Armenian cuisine is one of the oldest in Transcaucasia. Ancient culinary traditions have been carefully preserved among the people for centuries and have come down to us almost in their original form. And the dishes themselves cause a lively interest among gourmets and ordinary connoisseurs of tasty and healthy food. You can be convinced of this by the example of such a wonderful and beloved dish as kebab.
Product feature
What is a barbecue in Armenian? First of all, these are selected varieties of lamb meat, less often pork. Secondly, spices and spices are required to give the dish a special aroma. This includes basil, cilantro, pepper, cloves. Often, meat, in order to make a real barbecue in Armenian, is pickled not only in vinegar or wine, but in pomegranate juice, cognac or kefir. And, of course, dishes have their own special methods of heat treatment. Much attention is paid to the size of each piece of meat. Traditionally, barbecue in Armenian style is fried from billets weighing 30 g. Therefore, about 125-130 g of the main product is consumed per serving of the dish. In many regions of Armenia, meat is baked with onions, eggplant and tomatoes. Thanks to vegetables, it becomes especially juicy and acquires a unique flavoring bouquet. Shish kebab in Armenian is served, according to ancient culinary etiquette, on pita bread, with a lot of fresh parsley and dill, gathered in small bunches.
One of the old recipes
To prepare a truly Armenian kebab, the recipe that came to us from centuries ago requires 2 kg of pork belly or neck, 1 kg of onion, 1 fruit of still not quite ripe pomegranate and to the taste of salt, red pepper, basil, parsley, cilantro. And be sure to cakes of thin pita bread. First, pickle the meat. To do this, cut it into portions, thoroughly salt and pepper each, and put it in a high enameled pan. Cut the onion rings, add to the meat, mix gently. Cover the pot and place in a cool place for 8-12 hours. Squeeze the juice from the pomegranate and pour them a special Armenian kebab of pork about half an hour before you start frying it. Fry the meat strung on skewers until cooked, turning over as needed. Separately cut the greens - onion feathers, parsley, dill, cilantro stems. Remove the prepared meat from skewers, mix with herbs, wrap in pita bread and serve.
Sevan Recipe
You will get amazingly delicious real Armenian kebab if you make it based on the recommendations of this recipe. The main highlight of the dish is that the meat is pickled in sour milk (yogurt or kefir). And since kefir is literally absorbed by almost 90% in an hour, the kebab itself is also absorbed faster. So, take 1 kg of lean mutton meat. For juiciness, add 150 g of bacon. In addition, you need 4 onion heads, 4-5 cloves of garlic, half a liter of kefir. And to taste salt and hot pepper. Cut the meat in portions, chop the onions and garlic into cubes, mix everything in a deep saucepan and pour in the kefir. Add salt and ground black pepper to the marinade. Place the pot for 10 hours in a cool place. Then take out the pieces of meat, pat them with napkins and string them on skewers mixed with thin plates of bacon. Fry until cooked on smoldering charcoal. Sprinkle with chopped herbs before serving, and for each skewer, serve a small bunch of parsley.
Karsky meat
Another traditional Armenian dish will be on your table and will pleasantly surprise guests if you cook an original kebab called “Karski” or “Middle Eastern”. The meat for him requires only lamb removed from the lumbar of the carcass. It should be freed from cores and films. It is cut for shish kebab in large pieces of approximately the same size and round shape. Therefore, for one batch of food you will need at least 2 kg of lamb. Meat should alternate on skewers with bacon, always fat tail. It is needed from 500 g. Well, the marinade in this recipe (compared to other Transcaucasian types of barbecue) is also peculiar. For him, through a meat grinder, scroll 10-12 medium onions. Prepare fresh lemon zest, chop the flesh and peel (seedless). Combine both components, pour 50 g of cognac and 2 tablespoons of vinegar, preferably grape. Pour 3 teaspoons of salt, one of ground allspice, and two tablespoons of chopped green basil, cilantro, and dill, as well as a little chopped cloves. Mix well.
Cooking skewers
Place prepared meat and lard in an enameled bowl. Pour the marinade and let stand for 8 hours. Cut ripe, firm tomatoes into mugs 5-6 cm thick. String pickled meat on skewers, alternating with lard and tomatoes. Fry the kebab until cooked, pour marinade every time before turning. Serve by sprinkling the skewer with herbs and wrapping in pita bread. Separately, fry the slices of eggplant soaked in vinegar and cover them with the served meat.