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Flavors · Mardin

Mardin kaburga dolması

Lamb rib opened like a pocket, stuffed with rice, meat, almonds and spices, sewn up, cooked for hours and browned in the oven: Mardin's celebration dish.

Traditional dish from Mardin, Mardin

Also known as: kaburga dolması, Mardin kaburga dolmasi

Updated October 2026

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Mardin kaburga dolması — Mardin, Turkey — Mardin kaburga dolması

Mardin kaburga dolması — Mardin, Turkey

Kaburga dolması is the celebration dish of Mardin, the honey‑colored stone city over the Mesopotamian plain. The rib of a young lamb is removed whole, with the meat, and opened on one side like an envelope. In the registered recipe, the filling includes rice, diced lamb, almonds, parsley, black pepper, allspice, salt and vegetable oil.

The opening is sewn shut and the rib cooks over low heat for about two hours so the rice inside also finishes cooking. Then it goes into the oven, brushed with fat, until browned on the outside. It is brought to the table whole and cut between the bones, each portion containing meat and filling.

The dish is prepared for religious holidays, weddings and when the household receives guests. It is among Mardin’s dishes with geographical indication registration, alongside ikbebet (a kind of stuffed, cooked kibbeh), kibe, sembusek (a closed meat pastry) and the sugared almond (badem şekeri).

Diyarbakır, neighboring Mardin, also has its own registered stuffed rib. In this selection, kaburga dolması represents Mardin, where sources treat it as the city’s signature dish.

Where it comes from

Mardin , Mardin
Mardin's celebration dish, prepared for holidays, weddings and visitors.

Ingredients

Whole lamb rib with the meat; rice, diced lamb, almonds, parsley, black pepper, allspice, vegetable oil, clarified butter and salt.

How it is eaten

Served whole on the platter, cut between the bones at the table; each portion contains meat and the rice from the filling.

When it is eaten

Religious holidays (bayram), weddings and visits.

Your questions

Questions about Mardin kaburga dolması

How long does it take to make kaburga dolması?

The stuffed rib cooks slowly for about two hours and then goes into the oven to brown. That is why it is a celebration dish, for special‑occasion tables.

When is kaburga dolması eaten in Mardin?

On religious holidays, at weddings and when the home receives guests. It is the dish prepared for special‑occasion tables.

What other Mardin dishes have geographical indication?

They include ikbebet, a kind of stuffed and cooked kibbeh, kibe, sembusek, a closed meat pastry, and the sugared almond (badem şekeri).

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