The Armenian Kitchen

Image from American Grilling Club

Another Memorial Day is upon us, signifying - to most - the beginning of summer and backyard barbecues. As you plan your grilling menu, please don’t forget the reason for this American holiday - honoring and thanking the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of freedom in America.

In keeping with the season, be mindful of grilling safety. If you need help in planning your holiday meal, scroll down our two recipe columns for some delicious ideas!

Pork Kebab

What are we serving on Memorial Day? Glad you asked. Our meal will feature Pork Kebab, Armenian Chopped Salad, Nanny's Armenian Potato Salad, and refreshing watermelon for dessert.

I have been remiss in posting a recipe for Penerli, a fried cheese boreg, sent to me ages ago from Mark Gavoor, an occasional reader of our blog/website and self-proclaimed eater. (Forgive me, Mark!) He suggested we preserve and document this amazing recipe. I intended to prepare the recipe in order to have a photo to attach, but fried foods and I don’t get along, and the opportunity to make it for others never came to be.

Since I am not one to let a delicious-sounding recipe fall by the wayside, I am posting it sans photo. However, if a penerli photo becomes available, I will include it at a later date.

Mark Gavoor

Gavoor, a musician and poet, played a gig with his band a while back at St. Hagop Church, Racine, Wisconsin, where, he said they make and sell an amazing cheese puff/beoreg called ‘penerli’.

Mark sent me the following recipe, saying:

“The recipe is in the very well done and historical cook book from St. Hagop Church, 4100 N Newman Rd, Racine, WI 53406. Daughters and granddaughters lovingly provided a bio. and photo of their mother and grandmother along with the recipe the 1st generation lady was best known for. Miranie Munagian’s specialty was Penerli. Here it is and it is quite simple. I hope I am not wasting your time but the deep frying does make it quite tasty when eaten immediately.”

Penerli (Fried Cheese Boreg – or Armenian Fried Ravioli!)

Dough:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup warm water

2 eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups flour

Filling:

1 lb. brick cheese

5-6 sprigs parsley chopped

Directions:

Melt butter and add warm water. Mix in eggs and salt. Add flour gradually and knead until flour is (workable), ~5-10 mins. Let rest, covered with plastic for about an hour. Place dough on floured surface and roll out to about 36" in diameter. Grate brick cheese, add chopped parsley and mix. Place cheese mixture in mounds on half of the rolled out dough. Bring the other half over the mounds of cheese and cut out squares or circles (whatever you prefer). Crimp edges with fork or fingers.

Deep fry in (hot vegetable) oil. (Brown on both sides.) Drain on paper towels. Enjoy.

Deviled eggs are not an Armenian recipe, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like them. My Aunt Arpie, a terrific Armenian cook, often surprised us at family gatherings by bringing an American recipe to add to our otherwise Armenian menu. Sometimes she’d make macaroni salad bursting with tuna fish, or, on occasion, deviled eggs. Both were tasty novelties!

With Memorial Day behind us and the 4^th of July on the horizon, I’ll share the deviled egg recipe I recently served guests.

Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs, hard-cooked in the shell

Cooking directions:

Place the eggs in a medium saucepan with water to cover and bring to a boil. Remove saucepan from the heat, cover the pan, and let stand for 20 minutes. Pour off the hot water. Have a bowl of cold water ready. Gently crack the eggshells all over and let them sit in the bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. Peel the eggs**, cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

**Peeling hard-cooked eggs:

Gently roll eggs between your hands to loosen the shell, then peel. If the shell is too hard to peel, hold the egg under cold water while peeling.

Deviled Egg Filling ingredients and directions for 6 eggs:

In a bowl, mash together until smooth:

Yolks from 6 eggs

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 or 3 Tbsp. plain yogurt

1 tsp. prepared mustard

½ tsp. salt

Dash Aleppo red pepper or black pepper

NOTE: The options for the egg filling are endless. You can add chopped olives, pickle relish, parsley, flaked seafood, chopped basturma, chormees, chopped onions, etc.

To assemble:

Cut shelled eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks.

Prepare filling as described above.

Spoon filling evenly among the 12 egg halves.

Sprinkle tops with paprika.

Do you recall my request for a volunteer to help translate into English some of Sonia Tashjian’s recipes from her new cookbook, “HAYGAGAN AVANTAGAN KHOHANOTS” - “Armenian Traditional Cuisine”?

Sonia Tashjian's cookbook: “HAYGAGAN AVANTAGAN KHOHANOTS” - “Armenian Traditional Cuisine”

I’ll bet you thought no one responded, right?

Wrong!!

An avid reader of TheArmenianKitchen, Ara Kassabian, spoke up immediately, and has already translated, prepared, and photographed the first recipe. Sonia and I couldn’t be more thrilled with Ara’s willingness and great effort in this collaboration. We thank Ara – humbly and profusely.

FYI: This project is a global effort – I live in South Florida, Ara is from California, and Sonia resides in Yerevan. Even though the three of us have never met face-to-face, we've developed a strong bond through this website.

Here is the first recipe translation from Sonia’s new Armenian cookbook. We hope you’ll like it.


Agahamagh - Dried Eggplant Salad

(Recipe prepared and photographed by Ara Kassabian)

AGAHAMAGH (Dried Eggplant Salad)

Province: Marash Preparation time: 1 hour Number of servings: 4 persons

A brief explanation from Sonia:

(translation by Ara Kassabian)

"Aghamagh" belongs to the rich culinary tradition of Marash. In the summer, when people used to core eggplants and dry them in preparation for usage in "dolmas" (stuffed vegetables) during the winter, they would dry the removed cores separately by threading them with a needle and hanging them to dry. They would then use the reconstituted dried cores to make this unique salad, particularly during the Lenten season. To reconstitute the eggplant, they would soak it in water for 24 hours, then, having changed the water, they would boil it. After draining the water and letting the pulp cool down to room temperature, they would add the sauce, along with the other ingredients.

To dry eggplant in your kitchen, peel it, cut it into cubes (about 3/4 inch), salt it, and put it in a large sieve to dry in the sun. You can then store the dried eggplant in a cloth bag, with an added handful of coarse salt.

It is possible to approximate the taste of dried eggplant by cubing or slicing a peeled eggplant, sprinkling it with salt, and placing it in a colander to drain. After a few hours, the eggplant is squeezed by hand, then sautéed with a bit of water or oil.

AGAHAMAGH (Dried Eggplant Salad)

Ingredients:

2 lb. eggplants (Italian or otherwise)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup sesame seed paste (tahini)

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 Tbsp. pepper paste

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. red pepper (Aleppo or cayenne)

1 tsp. powdered sumac

Coarsely chopped parsley (about 1/2 cup)

Salt

Preparation:

1. Prepare the eggplant by cubing, salting, draining, and sautéing, as indicated above (or use reconstituted dry eggplant). Let it cool to room temperature. Arrange on a flat serving dish.

2. Dilute the tahini, tomato paste, and pepper paste with the 1/2 cup water. Add the remaining ingredients to the mixture and spread over the eggplant.

Fresh chickpeas at my local market

How cool is this? In order to keep up with America’s love affair with hummus, former tobacco fields in the state of Virginia are being plowed under to make way for chickpea farming.

Having grown up around smokers, I was taught never to start the ‘nasty’ habit, therefore, I don’t smoke - never did, never will. Farewell, tobacco fields!

But, eating chickpeas … well, that’s another story. Just think of all of the chickpea recipe possibilities!

With chickpeas being so versatile and nutritious, I can’t think of a better way to recycle the land.

Jack Hachigian

Now that my mother is gone, there’s no one to spread news about family and friends. My mother was the ‘grape vine’ of Armenian activities, spreading any news from east to west, and north to south.

Having lived in Paterson, NJ for much of her youth, Mom wove close ties to the Armenians-from-Paterson crowd. She kept in touch with them all, no matter where they ended up as adults.

Mom’s side of the family was particularly close with the Hachigian family – Moses, Elizabeth, and their sons Paul and Jack. The elders all came from Musa Dagh and lived near each other in Paterson. We all attended St. Leon Armenian Church in that same town.

Mom and Jack stayed in touch until her passingjust a few months ago. I’m the one who called him to break the news. Jack talked about his fond memories of Mom and their parents – the good times and their times of struggle.

Jack was quite a guy – athlete, scholar, artist, and cookbook author. He mastered his mother’s recipes from Musa Dagh to create a very special cookbook, ‘Secrets from an Armenian Kitchen’ which I wrote about a few years ago.

You can imagine my shock and sadness, when I saw an obituary for Jack in the ‘The Armenian Weekly’! He passed away in San Diego, CA last month.You can read about his accomplishments in the obit, but you had to know Jack to fully appreciate the wonderful human being that he was.

In my mind, I know that Mom and Jack are together catching up on the good-old days, and that makes me smile.

Rest in Peace, Jack.

The Kalajians in The Armenian Kitchen

(photo credit: Linda Aginian)

In the four years of TheArmenianKitchen’s existence, we have reached 300,000 readers - in 200 countries and territories - who have clicked our pages over 1 million times. That’s a lot of numbers!

When Tom Vartabedian, retired journalist, and columnist for 'The Armenian Weekly', offered to write an updated story of our accomplishments, we were honored.

Doug and I humbly thank Tom, and every one of our readers and contributors who continue to share an interest, and support our goal of preserving the recipes and stories of our ancestors.

Keep on clicking!

Doug and I were invited to dinner at the home of Araksi and Onnik Dinkjian a few weeks ago. Their world-class musician son, Ara, and his daughter, Arev were in town for a brief visit, so this provided us with the perfect opportunity to catch-up on family news.
(Click here to preview some of Ara's incredible music.)

Araksi served a table full of scrumptious mezza items before dinner, including ‘sheel abour’. As we slathered the sheel abour onto pita wedges, Araksi asked if I knew where she had gotten the recipe. I truly had no idea. She said, “I got this recipe at your house from Betty Kabobjian** when we were together for Mandy’s high school graduation party – in 1999.”

It’s interesting to see how recipes make the rounds.

**A little family background: Dick Kabobjian, Betty’s husband, and my dad were cousins, so we’ve known the two of them forever. Betty was always the hostess-with-the-mostess and all around incredible cook. Dick, like all of the other Dikranagerdsi I know, loved to party. Whenever Dick and my dad got together, you’d never know what juicy dialog would pop out of their mouths. Women blushed in their presence – and - everyone had a good belly- laugh.

I digress… back to the recipe.

I posted a similar recipe - ‘Sour Spinach and Rice’ - from the “Assyrian Cookbook”, sent in by John and Pat Nashmy, but didn’t have the Kabobjian version. Arkasi kindly provided me with a copy, which I will now share with you.

Sheel Abour ala Araksi Dinkjian

Sheel Abour

Ingredients:

2 – 10 oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess liquid drained

½ cup rice (short grain works well)

½ cup fine (#1) bulgur

Salt and pepper to taste

2-8 oz. cans tomato sauce

½ cup fresh lemon juice (or more)

2 cups water

2 large onions, finely chopped

½ cup canola oil

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, cook together the spinach, rice, bulgur, salt and pepper, tomato sauce, lemon juice and water - first bringing the liquid to a boil, then reducing the heat to medium-low and covering the pot - until rice and bulgur are soft – about 25 minutes.

2. While the spinach-rice mixture is cooking, heat the oil and sauté the onions until soft but not burned.

3. When the spinach-rice mixture is done, add the sautéed onion.

NOTE: Serve as an appetizer with pita chips or wedges of pita bread, or as a side dish. This can be served hot or cold.

Sarah Barooshian Parisi asked TheArmenianKitchen for a very special, although not quite Armenian, recipe:

“Dear Armenian friend, I live in upstate New York and cook half as well as my grandmother, Shamiram Basmadjian Barooshian. She taught me great things, though, and I make excellent Tourshi, Basterma, Choereg, Sojouk, Dolma, Lule Kebabs and many other wonderful delights. We have limited access to Armenian or Middle Eastern foods, so when I go to visit my family in the Watertown, MA area, I always go to the Armenian grocery stores. Arax’s Market makes their own Makdous, more of a Syrian treat. I wonder if you can drum up a good recipe for it. I’ve tried making it but it doesn’t have the tangy flavor of Arax’s and of course they won’t share the recipe. I’m 400 miles away – what can I do? Please let me know if you have any success. Thank you so much."

Bethany Kehdy's Makdous from www.dirtykitchensecrets.com

Funny she should ask … Doug and I recently stopped for lunch at a little Greek-Middle Eastern eatery in a nearby strip plaza. (Sometimes the best food is found in these tucked-away places.) Lo-and-behold, what did I see in their refrigerated display case? Makdous! I spoke with the owner regarding its preparation, and all he would tell me was that, “it’s a lengthy process”.

So, I did a ‘Google’ search and came up with a few recipe options to send Sarah.

The makdous preparation which really caught my eye came from Bethany Kehdy at Dirty Kitchen Secrets, a Lebanese food blog. Bethany kindly permitted me to link to her recipe and website for all of you to enjoy. Click here to see Bethany’s step-by-step directions for making makdous – and so much more.

Robyn’s note: If you’ll recall, I don’t cook with eggplant or walnuts at home due to Doug’s allergies, so Bethany’s recipe has not been tested in TheArmenianKitchen. However, I can tell just by looking at the the photo that her recipe is a winner!

It’s summertime which, in South Florida means the rainy season – and travel time. Power outages are common during this time of year, and if it stays out for a long period, we certainly don’t want our frozen foods to perish. So, we use up all of our frozen foods down to the last package of ground lamb, and keep plenty of canned goods handy because you just never know.

Our recipe of choice for the last package of frozen ground lamb is losh kebab – an Armenian hamburger which is much like lule kebab except that it’s shaped like a hamburger rather than a sausage. Served with your favorite side dishes, it’s a meal worthy of a celebration, such as the Fourth of July!

Losh kebab with bulgur pilaf, salad, and yogurt sauce

Losh Kebab

Makes 4-5 generous burgers

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 lb. ground lamb

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp. red pepper paste (1 Tbsp. tomato paste and 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper can be substituted)

½ tsp. ground coriander

½ tsp. allspice

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. Aleppo red pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the beaten egg, red pepper (or tomato) paste, and seasonings. Blend well. Set aside.

2. Place meat, onions, parsley, and bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix well. Add the egg mixture to the meat, mixing well until all ingredients are well-blended. (NOTE: If you’re squeamish about handling raw meat and egg, you may want to wear non-powdered, sterile latex, non-latex, or vinyl gloves for this step.)

3. Shape into 4 or 5 good-sized patties.

4. These can be grilled, broiled, or pan-fried to your preferred degree of doneness.

5. Serve with or without your choice of bread and your favorite side dishes.

Optional toppingsfor the losh kebab served in a bun: sliced tomato, onion, lettuce, * yogurt-garlic sauce, etc.

*Yogurt-Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

16 oz. plain yogurt

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Mix well.

2. Chill until ready to serve, allowing flavors to blend. Can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.

NOTE: If you want a thicker sauce, use Greek yogurt or labne - or - line a strainer with cheesecloth or coffee filters. Place the strainer over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the lined strainer and place all in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Discard the excess liquid that collected in the bowl, and place the thickened yogurt in a separate storage container. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

I’m excited to say that our YouTube channel has become pretty popular, even though we haven’t made a cooking video in a while. Folks from all around write comments, and on occasion, make requests.

A YouTube viewer recently asked for the following:

“I don't know what it's called, but my ex. Mother in law would make a yogurt (maybe mint too) soup with balls in it. Inside one of the balls, she'd put an olive for a lucky person to find. What is this soup called and can you make it?”

Here’s the recipe I think they're looking for…

(Image from the gutsygourmet.net)

‘Lucky’ Meatball and Madzoon (Yogurt) Soup

Yield: About 4 to 5 servings

Meatball Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef (or ½ lb. ground beef and ½ lb. lean ground lamb)

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

Cayenne pepper and/or paprika, to taste

1 cup fine bulgur, size #1

1 small onion, minced

1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)

1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped (optional)

1 egg
1 pitted olive, optional (see meatball step #2)

Soup Ingredients:

3 cups plain yogurt

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons dried mint

2 – 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

Meatball Directions:

1. Combine all of the meatball ingredients until well-incorporated. This can be done by hand or in a food processor.

2. Dip hands in a bowl of cold water, then roll meat-bulgur mixture into balls about ¾ inch to one inch in size. (NOTE: At this time, you can place a pitted olive in the center of one of the meatballs. Whoever receives that meatball in the soup at serving time, will be considered lucky.)

3. Cook the meatballs in a pot of boiling water until they float to the surface. Remove meatballs using a slotted spoon and place on paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Soup Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg, and dried mint.

2. Place yogurt mixture in a large pot. Begin cooking on a low heat, stirring constantly to prevent the egg from curdling. Stir in the chicken broth and butter; continue to stir and cook gently for 5 minutes. Do not let mixture come to a boil.

3. Add the meatballs and continue to cook at a low heat for 10 more minutes, stirring now and then.

4. Serve immediately. (Remember, the person who gets the meatball with the olive inside will have good luck!)

Have you had a chance to make our recipe for homemade yogurt? or Sita Jebelian's microwave oven method for making yogurt? No? It doesn't matter. You can still enjoy this simple, refreshing recipe using a good-quality, store-bought variety.

This dessert is satisfying anytime, day or night, throughout the year.

If you're looking for others ways to 'keep cool with madzoon' this summer, click here, and enjoy!

Homemade madzoon topped with chopped fresh cherries, pecans and a honey drizzle

Madzoon (Yogurt) with Honey, Fruit and Nuts

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup plain yogurt, homemade (preferred) or good quality store-bought

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. cinnamon

A drizzle of honey

¼ cup seasonal fruit (fresh berries, cherries, peaches, or dried fruit, such as currants, or apricots)

3 Tbsp. walnuts, pecans or pistachios, chopped

Directions:

1. Mix together yogurt, vanilla, cinnamon and honey. (Note: honey can be drizzled on top before serving.)
2. Chill until ready to serve.

3. Just before serving, gently fold in nuts and fruit- or just sprinkle them on top.

Note: For this recipe I used homemade madzoon, fresh cherries and chopped pecans... Delicious!

Armenians, summertime, and melons go hand-in-hand. Armenia is said to have some of the biggest, sweetest watermelon on the planet.

As an American-born Armenian living in Florida, I can boast that 750 million pounds of watermelon were grown in Florida in 2012, making this state the leading watermelon producer in the U.S. (This bit of trivia comes straight from the U.S. Census Bureau.)

I can’t swear that Florida watermelon tastes better than those grown in Armenia, but what we’ve eaten here so far this season has been pretty darn sweet.

Photo from ericsgourmet.com

Why not kick back on your front porch or back deck with family, friends, and a bowl of refreshing fruit salad? This honey-lemon fruit salad is perfect for summer gatherings– it’s cool, sweet, tangy, and minty – all at the same time. The honey-lemon syrup can be made a day in advance for a quick-to-serve- dessert or snack.
You can use any kind of melon you like, and add fresh seasonal berries for a special touch.

Honey-Lemon Fruit Salad

Yields about 8 servings

Honey Syrup Ingredients:

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan combine the honey, water, lemon juice and zest. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring now and then.

2. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced by half – about 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and cool syrup to room temperature. Set aside until ready to use.

Ingredients for the fruit salad:

1 small seedless watermelon (or about 5 cups-worth) , cut into bite-sized cubes

1 large cantaloupe, honeydew or a combination of the two, seeds removed, and cut into bite-sized cubes
1 cup seasonal berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)

Optional Garnishes: chopped nuts of your choice, chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the various melon cubes and berries. Drizzle the honey-lemon syrup on the fruit; gently toss to coat.

2. Place fruit in individual serving bowls. Garnish with chopped nuts of your choice, and chopped fresh mint leaves, if desired.

Our family is happy to announce the start of a new generation! Our nephew and his wife had a darling baby boy recently, and we just returned from attending his christening.

Being strong on tradition, my sister and I prepared a recipe that’s always been served at family christenings … hassa. I’ve written about – and posted – this recipe before but did not have a recipe photo to attach.

Sis and I worked as a long-distance team to prepare the hassa. I provided the powdered chick peas and spices (from FL), and my sister got the candied ingredients from her favorite Middle Eastern store in NJ. Once we got together, we combined our ingredients to create the final product.

Hassa

Hassa

Ingredients:

1 lb. unsalted chick peas, roasted and ground into a powder*

1/3 lb. candy-covered chick peas (set some aside for decoration) *

1/3 lb. candy-covered almonds (set some aside for decoration) *

1/4 lb. candy-covered fennel or anise seeds *

Candy-covered ingredients

dash nutmeg

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground anise seed

½ tsp. ground fennel seed

dash ground cardamom*

½ cup powdered sugar

* The starred ingredients can be found in most Middle Eastern grocery stores.

Directions:

Grinding chick peas into a powder

1. Ground chick peas in a blender or food processor. Sift and re-grind any coarse pieces until powdery. Place in a large bowl.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the powdered chick peas, and mix thoroughly.

Sifting and regrinding chick peas

3. Top with candies that were set aside for decoration.

NOTE: Spices can be adjusted according to your taste preference.

When asked what the significance was of “Agra Hadig”, I scoured my resources. A vague recipe, and very little information was all I found.

Doug and I had never done ‘agra hadig’ with our daughter, nor do I recall my sister doing this with her children. I seriously doubt that this tradition was done with my siblings and me, either – at least I never heard mention of it. I do know that “agra” means teeth, and “hadig” is a grain dish, but that’s about it.

Modern technology to the rescue …

I discovered a wealth of information about agra hadig from The Library of Congress, CA, with a submission by Jim Rogan, Representative (27th District).

Here’s what is written:

“Armenian First Tooth"

"The centuries-old Armenian tradition agra hadig is celebrated worldwide by Armenians, no matter where they live -- Armenia, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, or the U.S. Agra means "tooth," and hadig refers to a traditionally cooked wheat dish eaten on this occasion. The agra hadig celebrates the appearance of the baby's first tooth. The mother props the infant up on a table or on the floor and places five objects in front of the child; the first object the baby selects predicts his or her future occupation. Before the child makes the selection, its head is covered using a veil or a scarf, onto which some hadig is sprinkled to signify a wish for fruitfulness.

If the child picks up a book or a Bible, s/he will be a scholar, teacher, or clergyperson; if the child chooses money, s/he will become a banker, financier or wealthy person; if the baby selects a hammer, s/he will be in the building trades; a knife symbolizes a doctor a surgeon; and scissors foretell a life as a seamstress or tailor. In afternoon celebrations, only females attend and only sweet foods are served. When the party is held in the evening, males also attend, and a full Armenian buffet dinner is served. Although merriment prevails, underlying the gaiety is a genuine concern for the future well-being of the child, its social status and its economic prosperity. While the first tooth sets the timing for this divinatory event among Armenians, in other cultures, it frequently occurs when the child is one year old. Storytelling is an integral part of "first tooth" celebrations, and gifts are brought for the baby.”

Thank you, Library of Congress, and Jim Rogan!

What prompted me to write about agra hadig now, is that we witnessed this event the day after our great-nephew’s christening to celebrate his emerging teeth. For the record, our little one selected a book – a very scholarly choice, indeed!

The following recipe was prepared by our niece-in-law (the baby’s mother), and her mother.

Agra Hadig

Agra Hadig

Ingredients:

2 cups wheat pelted** (wheat berries, quinoa, or large couscous may be substituted)

Wheat Pelted

(Pelted wheat can be found in Middle Eastern grocery stores)
4 cups water (more if needed)

1 cinnamon stick (NOTE: 2 tsp. ground cinnamon may be stirred into the cooked wheat if a cinnamon stick is unavailable)

4 Tbsp. brown sugar, or to taste

About 1 c. assorted chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, etc.)

Any of the following:

Raisins, chopped dried apricots, pomegranate arils, dried cranberries, etc.

NOTE: Reserve some of the chopped nuts and fruit to sprinkle on top as garnish.

**NOTE: Wheat pelted or pelted wheat is wheat kernels that have been cleaned, pearled and polished.

Directions:

1. Rinse the pelted wheat and place in a medium to large heavy pot. Add 4 cups water, one 3-inch cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil. Cover pot; reduce heat and simmer on medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed – about 40 minutes. If wheat is too firm after 40 minutes, add some hot water and continue cooking until wheat is tender. Discard cinnamon stick.

(Note: if using another type of grain, follow package directions for cooking.)

2. Strain wheat through a colander. Place in a bowl, cool, cover and refrigerate until serving time.

3. Just before serving stir in the 4 Tbsp. brown sugar, most of the nuts and fruit pieces.

4. Arrange wheat mixture on a serving platter. Sprinkle the remaining chopped nuts and fruits on top as a garnish.

Some of you might know of C.K.Garabed through his column in the Armenian Weekly, 'from Uncle Garabed's Notebook'.
Others know him as a man of many talents. In fact, there is a host of information about him on www.armeniapedia.org - his biography sheds light on his numerous gifts.

“Biography: C. K. Garabed, Actor, Aphorist, Archivist, Chef,Columnist, Commentator, Composer, Critic, Editor, Essayist, Folk Dancer, Inventor, Lecturer, Lexicographer, Painter, Photographer, Playwright, Poet, Political cartoonist, Record Producer, Stand-up Comedian, Vocalist.” (Notice the word 'chef' in bold, red print!)

A project of C.K.'s (currently in progress) is a cookbook, ‘The Dikranagerd Mystique Armenian Cookbook’, which is dedicated to the unique recipes from the region of Dikranagerd.

Being one-half Dikranagerdtsi myself, this speaks to my heart.

C.K. and his daughter, Lucine, have sent me some of their family favorite recipes to share with you. I’ll be posting them in spurts, so be on the look-out for a few of their Dikranagerdtsi specialties.

Today I'm offering you two of his recipes - chormis - dried, ground lamb, and jenjig, a chormis, kavourma, and egg stew. There’s a BIG catch: in order to prepare this, you must already have chormis and kavourma on hand. You can purchase a ready-made chormis in most Middle Eastern stores, but kavourma, well, that’s something that must be made at home. Check out Onnik Dinjkian’s recipe for kavourma. (Did I mention that Onnik and C.K. are close, long-time friends?)

Lucky for us, C.K. also sent me his Chormis recipe, just in case you are daring enough to try it. Please note, it isn't quite chormis-making season, although I understand some folks make it year-round and dry it out in the refrigerator.

Chormis or Chormees (literal meaning: dried meat)

Chormis (Dried Ground Lamb)
Recipe from C.K. Garabed

(Best made around Thanksgiving Day. If possible, purchase leg or shoulder of lamb, and bone and cut into pieces to grind. Use an old hand-cranked meat grinder that has interchangeable grinders, and use the 3 pronged grinder to get kernels of meat.)

Ingredients:

5 lbs. Ground lamb

2 tbsp. Ground cumin

4 tsp. Ground coriander seed

4 tsp. Ground allspice

2 tbsp. Salt

1 tsp. Ground hot red pepper

2 tbsp. Ground black pepper

12 cloves crushed garlic

5 muslin bags (6” x 12” w/opening at one end)

Directions:

Add spices to meat and knead thoroughly. Then add crushed garlic and knead again.

Place mixture in bags and press the meat to fill the closed end. Leave two inches at open end to roll with a dowel and tie the ends with string or rubber bands. Take another piece of string and make loops at the ends and slip them over the ends of the dowel. Then hang in a cold outside area. (Space between screen and glass of sliding patio doors is ideal, as it will protect the chormis from animals.)

Meat will dry in two weeks of cold weather. It can continue to be left outdoors so long as the temperature is not freezing. Otherwise it should be stored in a refrigerator.

When cured, chormis can be pan-fried and eaten as an appetizer or with fried eggs, or it can be mixed with other ingredients for various recipes.

And now for Jenjig:


Bowl on left: Chormis; Bowl on right: Kavourma	(Photos courtesy of Lucine Kasbarian)

C.K.'s Jenjig     (A chormis, kavourma, and egg stew)
    Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients:

2 cups (1 lb.) kavourma

8 slices chormis**, diced

4 eggs, beaten

½ cup lemon juice (Note from C.K.: Don't spare the lemon juice)

4 cups water

1 loaf hard crust Armenian flat bread
Directions:

Place kavourma and chormis in stockpot.

Cover with water, and cook over flame until boiling.

Add beaten eggs and lemon juice, and let simmer until eggs are hard.

Dunk bread slices in broth.

A few more notes from C.K.:

**If one is pressed for time, one can use the soujoukh available in Armenian food stores, in lieu of chormis.

This recipe can be modified to suit your own taste.

While we’re on the subject of chormis and kavourma, here’s another one of C.K. Garabed’s Dikranagerdtsi recipes, choulama – an omelet featuring those two distinctively delicious meats.

(Photos courtesy of Lucine Kasbarian)

Choulama (omelet)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 tbs. kavourma

4 slices chormis, diced

8 eggs, beaten

4 tbs. Vinegar

4 tbs. Vegetable oil

Step #1: Chormis, left; kavourma, right

1. Mix kavourma and chormis with eggs in a bowl.

2. Heat vegetable oil in frying pan over flame.

Step #3

3. Ladle small portions of mixture into frying pan.

4. Turn over omelets to cook on both sides.

5. Place in dish and pour drops of vinegar on omelets.

Choulama ready to serve!

(Image from news.am)

We're devoting April 24th to the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, with sincere hopes and prayers for a more peaceful world in the years to come.

Erica Vendetti, a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Armenia, was introduced to a delicious crepe entrée by her host mother. Now that she’s living on her own in Armenia, Erica wishes to recreate the dish she referred to as ‘blinshiek’. She contacted The Armenian Kitchen for help.

Erica said her host mother never used specific measurements, but rather, cooked by ‘feel’. The dish was described as a meat-filled crepe that’s rolled up and then fried again in a pan, and that it’s usually made for ‘Nur Tari’ (New Year).

My Armenian cookbooks revealed no such recipe, but the internet did. I found a recipe for meat-stuffed crepes – or –blinchiki, a dish of Russian origin. This didn’t come as a surprise to me. Since Armenia was once part of the Soviet Republic, some of their recipes may well have ended up in Armenian kitchens – including blinchiki.

Erica was delighted when I mentioned this to her; she commented, “Funny, every Armenian I've met in Armenia says it’s "haykakan" food. I'm not surprised if it has Russian origins. A lot of the words people in Armenia use are also Russian because they no longer use the Armenian word—it’s an interesting blend of cultures here!”

Erica then offered her thoughts on the crepe batter and a suggestion for the meat filling:

“I know here (in Armenia) Jermuk - the carbonated water - is used.

From what I could tell, the crepe batter was made with about 1 cup carbonated water, 1 liter milk, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons oil, 3cups flour and 3 eggs.

Of course, there's always cilantro in the meat for seasoning.”

My suggestion for a more Armenian-style ‘Meat - Stuffed Blinchiki’ would be this:

Prepare your favorite (non-sweet) crepe recipe, or purchase ready-made ones from your grocer. Fill each with one or two tablespoons of kufteh meechoog – again, your own recipe or my recipe below. Fold the sides and roll the end up to create an envelope.

Heat a lightly greased skillet over medium heat. Cook the stuffed crepe until light brown on both sides. Place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess grease. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of plain, thick yogurt.

Kufteh Meechoog

Robyn's Kufteh Meechoog

Ingredients:

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. ground lamb, beef, or turkey

salt and pepper to taste

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, washed and finely chopped (or in this case fresh cilantro)

ground coriander, allspice, black pepper, paprika to taste

1/4 cup to 1/3 cup pine nuts

Directions:

1. In a skillet, melt the butter, then add olive oil to heat. Add chopped onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft - about 10 to 15 minutes.

2. In a separate skillet, cook the ground meat until it is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add meat to the skillet with the onions. Stir in the remaining seasonings, parsley, and pine nuts. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

St. David Armenian Church, Boca Raton, FL

This week my parish at St. David Armenian Church, Boca Raton, FL is hosting the annual Clergy Conference and the 111th Diocesan Assembly. In light of this massive endeavor, my postings will be placed on hold as I will be participating in numerous functions in one way or another.

Thanks for understanding, and please stay tuned…

For Memorial Day - Pork Kebab

Penerli (Fried Cheese Boreg – or Armenian Fried Ravioli)

Deviled Eggs

AGAHAMAGH (Dried Eggplant Salad) - from Sonia Tashjian's new cookbook

Food in the News: Chickpeas

Jack Hachigian - Farewell to a Family Friend

Over 1 Million Pageviews, and Counting…

Sheel Abour - how recipes make the rounds

A request for Makdous – Preserved Stuffed Baby Eggplant

Losh Kebab – Jazzed-up Armenian Hamburgers for an American Holiday

‘LUCKY’ MEATBALL AND MADZOON (Yogurt) SOUP

A Simple, Refreshing, Anytime (Madzoon, aka Yogurt) Dessert

Honey-Lemon Fruit Salad

Hassa – Our Family's Recipe for Christenings

Agra Hadig, another Armenian Tradition

C.K. Garabed shares some of his Dikranagerdtsi recipes

Another C.K. Garabed recipe featuring Chormis and Kavourma

In Remembrance...

Meat-filled Crepes

111th Diocesan Assembly, Boca Raton, FL