Rolled, not filled
Sarma
Two kinds, both rolled by hand: yaprak from vine leaves and lahana from cabbage.
The filling is the same in both: rice, onion and fresh herbs, cooked in olive oil and lemon. The leaf is what differs, and the leaf decides the rest. How firmly it bites, how sour it is, and where it belongs on a laid table.
Which one do you pick?
Yaprak is the better known: vine leaf, rolled small, firm and lightly sour. Lahana is milder and softer, because cabbage leaf turns sweeter as it cooks. If you cannot choose, take both. Side by side on the table they do each other good.
Leaf by leaf
Every roll passes through a hand. That is why we roll only once the order is in, and why we ask for at least 7 days' notice: a hundred sarma is a morning's work.
How much do you need?
Count on 100 grams a person as a side and 200 grams when it is the meal itself. On a meze table with other bowls, 250 grams serves two to three. If in doubt take a little more: covered, sarma keeps for a few days.