Sarma is a popular dish in the Balkan countries. It is a typical autumn and winter dish and for some, traditional festivals and New Year's Eve are unimaginable without it.

Ingredients:
1 large pickled cabbage head (approx. 2.5 kg)
500 g minced meat
2 small or 1 large onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
150 g long grain rice
2 tbsp oil
approx. 100 g dried meat ‘pastrma’
3-4 bay leaves
approx. 2-2.5 litres of water
salt, pepper, Vegeta natural

For the roux:
12 tbsp oil (= approx. 90 ml)
3 tsp paprika powder
(I use sweet and smoked)
3 geh. tbsp flour (= approx. 70 g)

Preparation:
1) Start with the sauerkraut. Remove the stalk and carefully peel off the leaves. You will end up with a part with quite small leaves in the centre. This is cut into larger pieces and placed at the bottom of a large pot, into which you will later place the coffins. This base serves as protection against burning or sticking.
2) Depending on how sour or salty your cabbage is, you will also need to adjust the following step. The herb I use is rather mild. I therefore wash the individual leaves briefly under warm running water or dip them in a bowl of water and then put them in a sieve to drain. In my experience, bought sauerkraut from the supermarket is very sour and salty. I recommend soaking the leaves in hot water and then rinsing each leaf again under cold water. Alternatively, you can place the leaves in a large bowl of cold water overnight and drain them in the morning.
3) Now either cut out the thick stalk at the beginning of the leaf (for large leaves) and halve the leaves or cut them a little thinner (see video). You don't have to throw these thick parts away, but can add them to the other leftovers in the pot. Spread a few cubes or slices of pastrma on the bottom.   
4) Prepare the filling: Chop the onions, carrots and garlic very finely (I chop them in a food processor). Mix them with the meat, washed rice, oil and spices such as salt, vegeta and pepper. I use about 2 teaspoons of salt and Vegeta and about ½ teaspoon of pepper. I know it sounds strange, but it's a good idea to taste the mixture to see if it has enough flavour, because sarma is only as good as the cabbage and filling you use.   
5) They are rolled up by placing a small amount of meat on one side of the sheet in the shape of a roll. Fold the sheet over once from the bottom to seal the filling, then from the left-hand side and roll up the sheet tightly but not too tightly, as the rice will rise during cooking and needs some space. If it is rolled up too tightly, it may burst or open during cooking.
6) Place them close together in the large pan. Then place a small plate on top of the coffins to weigh them down so that they don't open or float to the surface during cooking. Some people also use a large stone, which they place on top of the plate to weigh it down. This has never been necessary for me so far.
7) Fill the coffins with 1.5 litres of warm water until it covers them. Now place the pan on the hob and bring to the boil. As soon as this is the case, reduce the heat (in my case, level 2-3 of 9) and simmer the coffins on a low heat for approx. 1.5-2 hours or even longer if desired. After about half an hour, you should check how much water is left and top up if necessary. They should always be slightly covered.
8) After cooking, remove the plate and the bay leaves and pour the liquid in which the coffins were in a bowl and prepare the roux. Heat the oil in a pan. Then stir in the flour and paprika powder and when a homogeneous mixture has formed, add the liquid while stirring. Cook this sauce for about 5 minutes until it is nice and thick. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. If it seems too sour, you can soften the acidity with a little sugar (approx. 1-2 tsp). Return the sauce to the sarma and serve.

Tips from Hanuma:
+If the sauce is not thick enough for you, make another roux but with half the amount of flour, paprika powder and oil so that it is not too thick.
+If the sauce is too sour, soften it with a little sugar or additional water.
+If you have any filling left over, freeze it and use it for the next batch of sarma.  
+If you are making a large amount of sarma, you can freeze it cooked or uncooked/raw. Frozen, uncooked and raw sarms can be left to thaw slightly until they can be separated. Then place them in the pan and simmer for about half an hour to an hour longer, as they are frozen. If you freeze the cooked coffins, you can do this with or without the sauce. Simply defrost them slowly and heat them in a pan on a low heat. Add water as required and make a roux.

Ramira's tip for a typical Balkan restaurant in Vienna:
Restaurant Galaxie in the 15th district at Löhrgasse 22

The dough:
Mix 400 grams of flour + 1 gram of salt + 240 grams of warm water and then knead. Leave to rest for 20 minutes, knead again and leave to rest for 1 hour.
The filling:
Chop the chicken, lamb or veal and vegetables of your choice very finely. Mix with the following ingredients: 1 tablespoon of soya sauce, grated ginger, chopped coriander, 1 egg white, salt and pepper.

Spread the flour on a work surface and roll out the dough thinly. Cut out circles, brush the edges with water and place approx. 1 teaspoon of filling in the centre of each pastry pocket. Roll the Fold the pastry pockets into a semicircle and fold in the ends. Then press the edges down firmly. Heat the oil in a pan, place the dumplings in the pan and fry until browned. Then reduce the heat, add about 60 grams of water, put a lid on the pan and steam for about 10 minutes until the water has evaporated.

Xiaohui's tip for a Chinese restaurant in Vienna:
China Sichuan Restaruant in the 22nd district at Arbeiterstrandbadstrasse 122