fry chopped onions cook rice (under-done) mix rice, fried onion, raw ground beef/lamb/meat together add a bit of water to the meat optionally add the following, esp. for vegatarian dolma: - tomato (paste or whole) - parsley - allspice - coriander - carrots fold mixture into grape leaves pack grape leaves into pot, add an inch of water, boil with closed lid, adding water when it evaporates. sauce: mix sour cream with chopped garlic