A Few More Armenian Recipes

KALAJOSH
The restaurant Our Village has a great dish and I tried to find a recipe on the internet that matched it. This is the closest I came; some experimentation with it is required!
Meat: 3 lbs. beef, cut in ½" cubes (I feel I had ground beef – and much less of it!),

2½ cups onions, salt, pepper, paprika and red pepper to taste
(in the restaurant there was a ton of garlic – and I mean a ton of it)
4 cups beef broth or water
Saute meat in a little fat, then add ½ cup water. Cook over low flame until water evaporates (approximately 1 hour). Add onions and broth or water to meat mixture -- enough liquid to almost cover meat and simmer until onions are cooked. Keep warm until yogurt is heated.
Yogurt mixture:1 qt. yogurt,
1 egg,
½ cup water
Mix above ingredients and beat for 2-3 minutes and bring to slow boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Bread: 3 stale Armenian Lavash breads (I wonder how wraps would do…), cut up in 1 inch cubes, the drier and firmer the better (this is torn up in the restaurant, not cut)
Divide bread cubes in individual soup bowls. Pour yogurt over cubes and top with meat and onion mixture. As the liquid is absorbed into the bread, add more yogurt or meat, as you like (in the restaurant they mush it all together at tableside and then dish it out).
Serves 6

EGGPLANT ROLL
I had something like this at Dolmama, the best restaurant in town – that one had cream in the roll as well!
Ingredients: eggplant, parsley, walnuts, oil, garlic (to taste)
o Slice eggplant into long strips and bake with oil in the oven or pan fry until cooked.
o Crush garlic and mix with parsley and walnuts. Put walnut/parlsey/garlic mix on eggplants and roll up.

EGGPLANT DIP
Do you get the idea that I like eggplant? There’s a jarred eggplant dip that I could eat every day…. I hope this recipe tastes like that (I know it would be unwise to bring glass jars home, but I am tempted).
Ingredients: eggplants (2 large or 3 small), ½-1 t salt, 1-3 cloves garlic, ½-¾ C մածուն/macun, 1-2 T lemon juice
o Roast eggplants in a 350°F/180°C oven until soft (30 minutes or so). Can roast in a non-stick pan on the stove if you don’t have an oven. When soft, cool, then split and scrape insides into a small bowl.
o Add remaining ingredients and mix well (a potato masher is helpful). Serve with lavash chips or spread on crackers or bread.

KHACHAPURI
This may actually be a Georgian dish, but I have had it in restaurants here. Note – when I have had it, the eggs are sunny-side up on top, not mixed.
Ingredients: 2 C warm water, 4 eggs, 6 T vodka, 6 T red wine vinegar, 6 T oil, 1 t salt, 1⅓ C butter (divided), cheese to taste
o Mix together water, 2 eggs, vodka, red wine vinegar, oil and salt. Mix in flour one cup at a time until you have a sticky doughy.
o Knead the dough into a roll and divide into four sections. In each flattened section fold in 100 grams (1/3 cup) butter.
o Put all four sections in the fridge (covered) for 20 minutes
o Remove and roll each section out slightly. Place back in the fridge for 20 minutes
o Repeat rolling, fridge for 20 minutes, and remove.
o Break up cheese so it is clumpy
o In a separate bowl mix together two eggs.
o Roll each section of dough into a large, flat square. Sprinkle with cheese and roll. Flatten just slightly with a rolling pin and spread egg over the top.
o Cut into rectangles and place on a hot pan. Bake until golden brown

LENTEN (VEGETABLE) DOLMA
Now that I’ve had it, here’s the recipe!
This is traditional Armenian dolma cooked for Lent period (40 days before Easter). It is cooked in large amounts with the intention to last throughout the Lent or to share with friends or neighbors.
Ingredients: 1 C cooked chickpeas, 1 C cooked lentils,1 C cooked kidney beans, 1 C ground wheat (ձավար/dzavar), ½ kg onions, ¼ L oil, 200 gr tomato paste, grape leaves or pickled cabbage leaves, salt and pepper to taste, dried herbs
o Cook chickpeas, lentils, beans and ground wheat separately. Grind all and then mix.
o Fry onions in oil, then add salt, pepper, dried herbs, and tomato paste. Mix all ingredients.
o Roll small amounts of mixture in grape leaves or cabbage leaves. Line the pot with dolma. Cover dolma with enough warm water to cook (1-2 cups). Cook dolma until water boils down. If dolma is not cooked yet, add some more warm water and continue to cook.

FRIED TOMATOES AND EGGS
Otherwise known as: ձվածեղ լոլիկով/dzvacegh lolikov I just found this in the cookbook, but it seems similar to the Shakshuka I had in Israel and the Berber omelette I had in Morocco, so I think I would like it!
Ingredients: 1 ½ kg tomatoes (chopped), ½ C oil (can be cut by ½), 6 eggs, beaten, 3 medium onions (chopped), salt to taste, greens (parsley/basil/cilantro) for garnish
o Sauté onions in oil until translucent. Add tomatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes (longer if tomatoes are particularly juicy). Add salt to taste and pour on eggs.
o Let cook in pan (without stirring) for about 2 minutes or until eggs are set.
o Add chopped greens and serve hot. Serves 4. Excellent on its own or with sour cream over a pilaf.

NEW YEAR’S PILAF
Otherwise known as: հայկական տոնական փլավ/haykakan tonakan p’lav This is more or less what my homestay host cooked for Easter. She added saffron.
Ingredients: 1 kg rice (sorted and cleaned), 1 C butter, 300 g raisins & chopped dried apricots, 1 sheet lavash, salt to taste
o Bring 4 L of salted water to a boil. Add rice. Cook about 7 minutes. Rice should not be soft. Drain rice in colander and rinse with cold water.
o Sauté raisins and dried apricots in melted butter in a large skillet (with a tight lid) for 3-4 minutes. Remove apricots and raisins. Tear lavash into several large pieces and fry until crisp but not brown. Remove most lavash but leave enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
o Turn heat very, very low. Layer boiled rice on top of lavash, alternate with dried fruit. On top of rice & fruit mixture put the remaining pieces of fried lavash. Cover pan very tightly (don’t peek!) and cook over very, very low heat for 5-7 minutes. Be careful to turn the heat very low or the pilaf will burn. Serves 6.