Armenian food: discover traditional cuisine

HARISA – hearty porridge made from slow-cooked cracked wheat and meat.

ZHINGYALOV HATS – flatbread stuffed with finely diced herbs and greens, traditionally a staple in times of scarcity, now popular during Lent.

BOEREG – flaky pastries filled with savory cheese, vegetables, or meat, an appetizer or a snack

EETCH – bulgur salad with crushed tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, parsley, paprika and olive oil. Similar to Middle Eastern tabouleh.

BULGUR PILAF – fluffy bulgur often featuring diced onions, tomatoes, and ground lamb or chicken for a complete meal.

RICE PILAF – long-grain rice cooked in chicken broth, often featuring toasted vermicelli and a hint of allspice or cardamom.

GATA – sweet bread-like cake or cake-like bread, varying regionally, eaten during fests like Christian holidays.

CHOREG – rich, sweet, braided yeast Easter bread seasoned with orange zest, mastic, or mahlab.

ASHURE – Christmas pudding made from barley or other grains, fresh and dried fruits, and nuts.

VOSPAPOUR – earthy and warming lentil soup of many variations.

VOSKOV KOFTE – lentil and bulgur patties, like vegan meatballs, part of a cold mezze spread, accompanied by chopped salad.

DOLMA / TOLMA – stuffed grape, cabbage leaves or eggplants, zucchinis, peppers. The filling always has rice or bulgur and, optionally, meat, olive oil, and herbs.

GHAPAMA – a baked pumpkin stuffed with rice, dried apples, apricots, dates, and raisins.

TOPIK – is a chickpea or potato-based dumplings with onions, nuts, and currants filling. A vegan lent dish that is also served as a mezze.

VANETZI ASHKILE – spinach soup in a meat broth, tomatoes, carrots, fresh herbs.

BULGUR AND POTATO KUFTEH – cigar-shape bulgur or patato koftas, can also feature lentils instead of bulgur.

TOURHSI – tangy, lightly spiced pickled vegetables.

MURABBA – sweet fruit preserve, popular in the Caucasus, made with fruits, nuts, sugar, and spices. A unique variation only found in Armenia is pumpkin murabba.

YERSHIG / SUJUK / SUJUX – spicy, fatty beef sausage, highly flavored with cumin, garlic, paprika, and salt. Usually, semi-dried and fried before serving.

BASTURMA – highly seasoned air-cured beef, highly seasoned with garlic and fenugreek mixture and coated for preservation.

KHOROVATS – large chunks of meat marinated and skewered over open pits or in a tandoor oven.

ISHLI KUFTA – a variation of kufta, a dumpling made from a shell of ground bulgur with meat and filled with seasoned ground lamb or beef, cumin, allspice, pine nuts, and onions. Shaped into ovals and fried or baked. This dish is a variation of Levantine kibbeh.

LULA KEBAB – ground lamb with onions, seasoned with black pepper and salt, and grilled on skewers. Served with lavash, grilled veggies, and onions with sumac.

SINI MANTI – boat-shaped open dumplings with beef or lamb, served with yogurt sauce.

KHASHLAMA – spicy lamb or beef soup, slow-cooked for several hours with potatoes, onions, peppers, carrots, and regionally differing spices.

KCHUCH – a lamb stew, slowly cooked in a clay pot with chopped potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, garlic and wine, served with lavash.

ARGANAK – clear chicken broth flavored with lemon and egg yolks and venison meatball soup with onions.

LAHMADJO / LAHMAJUN – is a flatbread with a spiced lamb or beef topping, minced vegetables, herbs, onions, garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, and parsley, flavored with chili and paprika, and baked. Originating from the Levant, it is very popular in Armenia.

KOLOLIK – lamb meatball soup.

TJVJIK / DZHVZHIG – liver or other offal pan-fried with chopped onions, tomato paste, garnished with handful of parsley.

KHASH – is boiled cow’s feet or other parts of the animal. It is a medieval dish usually eaten in winter and is believed to have medicinal properties as a hangover cure.

ISHKHAN – trout (from lake Sevan) barbeque.

SPAS / TABABOUR / TANAPUR – cold or warm sour milk soup with peeled wheat and greens, beloved by Armenians.

JAJEK – matzoon soup with garlic, mint, cucumbers, and ice – a refreshing summer dish.

LOLIGOV DZVADZEKH – scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

CHORTAN – a yogurt stone, dried dairy product made from yogurt, sour milk and grain. Known as kashk, jameed or qurut in other countries.

PAKHLAVA – layered phyllo pastry dessert with chopped nuts and honey. In Armenia, other pastries are used as well.

BOURMA – rolled phyllo pastry with walnuts, similar to pakhlava.

SWEET SUJUKH or ROEJIG – candle-shaped walnuts wrapped in thickened fruit juice.

NAZOOK – yeast pastries with nuts filling.

KUNAFE – a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with kataifi pastry (shredded phyllo), soaked in syrup and layered with cheese or clotted cream and nuts.