Biber dolması

Name: Biber dolması
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 170 min
Yield: 4 people
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 8 piece Green pepper, small, thin-walled dolmalık peppers or small green bell peppers; 1 medium Tomato, sliced, for lids; 200 g Short-grain rice, baldo or another short-grain rice; 3 medium Onion, finely chopped; 120 ml Olive oil, 80 ml for the filling, 40 ml over the peppers; 30 g Pine nuts; 30 g Currants, soaked 10 minutes in warm water; 1 tsp Allspice, ground; 0.5 tsp Cinnamon, ground; 0.5 tsp Black pepper; 1 tsp Sugar; 1.5 tsp Salt, plus a pinch for the pan; 1 tbsp Mint, dried; 1 handful Dill, chopped; 1 handful Parsley, chopped; 450 ml Water, hot; 150 ml for the filling, 300 ml for the pan; 1 piece Lemon, half juiced into the pan, half in wedges

Zeytinyağlı biber dolması

Small green peppers stuffed with rice, pine nuts, currants, allspice and herbs, simmered in olive oil and eaten cool. The meatless, olive-oil version.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Zeytinyağlı biber dolması.

Start cooking

Prep: 35 min
Cook: 1 hr 15 min
Rest: 1 hr
Total: 2 hr 50 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Image coming soon

About

This is the olive-oil biber dolması, served cool. Small green peppers are filled with rice that has been half-cooked with a lot of slowly softened onion, pine nuts, currants, allspice, cinnamon, mint and dill, then simmered upright in a little water and olive oil until the peppers slump and the rice is tender. They cool in the pot and are eaten at room temperature with lemon. There is no meat, and that is the point: the rice carries the oil, sweetness and spice. The meat version, etli dolma, is a different dish, eaten hot with yoghurt.

What you'll need

17 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 17 ready

4 servings

Peppers
Filling
To cook

Ingredients

Servings

Peppers

Green pepper, small, thin-walled dolmalık peppers or small green bell peppers8
Tomato, sliced, for lids (optional)1 medium

Filling

Short-grain rice, baldo or another short-grain rice200 g
Onion, finely chopped3 medium
Olive oil, 80 ml for the filling, 40 ml over the peppers120 ml
Pine nuts30 g
Currants, soaked 10 minutes in warm water30 g
Allspice, ground4.9 ml
Cinnamon, ground2½ ml
Black pepper2½ ml
Sugar4.9 ml
Salt, plus a pinch for the pan7.4 ml
Mint, dried15 ml
Dill, chopped1 handful
Parsley, chopped1 handful

To cook

Water, hot; 150 ml for the filling, 300 ml for the pan450 ml
Lemon, half juiced into the pan, half in wedges1

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Slice the tops off the peppers and keep them as lids, or use tomato slices instead. Pull out the seeds and ribs and rinse inside. Soak the rice in warm salted water for 20 minutes, then drain.
20 min
Step 2
Warm 80 ml of the olive oil in a wide pan and cook the onion over low heat, stirring now and then, for 15 minutes until soft and sweet but not brown. Add the pine nuts and cook 2 minutes more until they turn pale gold.
17 min
Step 3
Add the drained rice and stir for 3 minutes until the edges of the grains turn translucent. Stir in the currants, spices, sugar, salt and 150 ml hot water, cover and cook on low for 6 minutes until the water is absorbed. Off the heat, stir in the mint, dill and parsley.
10 min
Tip: The rice finishes inside the peppers. If it is soft now, it will be mush later.
Step 4
Fill each pepper about three-quarters full, no more, because the rice swells. Cap with its own top or a slice of tomato and stand the peppers upright and snug in a heavy pot.
10 min
Step 5
Pour the remaining 300 ml hot water around them, squeeze in the juice of half the lemon, drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the tops and add a pinch of salt. Cover and cook on the lowest simmer for 40 to 45 minutes, until the peppers have slumped and a grain of rice from the centre is tender.
45 min
Step 6
Leave them to cool in the covered pot for at least an hour. Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled with lemon wedges, spooning a little of the pan juices over each.
60 min

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 468 kcal
Protein: 7 g
Carbs: 39.8 g
Fat: 32.6 g
Saturated fat: 4.3 g
Fibre: 7.3 g
Sugar: 12.7 g
Sodium: 1021 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Tree nuts

Vegetarian
Vegan
Dairy-free
Gluten-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Currants → Raisins, chopped
Slightly sweeter. Use a little less.
Pine nuts → Leave them out
Nut-free and still good. Cook the onion a few minutes longer for sweetness.

Tips

Make them the day before. The flavour settles and the rice firms up as it cools.
If the peppers tip or float, weigh them down with a small upturned plate.
For the hot meat version, use half rice and half minced lamb or beef, add a spoon of tomato paste, skip the pine nuts and currants, and serve straight from the pot with garlic yoghurt.

History & culture

Zeytinyağlılar, the olive-oil dishes, are the cool vegetables of Istanbul and the Aegean, made in the morning and eaten at lunch or in the evening at room temperature. Stuffed peppers sit on meze tables in meyhanes, in lokanta steam trays and in home fridges all summer. They are better on the second day, which every cook knows and plans for.

Dolma comes from the Turkish dolmak, to be filled, and Ottoman kitchens stuffed almost every vegetable they had. Peppers are American and reached the Ottoman world in the 16th century, after vine leaves and aubergines were already being filled. The olive-oil style owes a great deal to the Greek and Armenian cooks of Istanbul.

Traditional — Turkish dolmalık peppers are small, thin-walled and slightly bitter. Small green bell peppers are the usual stand-in abroad; avoid thick-walled red peppers, which stay firm and go sweet. The meat version, served hot, swaps half the rice for mince and drops the currants and pine nuts.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Biber dolması take?

2 hr 50 min all in — 35 min prep, 1 hr 15 min cook, 1 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Tree nuts. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free, Gluten-free.

7 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Chef's knife, Frying pan, Dutch oven.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp (plus a pinch for the pan).

How much sugar?

1 tsp of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Currants → Raisins, chopped. Slightly sweeter. Use a little less. Pine nuts → Leave them out. Nut-free and still good. Cook the onion a few minutes longer for sweetness.

Any tips from this recipe?

Make them the day before. The flavour settles and the rice firms up as it cools. If the peppers tip or float, weigh them down with a small upturned plate. For the hot meat version, use half rice and half minced lamb or beef, add a spoon of tomato paste, skip the pine nuts and currants, and serve straight from the pot with garlic yoghurt.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.