What to Eat in Armenia: Typical Armenian Food and Specialties | Page 2 of 4
Lahmajun: The Armenian Pizza with Roots in Aleppo
Lahmajun is a thin, crisp flatbread spread with a raw mix of ground meat, tomato, bell pepper and onion and baked in fierce heat. Armenians call it Armenian pizza, even though the name is Arabic and it didn't reach Armenia until the 1960s, with repatriates from Aleppo in Syria. I ate it at Anteb Restaurant in Yerevan, where the dough was as thin as paper.
Gata: The Armenian Sweet Cake
Gata is an Armenian buttery pastry whose most common filling is flour, butter and sugar - a cake filled with its own dough, toasted and sweetened. Its name has cousins in Turkish and Georgian, and an origin that not even Armenia's greatest etymologist could crack. At New Year a coin for luck is hidden inside; I tasted it at the bakery below Haghartsin Monastery and was given one at Tatev.
Baklava Gavar: Armenian Honey Baklava from Lake Sevan
Baklava Gavar is a layered honey pastry from the Armenian town of Gavar on the shore of Lake Sevan. Tradition says the recipe was brought here by settlers from Bayazet, which is why it is also called Bayazet baklava. It has twenty-two to twenty-five sheets of dough with walnuts and butter between them, and it is drenched in hot honey. In 2022 Armenia added it to its national list of intangible cultural heritage.
Nraneh: Lamb Soup with Pomegranate Juice
Nraneh is a lamb soup soured with pomegranate juice, with rice, peas, leafy greens and cilantro, served in Yerevan at two restaurants, Lavash and Sherep. Armenian dictionaries and cookbooks have never heard of it, yet meaty pomegranate soups turn up all across the Caucasus and in Iran.
Spas: Armenian Yogurt Soup
Spas is an Armenian yogurt soup made from matsun, thickened with hulled wheat or rice and cooked with constant stirring so the yogurt doesn't curdle. It's served hot in winter and cold in summer. It has two names, a Cossack legend the dictionaries won't back up, and relatives in Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. In Yerevan they serve it in portions that would pass for a main course anywhere else.
Putuk: Armenian Mutton and Chickpea Soup from a Clay Pot
Putuk is a thick Armenian soup of mutton, chickpeas and potatoes, named after the small clay pot it simmers in for hours and is traditionally served from. Azerbaijan has the same dish under the name piti, and the two countries argue over it just as they argue over tolma. It is a filling winter dish you eat with a spoon, mopping up the broth with bread - though in Yerevan you will often get it on an ordinary plate.
Arishta: Armenian Noodles Toasted Before They Hit the Water
Arishta are Armenian homemade noodles of flour, water and salt that get dried, then toasted in a dry pan until golden, and only then boiled. The name and the technique are shared with Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan; the Armenian version stands apart in one thing: the dough has no milk in it. It used to be a winter staple; today it is also sold in packets in supermarkets, and it is served most often with butter and matsun.
Harissa: Armenian Wheat and Meat Porridge
Harissa has nothing in common with the Tunisian chili paste except the name. In Armenia it is a thick porridge of cracked wheat and meat, simmered for hours with constant stirring and drizzled with butter. Armenians consider it their national dish. Here I look at where the name comes from, what the siege of Musa Dagh has to do with it, and what you pay for it in Yerevan.
Vegetable Khorovats: Eggplant, Pepper and Tomato from the Armenian Grill
Vegetable khorovats is eggplant, pepper and tomato grilled whole on a skewer over charcoal, the same way Armenians grill their meat. Once it comes off the fire, the vegetables are stripped of their charred skin and served either warm and whole, or chopped into a salad with onion, cilantro and vinegar. They do the same all across the Caucasus, in Turkey and in Iran - what is Armenian is the name and the ritual around the mangal.
Lavash: The Armenian Bread Baked on the Oven Wall
Lavash is a thin unleavened bread of flour, water and salt, baked in Armenia stuck to the glowing wall of a clay tonir oven. In under a minute it puffs up and comes out on a hook; fresh it is as pliable as cloth, dried it keeps for months. Armenia put it on the UNESCO list in 2014, and two years later five other countries registered thin flatbreads of their own.