ZORMACook Now
The Collection

EVERY
DISH

Fifteen 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.

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 →