Do lavash by flinging the dough

Women make lavash bread in a clay pit filled with coals.

Women make lavash bread in a clay pit filled with coals.

Published Nov 20, 2014

Share

Yerevan - Who can resist baby onions or vine leaves stuffed with rice, meat and herbs; kartofel (a raisin and apricot pilaf rice dish); or a vast array of unusual salads, such as one made with red cabbage and walnuts or beetroot and hawthorn berries?

Spinach and lentil soup with wild mushrooms, onions, dill and butter is a treat; their rosy tomatoes are full of flavour; khoravats (barbecues) are tasty with herbs and spices; but the local cheeses, yoghurts and sour creams are unforgettable.

Sour cream blinis at breakfast are to die for.

Then there is lavash, the special Armenian bread. We watched two women making it. One kneads the dough while the other flips it, making it larger and thinner. Then it is spread over a cushion-shaped paddle attached to a long pole.

One woman then flings this dough on to the clay walls of a pit filled with coals. Within minutes, the lavash is ready.

Add local cheese, leeks, basil, thyme, salad and baby tomatoes. Serve with roast potatoes and kebabs for a superb meal.

Delicious grapes, peaches, melons, nectarines and seasonal fruit also find their way on to the table.

Then there are pudding specialities like hollowed out pumpkin, stuffed with dried fruit, seeds and honey, then roasted. This is served with plum sauce.

At Easter, pilaf with fish and wine is popular.

New Year, celebrated from January 1 to 6, is always a big deal and some families combine it with the ancient New Year, feasting from January 1 to 13.

In July there is a festival during which water is sprayed over everyone in the streets. This soaking helps relieve the sweltering heat of summer and is accompanied by drinking and feasting.

WHERE TO EAT

Artbridge Restaurant and book store not only offers reasonably priced meals, but it has books on offer – and does theatre bookings as well.

The restaurant serves typical Armenian food. You’ll find it in the centre of Yerevan. Contact [email protected]

Sunday Tribune

Related Topics: