Armenian cuisine is one of the oldest in the world, and that is not a figure of speech. Armenia adopted Christianity as a state religion in 301, and its culinary traditions formed even earlier β at the meeting point of the Caucasus, Asia Minor and the Middle East. Millennia at the crossroads of civilisations left a cuisine that is restrained, substantial and remarkably coherent: Armenians have cooked in much the same way for centuries, and many recipes have come down almost unchanged.
At the root of everything lies fire and a clay oven β the tonir, a hearth set into the ground in which bread is baked, meat is braised and the home keeps its warmth. The tonir is to Armenian cooking what the tandoor is to Central Asia: not just an oven but the centre of the culinary universe. The whole table is built around it.
Lavash β bread recognised by UNESCO
Armenia's principal bread is thin lavash, rolled into a near-translucent sheet and baked by slapping it onto the scorching wall of the tonir. Finished lavash can be dried and stored for months, then sprinkled with water before a meal to become soft again. It is a brilliant solution for a mountainous country with long winters.
In 2014 the tradition of baking lavash as a cultural symbol of Armenia was inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage. And it is about more than food: lavash is used in rituals, and at weddings it is placed on the newlyweds' shoulders as a wish for abundance. Lavash wraps cheese and herbs, swaddles grilled meat β it is bread, plate and wrapper all at once.
Dolma and khorovats: meat at the centre
Meat in Armenian cuisine is treated with respect and without excess sauce, letting the flavour of the product itself come through.
- Dolma (tolma) β chopped meat with rice and herbs wrapped in grape leaves. In summer there is also a vegetable dolma, with stuffed tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. The word is related to the Turkic doldurma, "to fill." Dolma is served with garlicky matsun (a fermented-milk sauce).
- Khorovats β Armenian barbecue, and it is more than just grilled meat. Khorovats is cooked over vine-wood coals, often in large pieces, with vegetables roasted on the same coals as the side. It is a dish for company and celebration, a symbol of the feast.
- Basturma and sujukh β cured delicacies. Basturma is cured beef tenderloin in a thick coating of chaman spices (fenugreek, garlic, paprika, pepper). Sujukh is a spiced cured sausage with the same spice mix. Both are a legacy of traditions for preserving meat.
Khash and spas: warming soups
Two soups that say a great deal about the cuisine's character.
Khash is a rich broth of beef shanks, simmered for long hours with almost no salt. It is a winter dish and a whole ritual: khash is eaten early in the morning, in male company, with plenty of garlic, dried lavash crumbled into the broth, and an obligatory shot. Khash is less food than tradition and a reason to gather.
Spas (tanov) is a soup based on matsun (a fermented-milk product) with grain β often wheat dzavar or rice β and herbs. Unlike heavy khash, spas is light, slightly sour and refreshing, eaten both hot and cold. It shows how important fermented dairy is in Armenian cooking.
Cheeses, herbs and fermented dairy
The Armenian table is unthinkable without cheese and herbs. The cheeses are brined and braided: chechil (the plait), lori, motal. They are always served with plenty of fresh herbs β coriander, tarragon, basil β eaten in bunches rather than finely chopped.
Fermented dairy is a world of its own. Matsun (a thick fermented-milk drink, kin to kefir and yoghurt) is drunk, stirred into soups, made into sauces and into the cooling drink tan. That sourness runs through the whole cuisine and balances the richness of meat and bread.
Sweets: gata and dried fruit
For dessert Armenian cuisine offers something substantial rather than cloying.
- Gata β sweet pastry with a crisp crust and a khoriz filling of flour, butter and sugar. Different regions make gata their own way: in some places it is a flat patterned cake, in others fluffy buns.
- Dried fruit and nuts β Armenia is famous for apricots (the apricot's scientific name, Prunus armeniaca, literally means "Armenian plum"), peaches and grapes. From them come sujukh sweets (nuts on a string in grape juice), fruit leather and jams from everything, including walnuts and rose petals.
What to cook at home
A convenient way into Armenian cuisine is dolma β it needs not an oven but patience and good grape leaves. The next step is khorovats over coals, if you have a grill, or roasted vegetables with herbs and lavash as a simple dinner. And to catch the spirit of the cuisine, do not forget the balance: serve rich meat with sour matsun, a heap of fresh herbs and warm lavash. It is exactly this pairing of substance and freshness that makes the Armenian table so coherent.
