Lazy Cabbage Rolls in Tomato-Sour Cream Sauce

Prepare all ingredients: thoroughly rinse the rice, wash the carrots, chicken egg, and lettuce leaves. Carefully remove the outer leaves from the cabbage and discard the core. Peel the onion and carrots. Hard-boil the chicken egg.

Bring half a cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan, adding a pinch of salt. Stir in the rice and simmer for 10 minutes.

Finely chop the onion. Grate the carrots. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes, then add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes until tender.

Finely shred the cabbage. Add it to the pan with the sautéed onions and carrots. Pour in 0.5 cups of water and mix thoroughly. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes until the cabbage is tender.

Finely chop the cooked chicken egg. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, chopped egg, stewed vegetables, and rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then thoroughly mix all ingredients. Form small patties from the mixture.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan. Fry the formed cutlets for 5 minutes on each side over medium heat until golden brown. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream with tomato paste. Pour this mixture over the lazy cabbage rolls. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes, so that the cabbage rolls are soaked in the sauce and become tender.

Serve the aromatic lazy cabbage rolls on fresh lettuce leaves. This will add freshness and an appetizing appearance to the dish.