Cookbook:Cuisine of Armenia

Cookbook | Ingredients | Cuisines

Ghapama, pumpkin stuffed and baked with nuts, dried fruit and rice, is the subject of a folk song, Հէյ Ջան Ղափամա (Hey Jan Ghapama)

Freshly baked zhengyalov hats, a staple bread from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic

Armenian cuisine is the cuisine of Armenia or of the Armenians in the Armenian Diaspora. Given the geography and history of Armenia, Armenian cuisine is a representative of the cuisine of the Mediterranean and the Caucasus, with strong influences from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and, to a lesser extent, from the Balkans. It is also to note that Armenians themselves have greatly influenced the culinary traditions of nearby countries or cities, such as Aleppo. The preparation of a large number of meat, fish and vegetable dishes in the Armenian kitchen requires stuffing, frothing and pureeing.

Meals

Appetizers

Kanachi--herbs that are served raw at the table as appetizer or side-dish

• Boeregs -- savory pies made with phyllo pastry and stuffed with cheese
• Hummus -- smooth chickpea paste
• Narsharab
• Sarma -- cabbage leaf roll filled with meat, rice and onions
• Telov panir -- string cheese

Barbecue

Khorovats--Armenian beef barbeque

Barbecue is very popular in Armenia, and makes the primary offer of main courses in most restaurants. It is often eaten as fast food.

• Khorovats -- kebab: grilled meat (beef, lamb, chicken, fish)
• Gharsi Khorovats

Soups

• Arganak
• Blghourapour
• Bozbash

Harissa served with vegetables

• Brindzapour
• Chkhrtma
• Chorba
• Dzavarapour
• Flol
• Harissa -- porridge with chicken
• Katnapour

Khash served hot with dried lavash, kanachi, and Armenian cognac

• Khash -- boiled cow's feet (considered a delicacy)
• Katnov
• Kololik
• Mantapour
• Matsnaprtosh
• Poutouk
• Sarnapour
• Sounkapour
• Spas
• Tarkhana -- flour and yogurt soup
• Vospnapour

Seafood

• Crawfish Served with beer.
• Ishkhan -- Sevan trout
• Karmrakhayt
• Kogak
• Sig -- Cisco fish

Main course

• Adjapsandal
• Fasulya -- a stew made with green beans, lamb and tomato broth or other ingredients
• Ghapama -- pumpkin stew
• Karmir plav -- red rice with beef especially common among Persian-Armenians
• Ktchoutch
• Koufte -- fried or boiled dumplings consisting of spiced ground beef (sometimes with pine nuts) surrounded with a thin shell of bulgur and meat

Vine-leaf dolma

• Lahmajoun -- soft flatbread topped with mince meat(usually beef, sometimes lamb), tomatoes and onions.
• Moussaka -- baked dish consisting of spiced lamb and aubergine
• Mujaddara -- cooked lentils and rice
• Parinje plav or hajare plav -- a grain pilaf common among Persian-Armenians
• Plav -- fried rice
• Tjvjik -- fried liver and kidney with onions
• Tolma -- spiced rice and meat wrapped in vine leaves or stuffed in squash or peppers.
• Sarma -- cabbage leaf roll filled with meat, rice and onions

Meat products

• Bastourma -- highly seasoned, air-dried cured beef
• Soujoukh -- dry, spicy beef sausage
• Yershig -- smaller, spiced pork sausage

Matsoon oo varung--yogurt with cucumbers

Dairy products

• Labneh -- Dense yogurt made from sheep, cow, or goat milk. Often served with olive oil and spices.
• Matsoun -- yogurt
• Ttvaser

Bread

Choreg at an Armenian Easter celebration

• Choreg -- a sweet breakfast bread, often rolled into a thin layer, rolled up and eaten by unpeeling the layers
• Lahmajoun -- soft flatbread topped with mincemeat
• Lavash -- soft, thin flatbread
• Matnakash -- soft and puffy bread
• Zaatar (with thyme)
• Zhengyalov hats -- bread stuffed with herbs, a speciality of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) cuisine

Salads

• Tabouleh -- wheat and mint salad
• Fattoush -- pita bread salad
• Eetch -- bulgur salad

Sweets

Gata from Geghard

• Alani
• Pakhlava -- sweet phyllo pastry filled with pistachio paste and covered in honey
• Burek -- savory phyllo pastry filled with meat, cheese or vegetables
• Gata -- sweet bread
• Ghataif -- phyllo pastry
• Halva -- ground and compacted sesame sweetened with honey
• Kozinakh
• Nazuk
• Noush
• Perok
• Ponchik

Ritual

• Aghablit -- salty bread taken the night of Surb Sargis Day (Feb. 14th) by youngsters, which can then cause them to see who their future partner will be, by offering them water in their dream
• Nshkhar -- bread given to churchgoers after the Holy Badarak (Holy Mass)
• Matagh -- sacrificial meat
• Paska -- cylindrical pastry made on Easter, usually decorated by colored eggs around it and a cross on top
• Pokhindz -- enjoyed on Trndez

Drinks

Armenian coffee served with a piece of halva

Non-alcoholic

• Armenian Coffee -- strong black coffee, finely ground, sometimes sweet
• Jermuk -- mineral water
• Kefir -- fermented milk drink
• Kvas -- sweet, fermented bread drink
• Tan (carbonated)
• Hayq
• Gazoz

Alcoholic

• Kilikia
• Kotayk
• Ararat
• Oghi

References

• The Cuisine of Armenia by Sonia Uvezian, Dikran Palulian (Illustrator)