Bengali dorma/dolma

I was initially suspicious of claims that Ottoman Turkish dolma ended up in Bengal as dorma. The distance is some 3000 miles (5000 kilometers) from Turkey to West Bengal, and much of that area lacks the use of dolma for leaf-wrapped rice or meat. So, how would it jump over north India to Bengal with few traces? Even if we chart from easternmost Iran, where the term is dolme, to West Bengal, it is still 1200 miles (2000 kilometers). Some say that the term entered Bengali cuisine during the Nawab Sultanate, starting three centuries ago. Others assert it came with the arrival of Armenians in Kolkata somewhat earlier or with the Jews in Kolkata later as a secondary migration from Mumbai in the Eighteenth Century (yet somehow leaving behind no trace of the dish). Even less likely is transmission via the Dutch or Portuguese traders; there is no evidence they used the word until recently nor had a part of spreading it to their trading ports.

None of the proposals strike me as compelling: The Nawabs were Muslim rulers but did they have a strong contemporary connection to Persia or the Ottoman Empire? Why did Armenian tolma become dolma (or dorma)? Why are there no traces of dolma/dorma in intermediate regions between the Middle East and eastern India? I just wonder if some Bengali etymology has been overlooked — that is, if this is an indigenous word (and recipe) and just accidentally resembles the filled vegetables of the Caucasus and Mediterranean.

In Bengali I have come across both দোলমা, transliterated as dōlamā (hence dolma), and দরমা, transliterated as daramā (dorma); this latter is synonymous with the meaning of ‘mat’. The most common dorma is পটলের দোলমা (paṭalēra dōlamā, potoler dolma, also known as পটল দরমা paṭala daramā or potol dorma). This is a signature dish of Bengal, consisting of the pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica) hollowed out and stuffed with minced fish, shrimp, meat (mutton or goat), or vegetables, then fried or baked. The filling is flavored with spices, ginger, and onion, sometimes with raisins and grated coconut. The vegetarian version might contain potato or lentils. I have seen dorma used in paneer aloo dorma, potato filled with curried cheese curds.