Cabbage Rolls With Ground Beef

• Cut your cabbage into four equal parts using a sharp knife and remove the stem.
• Place each piece in an oven bag separately and microwave for seven minutes.
• Remove the pieces from the oven bags and place them in a strainer to drain the excess water.

Filling:

• Place the ground beef in a large bowl. (Note: I made it without meat)
• In a separate pan, cook the finely chopped onions in a generous amount of oil
• As the onions turn gold, throw in the diced tomatoes and continue frying for another 10 minutes.
• Cook until the tomatoes change their color and are fried as well.
• Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes
• Pour everything—with the oil, too—into the bowl on top of the meat.
• If you’re a vegetarian, simply pour your mixture into an empty bowl.
• Then, pour three cups of rinsed and strained round rice, half a package of chopped celery, 7 oz. tomato paste, salt, black pepper, and Baharat spice, and mix everything together until well combined.
• Once the filling is ready, take the cabbage leaves, stuff, and roll with the filling. You don’t have to fold the sides; the filling doesn’t spill out while cooking. Also, don’t just stick to the larger leaves; the smaller ones are generally more scrumptious and look much nicer.
• Finally, cover your cooking pot’s bottom with the leftover leaves you couldn’t use and place the stuffed cabbage rolls on top of them.
• Use 3–4 empty leaves on top to act like a cover.

Sauce:

• Melt 7 oz. tomato paste in a cup of hot water in a small bowl.
• After it melts, add salt, sugar, some citric acid, and some Hawaij spice.
• Mix everything, then add three cups of room-temperature water.
• Pour the sauce over the cabbage until it covers the rolls.
• Turn up the heat and bring the pot to a boil, then cover it tightly with aluminum foil.
• Use a fork to create little holes in the foil to release the steam.
• After that, place the pot in the oven for about 75 minutes at 350°F (180°C).