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The Collection

EVERY
DISH

Thirty traditional dishes from across the Armenian highlands and the diaspora — bread and grill, dumplings and cured meat, soups, feast dishes and sweets, each with cook's notes, variations and its own history. Each page carries the ingredients, the numbered steps, and the history behind the plate.

Category
Difficulty
30 dishes
Golden Armenian lavash flatbread with herbs on a wooden board
Bread10 min

Lavash

Լավաշ · All regions

Paper-thin unleavened flatbread, blistered and scored in the tradition of the hearth.

Step-by-step →
Glazed Armenian khorovats lamb skewers with pomegranate
Grill60 min

Khorovats

Խորոված · Ararat Valley

Charcoal lamb glazed in pomegranate molasses, the Sunday centerpiece of the Caucasus.

Step-by-step →
Armenian manti dumplings with walnuts and a bowl of yoghurt
Dumpling90 min

Manti

Մանթի · Cilicia

Hand-pleated beef dumplings, fried crisp and buried under a crown of black walnut.

Step-by-step →
Copper pot of Armenian harissa wheat stew with pomegranate seeds
Stew5 hours

Harissa

Հարիսա · Vayots Dzor

Cracked wheat beaten with chicken or lamb into a slow, thick porridge of pure patience.

Step-by-step →
Armenian dolma, stuffed vine leaves with rice on a terracotta plate
Vine leaves75 min

Dolma

Դոլմա · Lake Sevan

Vine leaves rolled around rice, herbs and lamb, packed tight and weighted with a plate.

Step-by-step →
Armenian ghapama, baked pumpkin filled with rice, apricots and walnuts
Feast2 hours

Ghapama

Ղափամա · Syunik

A whole pumpkin filled with rice, dried apricot and walnut, baked until it caves in on itself.

Step-by-step →
Armenian gata pastry with flaky golden layers and walnut filling
Pastry2 hours

Gata

Գաթա · Geghard

Layered sweet bread with a buttery flour-and-sugar heart, scored in patterns before baking.

Step-by-step →
Bowl of Armenian spas yogurt soup topped with dried mint
Soup45 min

Spas

Սպաս · Shirak

Warm yogurt soup thickened with wheat berries and finished with a storm of dried mint.

Step-by-step →
Bowl of clear Armenian khash broth with garlic and dried lavash
Broth8 hours

Khash

Խաշ · Ararat Valley

Clear all-night broth of trotters, eaten at dawn with garlic, dried lavash and no ceremony but its own.

Step-by-step →
Thin slices of Armenian basturma cured beef with red spice crust
Cured3 weeks

Basturma

Բաստուրմա · Kayseri & Aintab

Air-dried beef pressed under weight and sealed in a red paste of fenugreek, garlic and paprika.

Step-by-step →
Armenian lahmajun flatbreads with spiced lamb topping and lemon
Flatbread2 hours

Lahmajun

Լահմաջո · Cilicia

Thin flatbread spread with minced lamb, pepper and parsley, baked hard and eaten rolled with lemon.

Step-by-step →
Armenian su boereg layered cheese pastry cut into squares in a tray
Pastry2 hours

Su Boereg

Սու բյորեկ · Constantinople

Boiled sheets of dough layered with cheese and parsley, baked into something between lasagne and pastry.

Step-by-step →
Armenian ishli kufta bulgur shells stuffed with spiced meat, one cut open
Kufta2 hours

Ishli Kufta

Իշլի քյուֆթա · Aintab

Bulgur shells shaped by hand around spiced meat and walnuts, then fried until they shatter.

Step-by-step →
Armenian pakhlava diamonds with walnuts and honey syrup in a copper tray
Sweet2 hours

Pakhlava

Փախլավա · Yerevan

Walnut and cinnamon layers under honey syrup, cut in diamonds and drenched while still hot.

Step-by-step →
Zhingyalov hats, Artsakh herb-filled flatbread cut open to show green filling
Flatbread90 min

Zhingyalov Hats

Ժինգյալով հաց · Artsakh

Artsakh flatbread packed with up to twenty wild greens, baked dry on a hot pan.

Step-by-step →
Armenian khashlama, lamb stewed with potatoes, peppers and tomatoes in a clay pot
Stew2 h 30 min

Khashlama

Խաշլամա · All regions

Lamb and vegetables steamed in their own juices with almost no water — the quietest great dish in the repertoire.

Step-by-step →
Matnakash, oval Armenian bread with finger-drawn grooves and glossy crust
Bread3 h

Matnakash

Մատնաքաշ · Yerevan, Ararat valley

Soft golden loaf whose name means "drawn with fingers" — the grooves are pulled by hand before baking.

Step-by-step →
Boraki, fried Armenian dumpling rolls standing in a pan with garlic yogurt
Dumplings1 h 30 min

Boraki

Բորակի · Western Armenia

Open-topped dumpling cylinders, fried until crisp then briefly simmered in broth and dressed with garlic yogurt.

Step-by-step →
Aveluk soup with wild sorrel, lentils and walnuts in a dark bowl
Soup1 h 15 min

Aveluk Soup

Ավելուկի ապուր · Syunik, Lori

Sour mountain sorrel braided and dried in autumn, cooked in winter with lentils, walnuts and bulgur.

Step-by-step →
Tjvjik, Armenian fried liver with onions and pomegranate seeds in a skillet
Main30 min

Tjvjik

Տժվժիկ · All regions

Liver and onions fried fast and hard, named for the sound it makes in the pan.

Step-by-step →
Ghavurma, Armenian lamb confit in a clay jar with a fried portion on a plate
Preserve4 h + setting

Ghavurma

Ղավուրմա · Highlands

Lamb cooked in its own rendered fat and sealed under it — the highland answer to refrigeration.

Step-by-step →
Armenian sweet sujukh, walnut strings coated in dark grape must, sliced on a board
Sweet1 h + 1 week drying

Sweet Sujukh

Շարոց · Vayots Dzor, Areni

Walnuts threaded on string and dipped again and again in thickened grape must until they set into dark ropes.

Step-by-step →
Alani, dried peaches stuffed with crushed walnuts on a ceramic plate
Sweet40 min

Alani

Ալանի · Ararat valley

Sun-dried peaches stuffed with walnuts and sugar — two ingredients, no cooking, and a whole summer inside.

Step-by-step →
Boiled Armenian kufta, pale meat dumplings cut open with melted butter
Main2 h

Boiled Kufta

Քյուֆթա · Ejmiatsin, Ararat

Veal beaten to a pale, airy paste and poached into a soft ball the size of a fist.

Step-by-step →
Mshosh, Armenian lentil salad with dried apricots and walnuts in a bowl
Salad45 min

Mshosh

Մշոշ · Lori, Shirak

Lentils with dried apricots, walnuts and dark fried onion — sweet, sour and savoury in one cold dish.

Step-by-step →
Kalagyosh, Armenian lentil and yogurt soup with fried onions and lavash
Soup1 h

Kalagyosh

Կալագյոշ · Syunik

Lentils and dried yogurt whisked into a thick soup and crowned with dark fried onion.

Step-by-step →
Eetch, Armenian bulgur salad with tomato, parsley and lemon in a bowl
Salad30 min

Eetch

Իչ · Cilicia, diaspora

Fine bulgur soaked in tomato, onion and lemon — a cold pilaf served on lettuce leaves.

Step-by-step →
Topik, Armenian chickpea and potato roll sliced to show onion and currant filling
Appetiser1 h 30 min

Topik

Թոփիկ · Constantinople

A chickpea and potato sheet rolled around sweet onion, tahini and currants — Lenten food dressed for a banquet.

Step-by-step →
Anushabur, Armenian Christmas wheat pudding with dried fruit and walnuts
Dessert2 h

Anushabur

Անուշապուր · All regions

Christmas pudding of skinned wheat and dried fruit — literally "sweet soup", eaten cold from a wide bowl.

Step-by-step →
Kadayif, golden shredded Armenian pastry with walnut filling and syrup
Dessert1 h 15 min

Kadayif

Քադայիֆ · Cilicia, diaspora

Shredded pastry threads pressed around walnuts, baked to gold and drowned in lemon syrup.

Step-by-step →