossos, the Minoan palace. After the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the dolma became increasingly common fare as the ruling Ottoman Empire expanded.