Local Dishes

1. Խորոված

   Khorovats

   Khorovats (skewer-grilled meat)

   Usage

   Meat cut into large pieces, threaded on skewers and grilled over charcoal. Usually pork, lamb or chicken. A vegetable-only version is also served.

2. Տոլմա

   Tolma

   Tolma (leaves or vegetables stuffed with rice and meat)

   Usage

   Wrapped in grape or cabbage leaves, or stuffed into tomatoes and peppers. The meat-free version (pasuts tolma) uses pulses and dried fruit and contains no meat or dairy.

3. Լավաշ

   Lavash

   Lavash (thin unleavened flatbread)

   Usage

   A thin unleavened bread of wheat flour, water and salt, slapped onto the wall of a tonir (pit oven). Contains wheat. It is dried for storage and revived by sprinkling water.

4. Մատնաքաշ

   Matnakash

   Matnakash (thick bread with finger-drawn grooves)

   Usage

   A leavened wheat bread named for the grooves drawn across the top with the fingers before baking. Made long or round. Contains wheat.

5. Ժենգյալով հաց

   Zhengyalov hats

   Zhengyalov hats (flatbread stuffed with chopped herbs)

   Usage

   Thin dough packed with many kinds of chopped herbs and cooked on a griddle. No meat and no dairy, so it suits vegetarians. Contains wheat.

6. Խաշ

   Khash

   Khash (hot soup of long-simmered cow's feet)

   Usage

   A clear broth simmered six to eight hours from cow's feet. Garlic, salt, herbs and radish are added at the table. Traditionally eaten early in the morning in winter, so it is often not on the lunch menu.

7. Խաշլամա

   Khashlama

   Khashlama (boiled lamb or beef)

   Usage

   Lamb or beef simmered slowly with vegetables. The name comes from khashel, "to boil".

8. Հարիսա

   Harisa

   Harisa (porridge of wheat groats and meat)

   Usage

   Wheat groats and chicken, lamb or beef cooked overnight and beaten with a wooden paddle until thick, then served with melted butter. Contains wheat and dairy.

9. Սպաս

   Spas

   Spas (yogurt soup)

   Usage

   Yogurt drink thickened with egg and flour, with wheat groats or rice, stirred over low heat. Also called tanapur. Contains dairy, egg and wheat. Served hot or cold.

10. Ղափամա

    Ghapama

    Ghapama (pumpkin stuffed with rice and dried fruit)

    Usage

    A pumpkin with the top cut off as a lid, seeds removed, filled with boiled rice, raisins, dried fruit, butter and honey, then baked. Usually served at New Year and Easter. Contains dairy.

11. Բորակի

    Boraki

    Boraki (small meat parcels cooked in broth)

    Usage

    Thin dough cut into squares or rounds, filled with minced meat seasoned with onion and spices, and cooked in beef broth. Eaten with garlic yogurt and melted butter. Contains wheat and dairy.

12. Կոլոլակ

    Kololak

    Kololak (meatballs)

    Usage

    Beef pounded and worked into a paste with onion and spices, shaped into balls and boiled. Also called kyufta. A smaller version has rice or wheat groats mixed in.

13. Փլավ

    Plav

    Plav (rice cooked with butter)

    Usage

    Rice cooked with fat, sometimes with meat or dried fruit added. Usually contains dairy.

14. Մշոշ

    Mshosh

    Mshosh (lentils with dried apricot and walnut)

    Usage

    Lentils combined with dried apricot and walnut. No meat and no dairy. Note the walnuts if you have a nut allergy.

15. Սևանի իշխան

    Sevani ishkhan

    Sevan ishkhan (trout of Lake Sevan)

    Usage

    A trout found only in Lake Sevan (Salmo ischchan), usually pan-fried or grilled over charcoal. The word ishkhan also means "prince".

    Grammar Note

    Adding -i to a noun makes the genitive "of ...". Sevan becomes Sevani, "of Sevan".

16. Բաստուրմա

    Basturma

    Basturma (spice-coated air-dried meat)

    Usage

    Beef cured with salt and spices and air-dried, served sliced thin as a starter. The same word also refers to raw meat marinated in vinegar, salt, onion and pepper for grilling.

17. Սուջուխ

    Sujukh

    Sujukh (dry-cured sausage)

    Usage

    A sausage of minced beef or lamb with spices, cured without cooking. Note that "sweet sujukh" is a different thing entirely: it is the walnut confection sharots.

18. Ղավուրմա

    Ghavurma

    Ghavurma (meat preserved in its own fat)

    Usage

    Beef or lamb boiled, boned, fried in fat and then packed into a jar under that fat. A winter store, reheated on its own or fried with eggs.

19. Մածուն

    Matsun

    Matsun (Armenian yogurt)

    Usage

    Fermented milk with live lactic bacteria. Eaten on its own and also served alongside soups and meat dishes. It is a dairy product, so take care if you are lactose intolerant.

20. Գաթա

    Gata

    Gata (sweet layered pastry)

    Usage

    A pastry with a filling of flour, butter and sugar folded into the dough and baked. Size and shape vary by region. Contains wheat and dairy.

21. Փախլավա

    Pakhlava

    Pakhlava (layered pastry with nuts in syrup)

    Usage

    Thin layers of pastry with walnuts, soaked in syrup. Contains wheat and tree nuts, so avoid it if you have a nut allergy.

22. Ալանի

    Alani

    Alani (dried peach stuffed with walnut)

    Usage

    Sun-dried pitted peaches filled with walnut seasoned with sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. Also made with figs or apricots. Contains nuts.

23. Շարոց

    Sharots

    Sharots (walnut string coated in thickened grape juice)

    Usage

    Walnuts threaded on a string, dipped repeatedly in thickened fruit juice and dried into a long stick. Also called "sweet sujukh", which is now the more common name. Contains nuts.

24. Խավից

    Khavits

    Khavits (sweet thick wheat-flour porridge)

    Usage

    A thick sweet porridge made by cooking wheat flour in fat. Traditionally prepared for women after childbirth. Contains wheat and dairy.

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