Lahmajun (also known as “lahmadjo” or “lahmajoon” in Armenia) is a thin round piece of dough covered with a mixture of minced meat, vegetables, and spices. It’s often referred to as “Armenian pizza” or “Turkish pizza”. While in Turkey, this “touristic” label of the dish named “lahmacun” can be easily refuted because the Turkish cuisine has a dish more similar to pizza called pide, the Armenians don’t have anything more similar. Besides Turkey and Armenia, you can also find lahmajun in countries like Syria and Lebanon.
In Armenia, the dough is typically made from basic ingredients like flour, water, salt and of course, the local yogurt matsun. The meat topping is usually made from lamb, beef, or a combination of both. This meat is complemented with tomatoes, peppers and onions. The meat and vegetables are finely ground and mixed with spices. The dough is rolled into a thin circle, and the meat mixture is spread evenly over it. Lahmajun is baked in a hot oven until the edges are crispy and the meat is cooked through. It’s often served with lemon and an yogurt drink called tan pairs perfectly with it.
I had the opportunity to taste an excellent lahmajun at the Anteb restaurant in Yerevan. One serving cost 900 AMD, which is approximately 2.20 EUR. The dough was paper-thin and perfectly crispy.
Enjoy!
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