Lavash
Paper-thin unleavened flatbread, blistered and scored in the tradition of the hearth.
Step-by-step →Soup · Syunik, Lori
AVELUK SOUP
Ավելուկի ապուր
Sour mountain sorrel braided and dried in autumn, cooked in winter with lentils, walnuts and bulgur.
1 h 15 min
Total time
Serves 6
Yield
4
Steps
Step by step
HOW IT IS MADE
- 01
Wake the sorrel
Soak the dried braids in warm water for an hour, then boil ten minutes and drain — this removes the harshest sourness.
- 02
Cook the lentils
Simmer lentils in 1.5 litres of water until soft, then add the chopped sorrel and the bulgur.
- 03
Fry the onions dark
Brown sliced onion slowly in oil until sweet and deep gold, then stir it into the pot with its oil.
- 04
Finish with walnuts
Pound walnuts with garlic and salt into a rough paste, stir through and simmer five minutes more.
At a glance
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Energy
- ≈ 250 kcal per serving
- Preparation
- 1 h soaking
- Cooking
- 45 min
- Season
- Autumn to spring
- Occasion
- Lent, everyday winter suppers
Cook's notes
GET IT RIGHT
- Boil and drain the sorrel once — it removes the aggressive sourness.
- Brown the onions properly; they are the sweetness in the bowl.
- Pound the walnuts by hand for texture rather than blending them smooth.
- Taste before salting: chortan or sorrel can already carry salt.
Variations
With chortan
Add mashed dried yogurt for a tangier, creamier soup.
Aveluk salad
The same greens dressed cold with walnuts, garlic and oil.
Questions
ASKED IN THE KITCHEN
Where do I buy aveluk?
Armenian and Middle Eastern shops sell it dried in braids; sorrel or dock leaves substitute.
Is it vegan?
Yes, unless you add yogurt.
History & Culture
WHY THIS DISH
Aveluk is gathered on high slopes in spring, braided into long plaits and hung to dry — a preservation method older than any written Armenian recipe, and the reason a green soup is possible in February.
The braids are still sold in Yerevan's markets looking like rope, and for many diaspora families the smell of them cooking is the most direct route back to a grandparent's kitchen.
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