History Of Ghapama

Each nation is unique not only for its history and culture but also for its cuisine. Let’s now discover the history of one the most popular and traditional dishes, Ghapama (Xapama).

In the Armenian sources, one can hardly ever find the word “Ghapama”. Our historians have left very poor information about the Armenian cuisine. Even such a great master of lexicology, Hrachya Acharyan, has no articles in the “Radical Dictionary” about Ghapamas.

The explanatory dictionary of the modern Armenian language gives the recipe of the dish without any explanation, whereas it would be great to know the word etymology.

Etymology

Finally, after some research, Armenians found the explanation in Stepan Malkhasyan’s “Armenian Explanatory Dictionary”. According to him, the word Ghapama is of a Turkish origin and means meat cooked in a bowl.

The second meaning of the word is what we know, the recipe of which is given in the same article. However, there is no Turkish dish called Ghapama. Of course, the Turks have that dish, even the recipe is the same, but they call it differently.

Like many Armenian dishes, Ghapama also has a ritual ceremony. It was made for New Year or Barekendan. It symbolized the end of the year for Armenians. The empty pumpkin is the “bin” in which the last year’s results, the harvest and the good that the Armenian family has received are summed up.

The spring, the hard and frustrating works are still far away, and Armenians celebrate and enjoy their fair harvest. The fact that Ghapama is prepared “sweet in sweet” also has its own meaning. There are different types of pumpkin but they chose the sweetest type, the most orange one, the larges and round like the sun.

Then, in this sweet “plate”, they placed candies, honey, raisins, dried fruit and so on. The diversity of ingredients symbolized a luxurious and abundant life.

During Halloween, people distort pumpkins, make masks, and various scary things out of it. Meanwhile, during the day of Ghapama, pumpkin is the main piece of the table and is used as a meal since that is its true meaning. As a ritual meal, various songs, dances, and jokes accompanied Ghapama. Now the day of Ghapama has become a tradition celebrated every year.

The Legend Says…

Ghapama is a difficult dish to make. In the old times, the whole family participated in the process. There are some legends of Ghapama, as Sedrak Mamulyan, the head of the “Armenian cooking traditions development and conservation” NGO, the of the restaurant “Ararat Hol” mentions.

According to one of them, the pumpkin represents the world, rice – the humanity, dried fruits, and nuts, are nationalities.

“According to the legend, on earth, where people have different faiths, different nationalities, goodness, and kindness must prevail. Ghapama exists to bring peace in the world, “.

Ghapama is a dessert and has different ways of cooking. In old times time, they filled the pumpkin with groats, meat, fresh fruit. The most famous version, however, is the pumpkin stuffed with rice, dried fruits, nuts and honey.

How Important Is The Dish?

Simultaneously with the arrival of autumn and the harvesting, comes the Ghapama time! Autumn is the most popular time for weddings, so juicy pumpkin is present at all wedding tables. Newlyweds prepare it carefully with the wishes of a beautiful, rich family life.

This dish is so traditionally Armenian that the Armenians have even songs about it. One of the most famous Armenian singers, Harout Pambukchyan, sings a song about the dish “Hey, jan, Ghapama!”, It is almost a ready recipe for making the most favorite dish of Armenians.

In his song, he talks about how there is a wonderful in the fields, how they chose it in order to make a Ghapama. How they brought it home, filled it with delicious things. How guests were waiting for it to be ready.

This comic song is usually performed in the middle of the celebration or closer to its end, when the guests are already full and want fun. And if the hostess prepares everything correctly, Ghapama will turn out to be beautiful and appetizing. So appetizing that all the hungry relatives will fill their mouths with the aromatic pumpkin. This is exactly what Harout Pambukchyan sings about.

Here you can listen to the song:

Health Benefits Of The Armenian Ghapama

Traditional Armenian dishes are all very tasty and very useful. Ghapama is no exception.

• Ghapama contains a number of vitamins and minerals.
• The main ingredient of this dish, the pumpkin, has vitamins of group B, vitamins A, E, and T.
• Pumpkin contains a lot of fiber, pectin, and also potassium and zinc. A fruit with so many useful qualities needs a lot of attention!
• Dried apricots, raisins, nuts, which contain active substances more than fresh fruits, fulfill the list of vitamins.
• Dried fruits are useful for preventing cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancer.
• Together with nuts, they are of great help to the body – they soothe, relax, have a beneficial effect on the immune system of a person.
• Armenian Ghapama is not only beautiful, thanks to its color, but also very tasty and useful, it is a real storehouse of useful substances.

Finally, we think this was enough for you to want the recipe of this miraculous dish. There are many recipes out there, and many types of Ghapama. But they all taste the same delicious way.

Ghapama (Xapama) Recipe

The following recipe is by Heghine, a quite well-known Armenian cook who shows various delicous recipes on her website.

Ingredients:

• A pumpkin ( about 3 kg)
• Rice, 3 cups (long grain rice is preferred)
• About 1 cup of raisins
• 8-10 tbs melted butter
• 7-9 tbs honey
• Half a cup of dried plums (prunes)
• Half a cup of dried apricots
• One medium-sized apple
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (you can add more, depending on your taste)
• Walnuts or almonds (chopped or crushed, also depends on your taste)
• Salt to taste
• Water in order to cook the rice (it should cover the rice fully)

How to make:

Wash and then drain the rice. The water needs to cover the rice fully. Then boil, cover with lid and let it sit

Now, clean the pumpkin and prepare it for stuffing. For that, you should wash the pumpkin, cut the top and clean the inside of it from seed.

Pour 2-3 tbs of melted butter, the same 2-3 tbs of honey inside the pumpkin. Cover its inner part with honey and butter mixture, using a brush or hands.

In a big bowl, combine ingredients for the filling. That is dried fruits, finely chopped apples, raisins. Then add the drained rice, salt to your taste and cinnamon as you wish.

2-3 tbs of melted butter, 2-3 tbs of honey mix well then place the ready filling inside, cover firmly with lid. After which you need to put the pumpkin in a lightly greased baking pan.

Bake at 350° F /180°C (also preheat oven) for 45-60 minutes

In order to check whether it’s ready or not, simply stick a wooden skewer or a sharp knife into the pumpkin, if it goes in smoothly, means it’s done. Serve with extra butter and honey. Enjoy!

Article Ghapama (Xapama) is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Harisa became a marker of Armenian national identity in ethnically mixed communities. In the Oriental Cookbook, published in the US about one hundred years ago, it was reported: “Harisa to Armenians is what pilaf is to Turks. That is their national dish.”

The origin of Harisa

According to Armenians, Saint Gregory the Illuminator was offering a meal of love and charity to the poor people. He advised: “Harekh! Stir it!” Thus, the name of the dish came from the saint’s own words. However, the Armenian church no longer gives Harisa as an offering.

Some experts say that it must be stirred as soon as the wheat is half-cooked. That is considered ready when the wheat kernels are easy to mush. But other experts say that it should not be stirred with salt until the very end of the cooking process.

When Harisa is served, it is dished into bowls and garnished with melted butter. Harisa is a very filling and rich dish. After eating it, you won’t be hungry again for a long time.

Harisa is not a uniquely Armenian dish. For example, in Iran it is called Haleem. It is considered an early-morning meal.

Where and when is eating Harisa?

Musa Ler

In Armenia nowadays Harissa is made once a year in Musa Ler mountain. Every third Sunday of September lots of people is gathering in Armavir( Armenian region), singing patriotic songs, dancing to celebrate the victory of Musa Ler resistance. They also pay tribute to all innocent Armenians killed during genocide by Ottoman Turks.

 What will you need?

Armenian Harisa

1.

• Homemade chicken- 1.2-1.5kg;
• Dzavar- Armenian grains, made from a special mountain grained wheat-0.5kg;
• Water- 5cups for 1 cup Dzavar;
• Salt to taste;
• Butter.

How must you do it? 

Sort through, was and soak Dzavar cold water for a couple of hours. Wash the whole chicken, put it in a saucepan, add the soaked Dzavar. Then, pour cold water so that it covers the contents of the saucepan for4-5 fingers. Bring to boiling, occasionally removing the foam, and cook until grains and chicken are cooked.
Then remove the chicken from the porridge. Whisk the last with a blender. Put meat back into the porridge while constant stirring, cook until thick. Salt to taste. And finally, Harisa is ready.

2.

• A whole chicken or 700 grams of deboned chicken plus two cups of chicken stock;
• 2 cups of whole wheat kernels, which are soaked overnight, if possible;
• Water- 6-10 cups;
• Butter;
• Ground paprika-2 tablespoons or ground cumin- 2 teaspoons.

How must you do it?

If using a whole chicken, boil the carcass in the water on medium heat until cooked. You must take it from water, then wait till chicken cools down and finally remove flesh, discarding skin and bones. Shred flesh. During cooking the chicken, save the stock which you made. If you use roast chicken while cooking, cut the chicken into thin strips. Combine the wheat, chicken and chicken broth in a large pot. Add enough water to have about 8 cups of liquid in the pot. Simmer over a very low heat if it becomes very soft. If you soak the wheat overnight it will take you two hours, otherwise, if not soaked, it will take 4 hours. Stir occasionally, especially towards the end when there’s a danger of it sticking.

To make tastier, add salt and pepper. You can also add cumin or paprika. And finally, the traditional stage is to vigorously stir the dish until it becomes smoother. And then, Harisa is ready.

What does it taste like?

Harisa

As Armenian peoples cook and eat, they listen to some lovely Armenian traditional music, play a wind instrument called a duduk. It is sad, the solemn sound is truly haunting, and make Armenians feel like we’ve been transported back to a windswept Caucasian hill 2000 years ago. It tastes very wholesome and rustic – just like it must have tasted during Biblical times.

So don’t put off a little unusual texture, the simplicity of the ingredients, or the long cooking time. You can make a ton of it in one go, and freeze the leftovers. It is amazing that the variations on this dish don’t appear in more national cuisines.  In any case, this delicious porridge is all the rage after Heston Blumenthal, so perhaps Armenian cuisine will suddenly become ultra-trendy as well?

Article Harisa is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

There is a famous Armenian saying about khash which dates back to the old times. It says, “Khash is eaten only in the month which contains the letter “r” in their names”. This refers to the cold seasons such as fall and winter since in Armenian the months of these seasons all contain the letter “r”.

Past vs. Present

Formerly it was considered to be a dish with healing properties. In medieval Armenian medical textbook titled “Relief of Fevers” khash was recommended to eat when having health problems. In the book, it was described as a dish against snuffle or any other ailment. Previously, people also considered it as highly nutritious food and did not have seasonal “restrictions.” On the contrary, nowadays khash is a festive food eaten with a large company of friends or relatives mostly in cold seasons.

Table of the khash-party
Image from khash.org

Toasts

“Good Morning”

The first toast declared during a party is, of course, “Good Morning”. It is declared by somebody, in most cases the toastmaster of the table, as soon as everybody is served the dish and had already put lavash, pepper, and salt in it. When everyone’s glasses are filled with a cold vodka shot the toast is finally declared. In Armenian, they say “Bari Luys”, drink the shots and start enjoying their meals.

“For the Hosts”

The second toast is dedicated to the hosts. The toastmaster stands up from his seat and suggests to drink for the name of people who have gathered everyone and prepared the khash. In Armenian they say “Khash dnoghneri kenatse” and drink their vodka shots.

“For the Guests”

Later on, there comes the turn to drink for the guests. This toast is declared for the people who are invited to the khash party to taste the dish and to share their time with their relatives and friends. Armenians say ” Khash ootoghneri kenatse” and raise their glasses full of vodka. After the third toast the people either continue and say new toasts or repeat the same toasts but this time structured differently.

Admittedly, the toasts declared during the party are relatively brief since they are comprised of just a few words.

Article Khash is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Armenian dishes have interesting tastes. One of the advantages of the Armenian food is that it still includes organic ingredients. Armenian cuisine occupies a unique place in the Armenians life.

Armenians are meat lovers. Generally, cooking meat is a man’s job in Armenia. Another interesting feature of Armenian cuisine is a great number of greengrocery and spices. Armenian women use 300 kinds of wild-growing grasses. Traditional Armenian foods show what traditional crops and animals are grown and raised here.

Armenian national fruit is an apricot. The pomegranate is another symbol of this nation and shows the richness of the Armenian food. In Armenia besides apricot and pomegranate, you can find a lot of tasty fruits like peach, apple, cherry, grape, pear, plum, and quince. These people also love to cultivate beans, hazelnut, walnut, rice, etc. Vegetables also vary. Many tourists are fond of Armenia’s fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and Vegetables

Though there are many lovely places like restaurants, cafes or bars for having a dinner but the best food here is home cooking. While preparing a dish you can enjoy a pleasant aroma coming from it.

Armenians homes have a unique aroma, it symbolizes unity. It means that the family gets together, that they are united, powerful and never will fall apart. If you are a tourist in Armenia don’t miss your chance to dine with the Armenian family at their home. It is really an amazing experience.

All these features make Armenian dishes unique, unrivaled, delicious and fragrant.

7 Typical Foods of the Armenian Cuisine

Typical dishes of the Armenian cuisine are the following.

1. Lavash

Lavash

Armenian cuisine is very popular with its traditional bread. It is flat and soft bread called lavash. Lavash is baked in an underground clay oven named ”Tonir”. It can be dried and kept for a long time. Lavash is an inseparable part of every Armenian festive table. This bread symbolizes life, victory, and wisdom. In ancient times, people ate it during battles as it lasted long and saved the soldiers from starvation. Usually, Armenian mothers cooked lavash dried it and put it in the bags of the soldiers. So when the soldiers were hungry they rinsed the dried bread with water and ate it.

Lavash in Tonir

2. Khorovats

Tourists never leave this country without tasting famous Armenian barbecue. Armenians call it Khorovats. Barbecue is the special foods of the Armenian cuisine.

Armenian Khorovats is totally different from the American one. Armenian Khorovats is usually made of big cuts of pork, and it is cooked on hot coals after burning a wood fire. Americans usually made it from ground beef.

Khorovats

Besides meat barbecue, Armenians also have vegetable barbecue made from eggplants, green pepper, and tomato. After grilling it women start to clean the burnt peel of eggplants, green peppers, and tomatoes. Preparing barbecue is a man’s work though women also do that.

Vegetable Khorovats

People make Khorovats outdoors. The idea is to get together the whole family on a sunny day. However, it is important to realize that the weather is not a question of matter for eating Khorovats. If the weather is bad to go for a picnic then Armenian men order it from supermarkets.

Each year Armenians celebrate Barbecue Festival. The goal of the organizers is to raise the popularity of Armenian national cuisine at world level.

3. Harissa

Harissa is a feast dish. It is a porridge made of wheat and meat. People cook all of these together over a stove for a long time. Harissa is served to all comers. For preparing Harissa, cooks use either lamb, beef, or chicken and wheat.

Harissa Festival takes place in Musaler. Musaler is situated not far from the capital of Yerevan. It is only 20 minutes ride from there to the city center. The festival is connected with the Armenian Genocide of 1915. During Genocide Musalerian people fought heroically to rescue themselves and their territory. The latter consisted of 5 villages situated on the mount Musaler. Nowadays only one part is on the territory of present Armenia. Musalerians fought for their homeland for more than 50 days. There is also a book about it called “40 days of Musaler” written by Franz Werfel.

Harissa

Every year, all interested people, especially Musalerians gather around this place to celebrate the anniversary of the victory. The priest makes his preach at first and the celebration begins. National Armenian dances start from Saturday evening and finish on Sunday afternoon. These celebrations are incomplete without the traditional Harissa. Harissa Festival is celebrated in the second part of September.

4. Khash

Khash consists of beef or lamb feet. People prepare it on a slow fire overnight in water. At first, Khash was a laborer’s meal. Armenians eat this dish at breakfast with dried lavash, garlic, and vodka. Generally, people eat this dish on winter mornings.

The name of the dish originates from the verb khashél. It means “to boil. At first, people call this dish, ”Khashoy”. Many medieval Armenian authors like Grigor Magistros(11th century), Mkhitar Heratsi (12th century), and Yesayi Nchetsi mentioned this word in their writings.This food is very healthy and useful because it is full of vitamins. Khash is very good for bones and joints. This dish contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron.

According to the tradition, Khash should be eaten with alcohol, usually vodka or “tti oghi” (mulberry vodka). They do this because vodka helps to digest this heavy food better. It is difficult to find a family that serves Khash without alcohol.

Khash

Eating this dish is like a ritual, so according to it, three toasts should be said while eating Khash. Toasts can be different. But here are the traditional toasts.

“Nice to meet each other”

“Let the Khash be good”

“For the well-being of those, who cooked the Khash and stayed awake the whole night “.

Eating this dish requires some sophisticated skills. First of all, you need to add salt and garlic to your taste. Second, you must cover your head near the Khash with a towel. This process is done particularly by men. They say smelling Khash is very healthy. So they smell it again and again and then taste it.

There is also a vegetarian version of Khash. It consists of lentils instead of meat. In this type people also use lavash but they replace garlic with fried onions.

5. Dolma

Dolma

It is a traditional dish consisting of minced meat wrapped by grape leaves. Armenians also use onion and garlic. People serve this meal warm. Besides wrapping it they also put the stuff into vegetables like tomato, eggplant, and pepper.

Dolma

Each year Armenians celebrate Dolma Festival in Sardarapat, Musaler, and Hnaberd. The first celebration took part in 2011. The aim is to raise awareness about this traditional Armenian dish. During the festival, the jury decided the winner and he or she gets a prize for that. In 2017 dolma festival that took place in Hnaberd, the participants prepared the longest dolma ever. It was 60 meters.

6. Spas

 This soup is made from matzoon, greens, and herbs. Sometimes Armenian women also add there different kind of herbs. This soup is served both warm and cold. In winters Armenians serve it hot and in the summer, they love to drink it cold.

Spas

7. Basturma

Armenians make it by salting meat. After making it salty, people wash it with water and dry it for 2 weeks. After it, Armenian women cover it with a special liquid. This cumin paste recipe includes crushed cumin, garlic, hot paprika, and fenugreek.

Basturma

Bread

Here are the types of the Armenian bread.

• Lavash – the staple bread of Armenia.
• Matnakash – soft and puffy leavened bread.
• Choereg – braided bread formed into rolls or loaves.
• Zhingyalov hats – dough, dried cranberry, pomegranate molasses, 7 different greens.

Bread

Soup

Here is the list of Armenian traditional soups

• Aveluk – made from lentils, walnuts, and wild mountain sorrel
• Kiufta – made with large balls of strained boiled meat and greens
• Arganak – chicken soup .with small meatballs
• Blghourapour – a sweet soup made of hulled wheat cooked in grape juice
• Bozbash – a mutton or lamb soup
• Brndzapour – rice and potato soup
• Katnapour – milk-based rice soup, sweetened with sugar.
• Kololak – mutton bones rice, fresh tarragon a beaten egg
• Krchik –sauerkraut, pickled cabbage, hulled wheat, potatoes, and tomato purée.
• Mantapour – beef soup with manti
• Matsnaprtosh – okroshka, normalizes blood pressure.
• Kalagyosh – meat and yogurt.
• Vospapour – stuff includes lentil and ground walnuts

Fish

For a relatively land-locked country, there are only several varieties of fish in the Republic of Armenia. People fry, patch or grill them before serving it. Here is the list of the fish options.

• Ishkhan – Sevan trout (endangered species), served steamed, grilled on a skewer.
• Sig– a whitefish from Lake Sevan, native to northern Russian lakes
• Karmrakhayt – a river trout.
• Koghak – an indigenous Lake Sevan fish of the carp family

Ritual foods

Christianity is a state religion in RA. Armenians pray and believe in God. So these are the ritual foods having religious meanings.

• Nshkhar – bread used for Holy Communion
• Mas – bread from the making of Nshkhar, given to worshippers after church service
• Bagharch – ritual bread prepared for New Year’s Eve
• Matagh – sacrificial meat.

Salads

Armenians love salads. Usually, they combine grain with vegetables that include tomato, onions, herbs and much more. Many recipes also include Mayonnaise or Ttvaser. Here are several examples of Armenian salads:

Salads

• Eetch – cracked wheat salad, that resemblance to tabouleh.
• Lentil salad – brown lentils, tomatoes, onions, oil, and chopped parsley. Nowadays this salad has many variations.
• Byoreks – they are stuffed with cheese or spinach. They are pies, a popular snack, and fast food.
• Semsek – meat byorek.

Sweets

• Alani – pitted dried peaches stuffed with ground walnuts and sugar.
• Gata – a pastry or sweet bread
• Baklava – ground pistachio nuts, cinnamon, and cloves in layers
• Anoushabour – dried fruits stewed with barley, garnished with chopped almonds or walnuts
• T’tu lavash – thin roll-up sheets of sour plum purée
• Sujuk – sausage-shaped sweet of walnuts, thickened grape juice, and flour

Sweets

Dairy products

Dairies are an important part of the Armenian diet, especially in the cold winter months. Yogurt-derived products are of particular importance in the cuisine. Armenians love to drink ”Tahn” which is a drink made from matzoon, water, and salt. It is a refreshing drink. For instance, people drink ”Tahn” while eating lahmajo. ”Tahn” is a good drink for decreasing blood pressure (without salt). 

An interesting preparation is the use of yogurt and bulgur to make թարխանա (tarkhana). Պորանի (porani) is a stew with many variants but with the common characteristic of using yogurt.

Spices and herbs

Most used Armenian Spices and Herbs

Armenian cuisine is rich in spices and especially herbs. Armenians mostly use salt, garlic, red pepper, dried mint, cumin, coriander, sumac, cinnamon, laurel leaf, cloves. Armenians also use and love Aveluk.

In addition, they also use various scents to make sweets. Examples of these are rose water and orange blossom water.

In the late 18^th century when people imported potatoes from India into Armenia, Armenian women started to use tomato instead of dried fruits while preparing dishes. 

Appetizers

Armenian appetizers include.

• Various kind of cheeses, for instance, Chechil (tel panir) that is braided and pickled cheese, also chanakh, lori, yeghegnadzor. People made the cheese from sheep or cow’s milk.
• Countless stuffed vegetables, like peppers, tomatoes, carrots, garlic, cabbage, cucumbers, etc.

Article Armenian Cuisine is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Production of Armenian Brandy for Armenians is not only a business but, first of all, a tradition they keep improving year by year. According to Bible, Armenian Highland is considered to be the homeland of grape and wine. There were ideal conditions for improving the art of winemaking. According to tales the first of winemaker was Noah. He was the one who came with his Ark to Ararat valley and put the first grapevine.

The grape growing in Ararat valley is the best in Caucasus. The main symbol is Ararat, where they created the legendary cognac.

Archaeological excavations near the Ararat Mountain, where the Urartian Arin-Berd, Karmir Blur, Teyshebani, Elar- Darani cities were located, prove high-quality winemaking among Armenians from ancient times.

After, ancient Greek historians Herodotus Halicarnassus, Xenophon and Strabane proved: over 2500 years ago they used to export high-quality wines from Armenia to other countries.

Armenians started production of brandy in 1887. Merchant Nerses Tairov founded the first wine and gin factory at the place of the Hin Erivan castle. Starting the brandy production was Tairov’s cousin’s idea though. Vasili Tairov helped him to start the business. This was probably the first cognac factory in Russian Empire.

Armenian Cognac in International market  

Armenian brandy

After 12 years, in 1899, Nerses Tairov got problems with delivering. Thus, he had to sell the factory to a Russian businessman Nikolay Shustov. The new company, named “Shustov and sons”, developed the factory. They brought new gears for double distillation of alcohol. As a result, Shustov’s company became one of the best companies providing Russian market.

Armenian brandy’s first success was in Bordeaux, France, in 1907. Winemakers Mkrtich Musinyants and Kirill Silchenko created “Fin Champan Select” first Armenian sorted cognac. Taking part in the prestigious exhibition, they won a bronze medal.

In 1902, Nikolay Shustov sent anonymous examples of Armenian brandy to Parisian festival. Professional Jury awarded the anonymous winemaker with the Grand Prix. After they found out the winner is not French, they did an exception giving him a permission to name his brandy as “Cognac”. Thus, Shustov became the first and the only foreign winemaker in the whole history of the wine producing, being given this exception.

In 1912, during a degustation, Russian Emperor Nikolay II tried Shustov’s cognac and liked its high and unique quality. Soon “Shustov and sons” company became a provider of Russian Empire Court. As a result, Armenian brandy became more popular.

Ararat brandy

Cognac’s international reputation

Armenian brandy’s high reputation is formed with many awards in international competitions. As a symbol of their company, they choose a bell. This is where their popular phrase comes from: “We ring all the bells presenting the Armenian cognac to the whole world”.

Another type of cognac,”Anniversary” became famous in the Soviet Union, as another high- quality cognac “Dvin”. Talanted technologist, winemaker Margar Sedrakyan made it. So they started producing Armenian cognac. This type of brandy brought many awards and a high reputationto creators. Experts called Margar Sedrakyan “A Master among all Masters” because of his high professional skills.

Ararat Brandy

French newspapers wrote about him as an unknown talent. While in Armenia, Margar Sedrakyan selected places to plant good sorts of grape. Therefore cognac factory improved a lot.

But, unfortunately, after the revolution Shustov’s company collapsed. In August 1920 it was nationalized. It came back only with Bolsheviks as a factory of wine and cognac named “Ararat Trest”.

For the 1945’s summit in Yalta the factory created “Dvin”, another special type of cognac. Winston Churchill, Great Britain’s premier, liked “Dvin”. After the summit he asked Joseph Stalin, Premier of the Soviet Union, to send it to him. It is said, he had almost 400 bottles of “Dvin” each year. Being older he gave his best advice for long- living: ”Never be late for the dinner, smoke Havayan cigars and drink Armenian cognac”.

“Yerevan Brandy Factory”

In the end of 40’s the factory’s place wasn’t big enough. As a result, they decided to move it to the other place which we call “Yerevan Brandy Factory”. This was the only factory producing Armenian brandy.

From 1998 “Yerevan Brandy Factory” is a part of «Pernod Ricard» group. After some time, in 2002, the old factory started producing and selling cognac named “Yerevan Ararat Cognac-Wine-Vodka Factory” (which is famous as “Noy”).

“Ararat”. The legend

Yerevan Brandy Factory’s products are known as legends that contain Armenian soul, historical heritage. And today it’s more popular not only in Armenia but also in the whole world.

For cognac “Ararat” they usually use a grape only from Ararat valley. The secret of Armenian cognac is it’s ability to effect on all 5 human sensories. Another secret is Ararat valley’s location, 700 meters higher sea surface. So Armenia has almost 300 sunny days during the year. As a result of this kind of climatic conditions Armenia has one of the best taste in wine and brandy maikng.

Famous Russian writer Maksim Gorki once said: “It’s easier to climb Mount Ararat than to get out from the Ararat’s cellar”.

Article Armenian Brandy is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

In case if you are interested in trying fresh products right from Armenian farmers, you have a nice place to visit on Saturday, September 16th. There is a unique festival taking place in the center of Yerevan, Harvest Fest.

It is already the 4^th year that Green Lane NGO with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the City Council of Yerevan organizes the annual Festival of Rural Life and Traditions. More than 100 farmer groups, as well as agricultural entrepreneurs and women groups from all regions of Armenia, Georgia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, will participate in the Harvest Festival 2017.

Guests

Mrs. Nune Sarukhanyan, the President of “Green Lane” NGO,

Mr. Davit Ohanyan, Deputy Mayor of Yerevan,

Mr. Ignati Arakelyan, Minister of Agriculture,

H.E. Mr. Piotr Antoni Switalski, Head of EU Delegation, Ambassador,

H.E. Mr. Bernhard Matthias Kiesler, Ambassador Extraordinary, and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany,

Mr. Robert Zeiner, ADA Director Programmes and Projects International,

Ruben Khachatryan, Director, Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets,

Nana Janashia, Executive Director, Caucasus Environmental NGO Network,

Catherine Wolf, Programme Analyst, UN Women Fund for Gender Equality, Europe-Central Asia Regional Office will give opening and welcome speeches during the opening ceremony.

All these people will give opening and welcome speeches during the opening ceremony.

Expectations

The festival will serve as a unique platform where farmers, producers and buyers, processors, different organizations and potential donors can meet, find new markets as well as exchange experience and give a start to new collaborations. Thus Yerevan residents and guests will have a wonderful opportunity to find a wide variety of agricultural products.

Through this annual event, Green Lane NGO aims to bring forth positive change and contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture as well as rural communities. The farmers from the regions of Armenia will showcase locally produced olives, juices, wine, cheese assortment, dried fruits, honey, blueberry, herbs and also ecologically pure soaps, and other agricultural products.

This could be a perfect place for tourists and city visitors. Here you’ll meet all the tastes of Armenian national products. Meet “Made in Armenia” from the first hand.

Participants and the program of Harvest Fest

Handcrafts by the craftsmen from remote regions of Armenia will also be presented in the Festival of Rural Life and Traditions.

organic berries

Vahram Ghazaryan, from Charentsavan, Kotayq, will represent his own product: organic berries.

As he is running his own company, there will be many variations of berries.

There will also be a competition during the festival: the winners will be given awards and gifts in the following nominations: the Best Farmer Group, the Best Women Farmer Group, the Best Entrepreneur, and the Best Organic Producer. A raffle with wonderful prizes will be organized for the festival visitors as well.

The tickets are 500 AMD and most of them win. Partner organizations also have good prizes for you and the lucky ones win them. The proceeds from the sale of tickets will be used for the economic empowerment of women farmers from remote regions. By these, we aim to make the celebration more interesting and fun.

“Motal” cheese

Ruslan Torosyan, from the village of Martuni in Gegharkunik region, will represent the cheese called “Motal”. During the festival, Ruslan will share a lot of information about cheese making technologies and how to make goals in this business.

A company named “Agrolog”, based in the town of Ashtarak in Aragatsotn region is also among participants, it will represent dried fruits.

Many people know, that dried fruits are very popular in Armenia. And people always are trying to find new ways to make them better.

In addition, during the Harvest Fest will be a concert program: traditional singers, musicians, and cultural groups, performances for the kids and also dance performances.

Therefore, these are not the only things you’re going to meet at Harvest Fest. One can find there all the products which are typical for Armenia.

Supporters

So, the main supporters of the festival are RA Ministry of Agriculture, Yerevan Municipality, ENPARD Producer Group and Value Chain Development project.

The participant organizations are UNHCR, World Vision Armenia, OXFAM Armenia. Also International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education Fund, Arev Art Gallery and other organizations are among the participants. Together with these organizations, Green Lane NGO is able to organize this annual and unique event to celebrate rural life and harvest.

Thus, the Harvest Fest will take place on September 16, in English park (1 Italy street, Yerevan). Entrance is free. It will long from 11:00 to 18:00.

Together we can create stronger and active rural communities in Armenia contributing to the strengthening of rural production.

Article Harvest Fest is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

About the Fest

21 -23rd of September the Yerevan Food Fest is taking place in Armenia. The city will become a perfect place for gourmands. The fest will include different master classes and presentations.

Info for those, who are going to visit Armenia these days. Yerevan Food Fest will last three days. First two will be full of master classes and workshops for all interested in and for all professionals. To participate just visit “The LOFT”.

Participants and speakers

Lilit Arutyunyan

Among the speakers are leading professionals such as Anna Yelovikova (head of the association of North Caucasus restaurant and hotel-owners), Anna Dzyuba (popular gastro-blogger), Lilith Harutyunyan (owner of “Dolmaster” and the brand-chief), as well as journalists, restaurant-owners, and experts.

The final open space event of Yerevan Food Fest will take place at the English park in Yerevan. Here also everybody will have a chance to meet experts, chefs, field professionals, and gourmands. Chiefs of Salon Armenian, Dragon Garden, Crumbs and other popular restaurants will host master-classes and workshops. There will be representatives of Hans&Franz, Rafaello, Tsirani, Ingredient, Pub 37 and other restaurants.

30 restaurants will also take part of this event. They will represent not only their most popular dishes but also the special menu created for the fest. Dishes included in this menu will be cheaper than others with a special “festival” price.

Food blogger Anna Dzyuba, participant

At the park, besides of restaurants and workshops, you can find play-zone for children, musicians, photo-zone provided by Marashlyan PhotoStudio.

The message of “Yerevan Food Fest”

Yerevan Food Fest is a unique platform, where they can discuss problems and renovations of the industry, professional exchange and create new business contacts. The most important message of the fest is that Yerevan could become a perfect place for this kind of events, cultural exchanges. Above all, this might be a nice motivation for restaurants to be renovated and the gastro tourism to become more and more popular.

This is also a nice chance for tourists to taste typical Armenian dishes by new interpretations.

Specialist’s opinion

Anna Mazmanyan

Economics specialist, a consultant for hotel and restaurant business, food blogger and the head of “Food Fest” Anna Mazmanyan says Newsarmenia.am Armenia has a huge gastronomic potential.

“Our cuisine is a rich one, formed within hundreds of years. It is stated historically. Armenia has a huge potential, but we must use it in a right way. Unfortunately, nowadays Armenia does not have its own gastronomic product”, expert says.

She compares this situation with the kitchen when a woman, who has no practice in cooking, has fresh products, high-tech kitchen but she doesn’t know what to do with them. The same Armenia has almost no experience with gastro tourism management.

We don’t really imagine what gastro tourism is, Mazmanyan says. “Before we speak about this industry like about independent one, we have to work hard both on ourselves and with the public”.

We must be proud of the history of our cuisine, the diversity of products and ways of use. If we will use all this potential in a right way combining with gastro tourism, we can suggest interesting holidays to every tourist.

“Imagine tours, where they tell about the typical dishes of each region. And all this is mixed with legends and stories about each region. For example, French people systematized their national gastronomic potential, worked on it from the scientific point”, Mazmanyan says.

What can we improve

According to an expert, Armenian chiefs make many mistakes in making their gastronomical cuisine. “You can easily see they don’t have any basis. For example, take tolma, the truest national dish. You cannot serve it with small portions. This contradicts our nature. It would be more interesting to improve it changing or adding ingredients.

Anna Mazmanyan thinks the right way would be to improve products. “For example, the meat. The same could be with improving different kinds of butter. We need to think about putting parallels between the dishes and wines. This is another topic, but in gastronomical improved countries, this is also an important part”.

The market must understand, that if you don’t have good products, you don’t have a good restaurant. Our problem is that the customer doesn’t really understand which kind of products they serve him. He pays attention to the location of the restaurant and keeps going there. I hope, we will go over this evolution, Anna Mazmanyan says.

Article Yerevan Food Fest is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

About the apricot

This delicious fruit is healthy even for those who suffer from an overweight. In 100 grams of it helps blood formation and has over 42 kcal. Actually, this fruit is very nutritious. It contains, for example, provitamin A and В, С, Н, Е, Р groups, iron, silver, Magnum, phosphorus etc․

Using apricot systematically protects us thyroid gland cancer. “Tsiran”, containing pectin, helps toxins and cholesterol get out from the body. Helps us be energized and fresh.

This unique fruit makes higher hemoglobin in our blood, so our immune system becomes stronger. It’s important to eat “tsiran” for those, who suffer from anemia, because of its ability to reflex on Hematopoietic system. This fruit is also activating our brain and heart.

Story of its spreading

You can find “tsiran” not only in Armenia but also in other countries such as Turkey, Spain, Iran, Egypt, Marocco, Italy, and France. But many international naturalists consider Armenia as its homeland.

In the year of 69 Romans invaded in Armenia were amazed by this fruit. Alexander of Macedon and Roman commander Lucullus ordered to bring this amazing fruit to their countries. After all, apricot was brought to European countries.

In Armenia, apricot was used from very ancient times. During the excavations taking part in Garni in the head of Armenian naturalist B. Arakelian, were found more than 6000 years old apricot stones.

Cuneiform inscriptions in Armenian, Greek and Assyrian say starting with neolithic age “tsiran” was one of the main used fruits in the Armenian regions of Aragatsotn, Syunik and Vayots Dzor. Today on the Southern slope of Ararat mountain, near the river of Amberd one still can find the oldest and wild types of apricot.

In 1970-86 botanist from all over the world made an experiment. They brought together many types of apricot in order to check which one is the most effective. During this experiment, they found out the Armenian “tsiran” was the most active type.

Different ways to use apricot

Among Armenians, it’s also popular to use the dried version of this fruit.

dried apricot

One can find dried “tsiran” in every market in Armenia, near the roads to touristic places. This is one of the most popular things tourists usually buy in Armenia. It’s a special process in Summertime. One can see the plates filled with this product in almost every balcony in Armenian villages. It’s one of the parts of Armenian colors. Thus, “tsiran” is not the only fruit Armenians dry for the wintertime.

tsiran

During his famous TV show, American television host Conan O’Brien visited Armenia and one of the episodes was about dried “tsiran”. He bought them in one of the markets of Yerevan. This is also very popular among the Armenian diaspora. Armenians all over the world collect products during their vacation. They bring it with them to other countries.

It is also popular to make “tsiran” juice and jam. In Armenia, they use this during the wintertime. There are many ways to make “tsiran” jam. It is widely used in Armenia and other countries mostly during the wintertime.

apricot jam

Armenians are also popular with exporting “tsiran”. According to Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia, in during the first 8 months, 27800 tonnes of “tsiran” was exported from Armenia to other countries.

Article Apricot is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Every nation has its national symbols and its own culture. One of the symbols of Armenian culture, the pomegranate, or Nur in Armenian, symbolizes fertility, abundance, and good fortune in Armenian mythology.

Other symbols include celery, wine, apricot, khachkars, duduk, and the Biblical Mount Ararat.

Nur (Pomegranate) – the King of all fruits

The tree of pomegranate, with its sparkling beauty, juicy fruits, and therapeutic properties, is known to the mankind since the ancient times.

Originating on the Armenian Highlands, people found the fruit’s traces in excavations at Neolithic period sites.

– Pomegranate

Eastern people considered pomegranate to be “the King of all fruits”. It was not only because of its taste or health benefits but also because there is the head of the pomegranate looks like a crown

There is a belief that the royal crown prototype is from the “crown” of the pomegranate.

According to the ancient Greeks, the pomegranate tree grew up out of the blood of Dionysus, who was the god of vegetation, viticulture, and winemaking. For the Phoenicians, it was the symbol of the Tree of Life.

The pomegranate has also been a sign of power because of the “crown” on its head. The big amount of seeds in the thick shell of the fruit symbolized the universe with its planets and stars.

The scientific name for the pomegranate tree is Punica granatum. The first word refers to the long war between Carthage and Rome. There were many pomegranate gardens in the ruined Carthage.

In ancient Armenia, Nur also symbolized eternity. The following legend came to us from the ancestors of Mousses;

“The King organizes a great celebration. In the presence of many court officials and neighbors, her pregnant woman, who was about to give birth, noticed a dark red pomegranate seed on the floor. She took and swallowed it. The king, who was very angry by the wife’s behavior, wounds her by his sword. By miraculously saving the little prince’s life, they see the pomegranate seed on the baby’s lips. “

More about Nur…

The pomegranate is the only fruit to have 365 seeds, one seed for each day of the year. Armenians believe that if you eat one seed a day, you will definitely be healthy and will have a good fortune.

The tree of Nur is a little leafy tree. Sprouts are thin and have thorns. The diameter of the flowers reaches 2-5 cm. The fruit is large, spherical and as mentioned above, the head of the fruit resembles a crown.

The thick fruit shell has about 400 to 800 delicious edible seeds. In large ones, the number of seeds reaches to 1000-1200. Those edible seeds are called arils. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, fibers, and bioactive plant compounds. They contain some sugar as well. Thin, white or yellowish membranes separate the “piles” of the seeds.

Armenian doctor Amasiatsi wrote about the healing properties of bright red flowers. “The wild pomegranate flower has a cleansing effect. The red-colored flower is the best.”

Pomegranate trees do not require a lot of care, but they love the sun and do not grow in very cold places.

During the weddings in Western Armenia, a bride would throw a pomegranate and then break it into pieces. The scattered seeds indicated that the bride would have children.

In Van, Armenian women who wanted a son ate bread made out of dough mixed with pomegranate seeds.

It is so important for Armenians that it was used as an ornament in historical Armenian manuscripts and stone carvings.

Nur has always attracted various Armenian painters and stonemasons. One of the most iconic and popular Armenian art movies is Sergei Parajanov’s famous film named “The Color of Pomegranates”.

In the film, there is a red pomegranate on the table with fresh pulp. It is the embodiment of Armenia’s indestructible soul.

Martiros Saryan, a famous Armenian artist, portrayed this symbol of life in his well-known painting “Under Pomegranate Tree”.

Nowadays too, pomegranates are commonly used in Armenian art, culture and also cuisine. If you visit Armenia, you can see various art exhibition featuring pomegranate, souvenir shops are full of ceramic, metal, and textile pomegranates.

If you visit Armenian houses, you will surely find pomegranates on their kitchen tables. It is also very widely used in Persian cooking.

Cutting the fruit may look tricky at first, but it is very simple. After cutting the skin around the fruit, Nur breaks open very easily when pulled apart. Then you can enjoy this delicious and healthy fruit!

Various Usages and Benefits

Pomegranate is one of the healthiest fruits in the world, even mentioned in the Bible.

It is not only a delicious fruit but also contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals, as the pomegranate contains all that is necessary for normal functioning of the organism. Pomegranate juice contains 15 amino acids, meat contains 6 of them. They are indispensable for the body. Pomegranate also contains 4 major vitamins: C, P, B6, B12. It is also rich in iodine, potassium, calcium, iron and so on.

Out of the dried flowers of the Nur tree, people make tea, which is not only healthy but also has a very pleasant taste. The fatty acid sugary juice is a great drink to satisfy the thirst.

People use pomegranate juice together with its dried seeds in a variety of dishes. They make medicinal herbs. Out of the shell and the roots, people make curative beverages. Other than that, it is also a wonderful dye and useful cosmetic purposes. Pomegranate is widely used in winemaking as well.

For the first time, Hippocrates referred to the medicinal properties of pomegranate. He used pomegranate juice to treat gastric diseases and used the shell in the treatment of dysentery and various wounds.

Bertin has used pomegranate juice against hemorrhoids. The juice is also very beneficial for treating throat disorders.

Nur is also used for dehydration, jaundice and irregular heart beats.

Pomegranate juice is very useful for those who work with radioactive isotopes or people who live in radioactive zones. It removes radiation from the body.

If a person has oily skin, which causes acne, it is recommended to use masks made of pomegranate peel.

Pomegranate seeds effectively regulate blood pressure. They also contain oils that restore the hormonal balance of the organism.

Advantages of Eating Nur

• Pomegranate has rejuvenation properties. It contains a large number of antioxidants that prevent early aging of the body.
• Pomegranate seeds contain oils which restore the body’s hormonal balance. Therefore, it is a good idea to eat pomegranate seeds during painful menstruation, headaches, and climax.
• Nur increases the immunity. Pomegranate and pomegranate juice contain a large amount of vitamin C that increases immunity and is particularly useful in winter and spring.
• Pomegranate is one of those unique fruits which is not only healthy to eat but is also beneficial for patients with diabetes. Drink about 60 drops of pomegranate juice before meal four times a day. The level of sugar in the blood will be substantially lower already on the third day.
• For hypertensive patients, pomegranate seeds are very good since they lower blood pressure very “softly”, without leaving any side effects on the body.
• People also add the dried membranes of the fruit to the tea, which calms the nervous system, relieves anxiety, and regulates night sleep.
• Slightly roasted pomegranate shell mixed with olive oil is a great remedy for skin dryness. The dried peel powder can also effectively heal burns, cracks, and scratches.
• Pomegranate juice not only protects the liver but also helps to restore it if it has been damaged for some reason.
• Pomegranate is also famous for its low calories. Similiar to apples, depending on the type of the fruit, 100 g of pomegranate contains only about 50-80 calories.

Article Nur (Pomegranate) is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Khorovats is an inseparable part of every Armenian gathering, be it a summer picnic with friends or a wedding celebration. Armenians even have songs and dances about this meal. The singers perform a song when the food is served. The waiters dance while bringing it and putting it on the table.

Each year on mid-September you can take part in a khorovats festival in Akhtala, Lori Province, Armenia. In 2012, John A. Heffern, the US ambassador to Armenia, was among 15,000 guests of the festival. The organizers of the Barbecue Festival aim to raise the popularity of Armenian national cuisine at world level. Don’t miss the chance to participate in the upcoming Barbecue Festival in Armenia in September this year.

It is very difficult for foreigners to pronounce the word khorovats. The word khorovats means “grilled” in Armenian. Western Armenians do not use that word. Instead, they use the word kebab to all meats that are put on skewers and barbecued. It is an inseparable dish of Armenian cuisine which an Armenian people made of chunks of meat and grill it on a shampoor or skewer.

Though Armenians are meat lovers they also have other options for vegetarians. One of these dishes is “summer khorovats” that includes a wonderful mix of grilled vegetables, normally eggplants, bell peppers, chili peppers, and tomatoes. This can be served both separately and as a whole. This staff is grilled on the flames while the meat is barbecued over the coals with potatoes and pork fat.

Importance of Khorovats for Armenians

In a film “When September Comes” shooted in1976, famous actor Armen Dzhigarkhanyan (Levon) prepares khorovats with his grandson in the balcony of his daughter’s Moscow apartment. When his neighbors notice smoke coming out of the balcony they call the firemen. A fireman arrives and everything settles down. The whole neighbors gather at Levon’s house to enjoy this meal.

Khorovats Festival

The crown jewel of any festive menu is khorovats, the beloved Armenian barbecue. A food of temptation and satiation, khorovats is an Armenian word for a life lived to the fullest and the celebration of good weather. There is no specific day for barbecue season to start in Armenia.

There is no wedding, engagement, baptizing, or other celebrations without Armenian khorovats on the tables. Armenian barbecue is totally different from the American one. Every tourist who visits Armenia doesn’t leave this country without trying it. Armenian barbecue is usually made outdoors.

Khorovats

A successful dentist explained his decision to stay in Armenia; “Life is not bad at all for me. I am able to regularly make khorovats for my children”. Devoted barbecue fans have a set of skewers called shish or shampoor and mangal, the grill. The skewers should be of the flat-metal variety, to sear the meat from within.

Sometimes 2 or more neighbors share the same mangal and set of shampoors.  Many Armenian people prefer buying ready-made khorovats from food places or supermarkets though there is not so big difference in the cost of cooking it by yourself at home.

 The growth of Khorovats Business

 This meal can be made of beef, chicken, lamb and even fish. Armenian people marinade the khorovats a day before cooking. It can be eaten with friends or family; sometimes even with people you just met!

Summer Khorovats

Many people gather and cook it in order to enjoy themselves.In old times the wives of ill-tempered husbands always kept those potential weapons in a safe place.

The first place that gets involved in khorovats economy market was Proshian Street in Yerevan, located across from the American University. Foreigners called this area ” Barbecue Street”. These parlors were some of the first private entrepreneurial ventures in Yerevan.

Many of the residents began to copy each other’s success and started to cook barbecue in their front yards, selling directly to passersby in the street.

For some vendors, business went so well that they remodeled their old houses reopened them as restaurants. 

Trout Khorovats

Khorovats-making is exclusively a man’s job. Though, as economic condition requires so many men to find work, women often become the family breadwinners. And, as a result, lots of women have become skilled khorovats makers.

In present-day Armenia, you will see many women over age 45 cooking khorovats for sale along the roadsides.

In comparison, women have not made many advances in the government of the Republic of Armenia. With rare exception, men hold all the key offices and appointments only at the mangal (grill) have women gained true parity.

Khorovats Cooking Rules

1. You should keep a distance between the fire and the skewers. It must be approximately 12 to 15 centimeters.
2. You must place the largest pieces of the meat in the middle because there is more heat for the fire
3. And finally, you need to place the Shampoors (skewers) close together in order to concentrate the heat from the cooking fire

Preparation of Khorovats

Khorovats Making Techniques

1. First, you must marinade the meat a day before cooking process. For this process, you need salt, black, red pepper, and chopped onions. As a result, you will get all the aroma of the marinade and the meat will become softer and much more delicious.
2. After a day, you need to make fire and wait for it to become cool. Generally, the most delicious khorovats is prepared on apricot tree coals. But you will also get a delicious khorovats if you cook it on the coals of the grape tree. Thus it is very important to know what kind of wood or coal to use for preparing this food as the wood and coals give special; aroma of the meat.
3. For making khorovats you must use a rack. Though Armenians use large “shampoors” for that. Shampoors are metal barbecue sticks. Then all you need is to place few pieces of meat on one metallic stick and put it on the special barbecue equipment which is called ”manhgal‘. Manhgal is put where the coal is stored.
4. One of the most important attributes of khorovats serving process is lavash which is Armenian bread. This food cannot be served without lavash. You must certainly taste lavash of khorovats, as it is very delicious. So when the takes khorovats from the fire he puts it on lavash instead of a plate. Thus Lavash gets the entire aroma and most importantly the juice of the meat.
5. If you are vegetarian then do not worry. As mentioned above, Armenians have khorovats of vegetables. Vegetables include tomatoes, green bell peppers, hot green chili peppers, eggplant, and corns.

Folklore

There is a popular khorovats-aroma story circulating in different versions all over the Middle East. In the Armenian version, a greedy vendor notices how a pedestrian is enjoying the aroma coming from his khorovats shop and decides to charge a fee for the smell. The quick-witted passerby jingles the money in his pocket, and says, “Did you hear the sound that my coins make? That’s my payment for smelling your khorovats. Go and get it, if you can.”

Khorovats

Actually, the aroma of roasted meat is so good that you don’t even have to see what you are eating:

Here are several quotes about khorovats.

• Dmak on sheep is not a burden.
• Cheap meat never makes a good khorovats.
• We thought that they had been making khorovats, but they were scorching a donkey.
• Do it in the way that neither shampoor or shashlik burns

Foreigners about Khorovats

No single Armenian dish is used in so many different metaphors and homilies as khorovats.Many Armenian and foreign writers wrote about it in their stories and poems. In the story “Beautiful” written by famous Russian author Anton Chekhov, the hero travels through the Armenian -populated province of Don. He stops at a tavern to feed his horses and encounters Masha, a stunningly beautiful 16-year-old Armenian girl, the innkeeper’s daughter. At the end of the story, Masha disappeared into the kitchen where “a smell of roast mutton and the sound of angry Armenian voices” came from. The Russian writer Osip Mandelshtam wrote;

O Yerevan, Yerevan,

You are not a city. You are a roasted meat.

I love the crooked turns in your big-mouthed streets.

English authors refer to khorovats as an Armenian shish kebab. In an article “Celebrate St. Nicholas, not Santa Claus” written by Lisa R. She suggested adding food from the Eastern Christian culture on the Yuletide table. So the main food on Goodell’s holiday menu is the Armenian Shish Kebab.

Another US journalist included this curious detail about life in the Diaspora community: “An Armenian retirement home in Los Angeles has a peculiarity, unlike any other assisted-living facility. The retirement home’s kitchen is equipped with a large grill, especially for cooking khorovats”.

An Armenian journalist had an interview with Thorda Abbott-Watt, UK Ambassador. The journalist asked her;

Is there anything that the British can learn from Armenia?

“Making khorovats!

So, if you haven’t tried khorovats yet, do not waste your time. Make Armenian khorovats by yourself or order it from the nearby area and don’t forget to let us know your opinion about its taste!

Article Khorovats is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.