“DROB SARMA” or “DROBENO”

Lamb for St. George

Ingredients

  • 500g of Lamb offal (Offal, also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, refers to the viscera (internal organs) and entrails of a butchered animal, in this case, a lamb.)
  • 1 Lamb veil (Lamb veil refers to Caul fat, also known as lace fat, omentum, crépine, or fat netting, which is the thin membrane that surrounds the internal organs of some animals, such as cows, sheep, and pigs, also known as the greater omentum. It is used as a casing for sausages, roulades, pâtés, and various other meat dishes including the French crépinette.)
  • 5 tablespoons of oil (sunflower oil, olive oil, or butter)
  • A handful of green onions 
  • 1 teacup of white pearl rice 
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 2 handfuls of Spearmint(Spearmint (Mentha spicata, synonym Mentha viridis), also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint, and mackerel mintis a species of mint native to the Balkan Peninsula and Turkey)
  • Parsley (as much as you like)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste 
Drob Sarma
Drobeno for St. George, Preslav / ©Alice de Villeblanche
Drobeno
Drobeno for St. George, Preslav / ©Alice de Villeblanche

Instructions

  1. Boil the lamb offal in salty water. After the offal is boiled, cut it up into pieces. Keep the broth.
  2. Cut the green onions into fine pieces.
  3. Heat up the oil in a frying pan and add the finely cut green onions. 
  4. Wash the rice and add it to the frying pan. Keep frying it until the rice becomes transparent. 
  5. Add spearmint, parsley, and whatever seasonings you like. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. When the mixture is done frying, add the cut-up lamb offal.
  7. Wrap the mixture in the lamb lace fat and put it in a pot. 
  8. Strain the broth and add 3 teacups of it to the pot.
  9. Seal the gap between the lid and the pot with dough.
  10. Dig a hole into the ground and start a fire in it. The size of the hole has to be sufficient to hold the pot and a small fire beneath it.
  11. Wait until the walls of the hole turn white from the heat of the fire and put the pot in it.
  12. Use a tile as a lid for the hole. Use mud to create a seal between the tile and the hole.
  13. Cook for 2–3 hours.

You can also cook this dish in a conventional oven. Just create the same mixture, wrap it in lamb lace fat, and put it in an oiled-up tray. Cook for 30-40 minutes at 200˚C. If you do it this way, you can also create a topping for it using ½ liter of milk, three beaten eggs, and one coffee cup (150ml) of yogurt. After 20 minutes of cooking in the oven, pour this mixture over the whole thing, and cook for 15 more minutes.