How To: Make stuffed cabbage

Watch this how to video to learn how to make Malfouf, or what is also known as stuffed cabbage is.

For this recipe you will need:
-1 medium cabbage
-1 1/2 cups of ground beef or ground lamb
-1 medium diced onion
-1 cup short grain rice
-garlic, a few whole garlic cloves peeled and some minced
(you may use whole head of garlic with the peel in between the layers)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons of the following spices: cumin, caraway, coriander, cinnamon, salt and black pepper. (You may use all of the above spices or omit whichever you do not like)
-cooking oil
-1 cup lemon juice
-1 cup water or as needed

Directions:
-wash and drain rice
-mix up the ground meat, diced onions and rice
-add cooking oil and spices and set aside.
-prepare your cabbage leaves by separating the leaves from the cabbage head. Cut away stems, save them to use at the bottom of the pot.
-boil the leaves a few at a time in boiling salted water until they are soft enough to roll.
-prepare stuffing of meat, rice, salt, pepper and the above spices
-cut the leaves to form a cigar size roll
-place stuffing on each leaf, fold sides toward center and roll up from bottom into a cigar shape (similar with stuffed vine leaves). Do not over stuff; make sure that you have space for the rice to expand inside the cabbage rolls.
-press the leaves together firmly and place them on a layer of the saved stems
-place the whole garlic heads in between the rolled Malfouf
-sprinkle with salt, caraway and cumin in between layers. Add water, boil then simmer for an hour to an hour and a half. Halfway through the cooking time add the crushed garlic.
-simmer gently until rice is tender in barely enough water to cover.
-invert your pot in a platter

You may serve this dish hot or at room temperature, depends on your personal taste.