Dolma is one of the proudest dishes in Azerbaijan, and the tradition of making and sharing it was inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2017. The best loved version is yarpaq dolması: young vine leaves rolled around a filling of ground lamb, rice, onion and plenty of fresh herbs, packed tightly into a pot and simmered until meltingly soft. Every family rolls them a little differently, and the smaller and neater they are, the higher the praise.

Rolling dolma is a social job, done around a table with conversation, so it suits a race weekend house party in the style of Baku. Put the qualifying session on, hand everyone a stack of leaves and you will have dinner rolled before the top ten shootout is over.

The dolma

Ingredients

• 1 jar (about 16 oz / 450 g) vine leaves in brine
• 1 lb (450 g) ground lamb
• 1/3 cup (65 g) short grain rice
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
• 1/2 cup fresh dill
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) butter
• 2 cups (480 ml) hot water or light stock

The garlic yogurt

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (360 g) plain whole milk yogurt or qatiq
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sumac

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