Ingredients:
• A kilo of grape leaves from figs and olives.
• Three cups of medium-grain rice.
• Two cups of finely chopped parsley.
• Four tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped.
Two finely chopped onions.
• Five cloves of mashed garlic.
Two tablespoons of finely chopped green mint (and if it is not available, it can be replaced with a teaspoon of dry mint).
• Lemon juice or sour substitute from figs and olives (the amount to be added depends on the desired degree of acidity).
• A cup of olive oil.
Two teaspoons of salt.
Two sweet potatoes, cut into slices.
• Black pepper to taste.
How to prepare:
• We wash the rice well and then soak it in warm water for half an hour.
• We arrange the grape leaves on top of each other, and then put the grape leaves in boiling water for five minutes, and when they are taken out, they are put in a colander.
• In a frying pan, put a small amount of olive oil and fry the onions until they change color, then add the garlic and stir well, then add the tomatoes and stir for one minute, then turn off the heat.
• Add each of the rice, parsley, mint, one tablespoon of salt, and lemon juice to the fried onions and garlic, and mix the ingredients well, so that the filling is ready.
• On a clean piece of marble, we spread one grape leaf so that the rough side of the leaf is the one we will stuff inside, and we put a small amount of the filling on the leaf crosswise to the leaf. We bend the two ends of the paper on (the right and left side), and then we roll it tightly so that it produces a finger shape.
• We repeat the process until all the grape leaves are finished.
• Put the potato slices at the bottom of a large and deep pot, and line the top with the stuffed grape leaves.
• We pour a cup of olive oil on the ylang ylang, then add water, lemon juice and a small spoonful of salt, so that the leaves are completely submerged, and we put weights on the paper to prevent the leaves from opening.
• We leave the pot on a medium heat for an hour, and during this period, if the water decreases greatly, we increase it so that the ylenji does not burn.
• After the time has passed and the ylang-ylang has matured well, we carefully get rid of the remaining amount of water.
How to serve ylengi:
• Arrange the ylang-ylang leaves on the serving dish, and put the potatoes that we placed at the bottom of the pot on the edges of the dish.
• We cut a lemon in circles and arrange it on the face of the lilanji, then it is served.
• Served cold as an appetizer, or served hot as a main meal.
