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⚠️ Heads-up: 4 of these ingredients (Vine leaves (jar), Egyptian Rice, Fresh herbs, Lemons) are not in our shop yet. Request them → or grab from a UK supermarket while we source.
“Waraq enab is patience as a dish. The roll has to be slim — the size of a pencil — or you cannot stack 60 of them in a pot. The lemon at the end is what sets the whole dish alight.”
— Dr Hany, Zambahola
— Dr Hany, Zambahola
🎤 Recipe credit: The video below is by Chef Gaber (Cooking Secrets) — we don’t reproduce the chef’s recipe text. Our notes are written from scratch with metric/cup conversions and UK substitutes for our diaspora and UK readers. Watch the original on the Cooking Secrets – Chef Gaber channel. · 175K views.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Metric | UK Cups | Notes / UK substitute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vine leaves, brinedورق عنب | 1 jar (≈ 60 leaves) | Rinse well. | |
| Egyptian short-grain riceأرز مصري | 300 g | ||
| Tomato, finely diced | 2 medium | ||
| Onion, very finely chopped | 1 large | ||
| Garlic, crushed | 6 cloves | ||
| Fresh parsley + dill, chopped | big handful each | ||
| Olive oil | 4 tbsp | ||
| Tomato paste | 1 tbsp | ||
| Ground coriander + cumin | 1 tsp each | ||
| Lemon juice | 3 lemons | ||
| Salt, pepper, chilli | to taste |
Method
- Soak the rice 20 min, drain. Mix with onion, tomato, garlic, herbs, spices, tomato paste, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Lay a vine leaf shiny-side down, stem-end towards you. Snip off the stem. Spoon a thin line of filling across the base.
- Fold the bottom over the filling, fold both sides in tight, then roll up snug as a pencil. Repeat — you want every roll the same size.
- Line the bottom of a heavy pot with extra leaves or potato slices (stops sticking).
- Pack the rolls seam-down in tight, neat circles. Layer up.
- Mix juice of 2 lemons, the rest of the olive oil, salt and 700 ml hot water. Pour over. Top with a heatproof plate to weigh down.
- Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lowest heat 60–75 min until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed. Squeeze the last lemon over before serving.
🛒 Shop the ingredients on Zambahola
Most of what you need is on the shelf. Items still being sourced are flagged below.
Cumin Powder
SARA 75g
Ground Coriander
100g
Vine leaves (jar)
Coming soon · request
Egyptian Rice
Coming soon · request
Fresh herbs
Coming soon · request
Lemons
Coming soon · request
🎤 Listen instead — the Mahshi Waraq Enab (Stuffed Vine Leaves) podcast
A few minutes on the history, the ratios, and the chef’s little secret — generated with NotebookLM.
Audio coming — we will embed the NotebookLM podcast here within 24 hours.
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