Lavash
Paper-thin unleavened flatbread, blistered and scored in the tradition of the hearth.
Step-by-step →Soup · Shirak
SPAS
Սպաս
Warm yogurt soup thickened with wheat berries and finished with a storm of dried mint.
45 min
Total time
Serves 6
Yield
5
Steps
Step by step
HOW IT IS MADE
- 01
Cook the grain
Simmer the wheat in a litre of water until tender, about 30 minutes. Keep the cooking water — it carries the body of the soup.
- 02
Stabilise the yogurt
Whisk the yogurt smooth with the egg and flour. This is the step that stops it splitting over heat; do not skip it.
- 03
Marry them slowly
Add the yogurt to the pot off the heat, then bring it back very gently, stirring in one direction without stopping until it steams.
- 04
Sweat the onion
Fry the onion in butter until soft and golden and stir it in with salt.
- 05
Finish with mint
Crush dried mint between your palms over each bowl. Serve hot in winter, chilled in high summer.
At a glance
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Energy
- ≈ 220 kcal per serving
- Preparation
- 10 min
- Cooking
- 35 min
- Season
- All year — hot in winter, cold in summer
- Occasion
- Everyday supper, food for the unwell, the end of long feasts
Cook's notes
GET IT RIGHT
- Whisk the egg and flour into the yogurt before it meets heat — this is the anti-curdling step.
- Stir in one direction only, continuously, until the soup steams.
- Rub the dried mint between your palms so its oils wake up.
Variations
Tanabur
The same soup made with pearl barley and more herbs, common in Lori.
Lenten spas
Made with whey or water instead of yogurt for fasting days.
Questions
ASKED IN THE KITCHEN
Can I use shop yogurt?
Yes, full-fat and unsweetened. Low-fat yogurt splits far more easily.
Why did mine curdle?
It boiled, or the egg-and-flour binder was skipped. Both are fixable next time; low heat is everything.
History & Culture
WHY THIS DISH
Spas is the everyday soup of the Armenian plateau, built entirely from what a household already had: soured milk, grain and a jar of mint dried on the roof. It is the dish given to the sick and to anyone coming in from the cold.
The Lenten version, made with water instead of yogurt whey, shows how the same bowl adapts to the church calendar. In Shirak and Lori it is still served at the end of long feasts, to settle the table.
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