Food on the Move Tips | Page 34 of 66

Mantapur: Baked Manti Dumplings in Armenian Broth

Mantapur is an Armenian soup made from manti - small dumplings filled with beef and onion, known across half of Asia, but only Armenian cuisine bakes to a golden brown and tops with chicken broth and yogurt. I traced the baked version from a 1914 cookbook in Merzifon all the way to the menu of Anteb Restaurant in Yerevan.

Trout from Lake Sevan

Voloran: Stuffed Eggplant Rolls

Zhengyalov Hats: The Armenian Flatbread Filled With Raw Herbs

Zhengyalov hats is an Armenian flatbread of thinly rolled unleavened dough with a mound of raw chopped herbs baked inside - everything from nettle and sorrel to cilantro and violet leaves. It comes from Artsakh and the south of the Syunik province, and today it's sold all over Armenia. No meat, no cheese, no eggs, and just one secret: knowing what to pick in the meadow.

Khashlama: Armenian One-Pot Braised Meat

Armenian khashlama comes together in a single pot with almost no water: over three hours on a low flame the bone-in meat gives up its own juices, and tomatoes and onions supply the rest. The name means "boiled" - a leftover from the days of the cauldron. Georgia and Azerbaijan serve quite different dishes under the very same name.

Ghapama: Stuffed Pumpkin

Gouvaj: Lamb Baked Under a Bread Lid

Gouvaj is lamb and vegetables baked in a ceramic dish that is sealed with a round of bread dough instead of a lid. It takes its name from the Turkish pot güveç, and Western Armenian cooking from around Gaziantep brought it to Yerevan. I ate gouvaj at Anteb Restaurant in Yerevan, where you break the charred lid with a spoon and eat it instead of bread, while the meat underneath falls into soft threads.

Lahmajun: Armenian Pizza

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.