Foods Glossary of Armenia

GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS

Abour: soup.

Anoush: jams, or sweet preserves of fruits or vegetables.

Asma-Yaprak Dolma: a chilled dish of grape leaves stuffed with seasoned rice, cooked and flavored with olive oil, browned onions, and allspice.

Baklava or Paklava: many-layered with tissue-thin sheets of phyllo dough, this pastry is filled with nuts and sugar and finished with a dousing of hot spiced syrup.

Baluck Plaid: fish that is baked with a sauce of garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, and lemon.

Bami: okra.

Basterma: an Armenian favorite of salted dried beef, flavored with fenugreek then brined and dried again. Used all year but especially in winter dishes, or as an appetizer.

Bulgur or Burgul: wholegrain wheat cereal that has been boiled, dried, and cracked, and may be purchased as fine, medium, or wholegrain particle sizes.

Choerek: small, sweet rolls of yeast dough, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Dolmas: generally refers to stuffed rolled grape leaves, but term may be used to refer to any stuffed baked vegetables.

Echmiadzinskaya Dolma: a dish of mixed stuffed vegetables, e.g., green and yellow pepper, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant.

Feta: firm crumbly cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk, packed in brine, somewhat strong and tart in flavor. A favored cheese of Mediterranean as well as Armenian peoples.

Hariseh: traditional dish of broth-cooked Bulgur combined with shreds of chicken and beaten to an almost-smooth consistency.

Havabour: festive soup or chicken broth and rice flavored with beaten eggs and lemon juice, similar to Greek Avgolemono.

Iksir: homemade cherry brandy, often served with cheese.

Kchuch: Armenian vegetable stew like the Turkish/Bulgarian Ghouvetch.

Kebab: cooked meat. (Shish Kebab: on a skewer; Tas Kebab: in a pot).

Keshkegh: pilaf of bulgur and minced lamb or chicken flavored with butter, cinnamon, and pep-per, all simmered in rich broth or chicken stock. National Armenian dish.

Keyma Koufta: meatballs made from well-seasoned, finely ground raw beef and fine bulgur.

Kharpout Koufta: cooked meatballs made with ground seasoned beef or lamb, bulgur, onions, and tomato sauce.

Kimionlou Shish Kebab: cubed meat (beef or lamb) marinated in olive oil and cumin seed, then grilled over an open fire on skewers and served on Pideh.

Koufta or Kufta: meatballs.

Lavash: thin, bubbled Armenian bread made from unleavened thin sheets of wheat flour dough, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Leban: soured or cultured milk. Matsun: yogurt.

Mezaa: appetizers, or those nibbles of food taken with drinks.

Nohond Basti: puree of well-cooked chickpeas flavored with small amounts of meat, stock, and onions.

Pacha Terbiehli: slow-simmered stew of beef or lamb cooked in their own juices, flavored with garlic, vinegar, and hot peppers.

Patlijan Moussaka: a casserole baked in the oven or on stove top, made of layers of fried eggplant, ground beef or lamb, and tomatoes.

Pideh or Peda: crispy-crusted white-wheat-flour bread leavened with yeast, shaped in rounds or long loaves, finished with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Prassa Basdi: a dish of sliced leeks cooked with beef or lamb, garnished with an egg-lemon sauce (Avgolemono).

Printz Abour: bland soup made with rice and flavored with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Raki: clear, anise-flavored brandy, taken as an aperitif.

Saffron Pilaf: pilaf of rice flavored with rosewater and saffron, a specialty at weddings.

Simit: a dessert cookie of twisted spirals of sweet dough sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Soorj: unsweetened coffee.

Sumpoog Letzvadz: eggplant stuffed with ground beef or lamb, bread crumbs, oil, garlic, and beaten eggs. This baked dish may be served hot or cold.

Tchorba: soup, usually refers to broths.

Tell Khadayif: a sweet dessert of finely shredded crisp wheat sprinkled with nuts and coated with syrup.

Tureli Ghuvedge: slow-simmered stew of mixed vegetables and meats flavored with tomatoes, salt, pepper, and mint.

Tushi: pickled vegetables.

Vousp Abour: thick soup of lentils, flavored with lemon.