Lavash
Paper-thin unleavened flatbread, blistered and scored in the tradition of the hearth.
Step-by-step →Broth · Ararat Valley
KHASH
Խաշ
Clear all-night broth of trotters, eaten at dawn with garlic, dried lavash and no ceremony but its own.
8 hours
Total time
Serves 6
Yield
5
Steps
Step by step
HOW IT IS MADE
- 01
Clean and soak
Scrub the trotters hard, then soak them in cold water overnight, changing the water two or three times.
- 02
Simmer without salt
Cover with fresh water and simmer six to eight hours. No salt, no onion, no bay — khash is deliberately unseasoned in the pot.
- 03
Skim, always skim
Lift the grey foam off in the first hour so the broth stays clear rather than clouded.
- 04
Crush the garlic
Pound raw garlic with a little broth and salt into a sharp paste; each guest seasons their own bowl.
- 05
Serve at dawn
Ladle broth and meat into deep bowls, break dried lavash over it and eat immediately with radish, herbs and a small glass of oghi.
At a glance
- Difficulty
- Easy but very slow
- Energy
- ≈ 300 kcal per serving
- Preparation
- 20 min + overnight soaking
- Cooking
- 6–8 h simmering
- Season
- Deep winter
- Occasion
- Winter mornings, men's gatherings, the day after a celebration
Cook's notes
GET IT RIGHT
- Soak overnight with several water changes — this is what keeps the broth clean-tasting.
- Skim relentlessly in the first hour.
- Never salt the pot; salting is the guest's job.
- Keep the simmer barely moving so the broth stays clear.
Variations
Lamb khash
Lighter and quicker than beef, common in mountain villages.
With tripe
Some households add cleaned tripe for body and chew.
Questions
ASKED IN THE KITCHEN
Why eat it in the morning?
It is heavy, warming labourer's food, meant to carry you through a cold working day.
Can I use a pressure cooker?
Yes, about 90 minutes, though the broth is cloudier than a long open simmer.
History & Culture
WHY THIS DISH
Khash is a winter morning meal, eaten between about six and nine o'clock, traditionally by men who had worked the night or were about to start the day. It is one of the few Armenian dishes served entirely unsalted so that each person builds their own bowl.
Once it was food for shepherds and the poor — the parts no one else wanted, boiled long enough to become nourishing. Today it is a ritual of friendship, with its own toasting order and the rule that no one leaves the table early.
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