Features of the national cuisine of Armenia

Arriving in a foreign country, of course, you can find a restaurant with European, American or other familiar and common cuisine. But at the same time, part of the national features will be missed. Traditional dishes are considered to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of culture to experience.

Armenian cuisine is meat, lavash, pickles, fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, herbs, dairy products. Many recipes vary from region to region, but the vibrant taste remains the same.

Let's go through the Move2Armenia "restaurant" menu together and learn the history of traditional Armenian dishes.

Contents

1. Salads and appetizers
2. Soups
3. Main dishes
4. Dessert
5. Beverages

Salads and appetizers

Akhtsan dandur or dandur akhtsan

Behind such an unusual name is a salad (akhtsan) made from purslane, a plant that tastes like arugula. Poached purslane is seasoned with vinegar, finely chopped garlic and sprinkled with cilantro and parsley. This is an easy-to-prepare and inexpensive, but at the same time unusual salad.

tolma

You may have heard about the Caucasian dish dolma - minced meat with rice wrapped in grape leaves. In Armenia it is called tolma and they say that the name comes from the word “toli” - leaf or vine of grapes. Armenians consider themselves the creators of this dish, since viticulture is widespread in Armenia and, accordingly, there are the necessary ingredients. In our blog you will find tolma recipe.

Lamaggio

Explaining what a lamaggio is, it is called a meat pizza. Indeed, there is a common Lamajo is a thin flatbread, on which finely ground minced meat is also thinly placed. The meat is well seasoned and can be mixed with tomatoes and herbs.

Zhengyalov hats

Beware, this dish is addictive. Once you try it, you will want more and more. Zhengyalov hats, like lamajo, is a thin flatbread, but richly stuffed with a variety of greens - about 10 types - and seasoned with vegetable oil. It would seem a simple dish, but very tasty.

Imam bayaldy

Imam bayaldy is most often found in the form of a twist for the winter. The main ingredients are fried eggplant, sliced in circles, and olive oil. They add tomatoes, onions and garlic. If eggplants are not planned to be rolled up, then other vegetables are used for filling, and not just served side by side.

Soups

Saved

Spas is prepared on the basis of matsun and wheat porridge, to which raw chicken eggs mixed with flour are added. It turns out a sour-milk, rather salty soup. A story is connected with him about how an Armenian treated the freezing Cossacks with hot soup. They called the soup spas.

Aveluk

Aveluk soup is made from the herb of the same name, which is also called horse sorrel. Due to the characteristic bitterness, plants use only dried leaves twisted into so-called pigtails. In the old days, it was believed that aveluk soup helped to cope with a cold.

Khash

On cold autumn and winter days, or rather on weekends early in the morning, Armenians eat khash soup. This is a broth without spices and salt based on beef offal. It is boiled for eight hours and served hot. Dry pita bread is crumbled into the broth, salt and garlic are added to taste. There are also pickles, cheeses and herbs on the table, as well as vodka. This khash is served in a restaurant in Yerevan Yasaman:

We talked about how to prepare khash in the article. link.

bozbash

Bozbash is made from lamb with vegetables and fruits, chestnuts, chickpeas and potatoes. It turns out a hearty, rich soup. This dish has many varieties due to the abundance of ingredients. To make summer bozbash, you can remove some fruits and vegetables for a lighter soup.

Khashlama

Khashlama is somewhere between soup and main course. Some chefs refer to it as a stew. The fact is that beef or lamb is simmered for a long time in a broth with beer, adding potatoes, tomatoes and herbs. Khashlama is prepared for the holidays, for the commemoration. It can also be part of a ceremony. mats, when, after sacrificing an animal, a dish is prepared from the meat and distributed to those in need, relatives and friends. Rich khashlama recipe - here.

Main dishes

Shish kebab or khorovats

Of course, our menu could not do without shish kebab (khorovats) - meat on skewers. People in Armenia love barbecue so much that barbecues are located in courtyards, garages and balconies. The Armenian dish is less fatty than, for example, the Georgian one. It is wrapped in pita bread and usually eaten without sauces, with pickled onions and pickles.

Kyufta

Kufta is common in many countries in the Middle East, the Balkans, and Asia. Armenian is different in that it is prepared from lean ground beef without streaks and fat. Delicate and soft in texture, kyufta can be shaped like meatballs, or cut into slices. Serve with melted butter.

Ghapama

If you like it when the serving surprises in a dish, then try ghapama. This is a whole pumpkin stuffed with rice and a variety of dried fruits with honey, sometimes cinnamon and sugar. The process of cutting a pumpkin looks very impressive. It is no coincidence that ghapama is considered a wedding, Christmas and Easter dish. Interesting fact: there is even a song "Hey jan hapama".

Amich

If instead of a pumpkin we take a carcass of a turkey or less often a chicken and also stuff it with rice and dates, dried apricots and raisins, we get amich. The same rice with dried fruits is served as a side dish. It turns out a festive diet dish.

Kyalla

Perhaps the most shocking dish not only for tourists, but often for the Armenians themselves is kyalla. This is a beef or lamb head, which is baked whole for 12 hours. Initially, it was considered a dish of the poor: ordinary people could not afford good cuts of meat, like the rich, and only the head was left for them. The view of the kalla is not the most appetizing and may confuse some readers, so we will omit the photo.

Dessert

Baklava

Homeland baklava Türkiye considers itself, there this dessert is called baklava. However, the sweetness spread to other countries, including Armenia, acquiring its own flavor. So, in Armenian baklava there are fewer layers than in Turkish, the dough is thick; add walnuts and cardamom, pour honey.

Gata or kyata

This dessert varies in shape and composition depending on the region. A gata may resemble a cookie, pie, or roll; prepared from puff, yeast or unleavened dough with or without dough. The stuffing for gata is called horiz. It consists of butter, sugar and flour, where you can add crushed nuts and raisins. A tradition is associated with the gata: it is prepared for the Presentation of the Lord and a coin is placed inside. Whoever finds this "surprise" will find happiness.

Pohindz

Speaking about this dessert, it is also necessary to warn that each housewife has her own recipe for pokhindz. The sweet is easy to prepare and consists of inexpensive ingredients. Your author is familiar with this recipe: mix lightly toasted flour, milk or vegetable oil, syrup or honey until a sticky texture. Then they give any shape: it can be a layer that will be cut further, or, for example, a ball. Decorate with nuts, dried fruits or sesame seeds. Here's what happened to me:

Sharots or sweet sujuk

Sharots or, as this sweet is now more often called, sweet sujuk resembles Georgian churchkhela. These are walnuts on a string in fruit or berry syrup. Sharots is sweeter and softer than the Georgian relative, and spices are also added to it: cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.

Cake "Mikado"

It is believed that the Mikado cake was invented during the Soviet era, but the mystery of where its name came from has not been solved. The cake consists of many thin sour cream cakes smeared with chocolate custard and condensed milk. You can already tell from the description how sweet it is.

Beverages

Matsun

Matsun - This is a fermented milk product. With a more liquid consistency, it is a drink comparable to kefir. The word “matsun” is derived from a verb meaning “to sour.” Sometimes you can hear the name matsoni, but this is the Georgian version. Matsun is used as a dressing, sauce and used in cooking. For example, the next one on our menu.

Okroshka or matsnabrdosh

Someone calls the Armenian okroshka a drink, someone calls it a soup. But in any case, this is not the dish with sausage, herbs and vegetables on kvass or kefir, which is known in Russia. Armenian okroshka or matsnabrdosh consists of matsun diluted with water. Finely chopped fresh cucumbers, onions, dill, parsley and cilantro are added to it. Okroshka is served cold in a glass or a deep plate.

Tan

Tang is prepared by mixing matsun with cold still or carbonated water. Salt and sometimes finely chopped greens are added to taste. This drink perfectly quenches thirst, so they prefer to drink it in summer, when the weather in Armenia is very hot and dry.

Armenian coffee

The main thing that can be said here is that Armenians love coffee. It is estimated that the average Armenian drinks 3.5 cups of coffee a day. They start the morning with it, offer it at a meeting, invite neighbors to visit it for coffee. The Armenian drink is prepared in cezve (Turk) without boiling. In restaurants, it is boiled on sand and served with a glass of water. Coffee in Armenia is strong, rich and fragrant. If desired, sugar is added to it or drunk with chocolate and dried fruits.

Mineral water "Jermuk"

It will seem to someone that it’s not even worth talking about water, what can be so special about it? However, in Armenia the water is of excellent quality and enriched with minerals. And if you come to a restaurant, then a drink from the Jermuk company will be synonymous with mineral water. It is poured into resort town of the same namewhere they come to rest "on the water".

Armenian cuisine is rich, varied, satisfying, and most importantly, delicious. Many dishes have their own interesting history and traditions associated with them. Get to know the culture while having fun.

If you are looking for a restaurant, cafe or bar in Armenia, go to the "Food" section in our catalog: there is definitely a place to your liking. And in the article “Armenian Customs and Traditions – A Guide to the Traditions of the Armenian People” you will find other local dishes. We also invite you to free culinary master classes from Move2Armenia Culture.