Cuisine of Armenia
According to Handbagpicks, Armenian cuisine is an independent attraction of the country. One of the oldest in the world, it still preserves the centuries-old traditions of the Armenian people, deservedly considered one of the most original culinary traditions of the planet. Armenian cuisine is greens (a lot of greens!), cheeses, vegetables, meat and, of course, lavash! Hundreds of types of herbs that any Armenian housewife with rare art uses for cooking are simply considered weeds in the rest of the world. And here, without them, neither an appetizer, nor cheese, nor a meat dish is inconceivable. And at the same time, the recipe is at first glance extremely simple – the products are minimally processed, vegetable oils are practically not used, and, of course, ready meals are accompanied by a huge amount of herbs and seasonings.
From time immemorial, sour-milk “matsun” has been eaten here. and its version diluted with cold water – “tan”, all kinds of salted vegetables and herbs, twisted cheese “chechil” and soft cheese “zhazhik” with herbs and green garlic, all kinds of salads using legumes, all kinds of herbs and meat products, pilaf “plav “, as well as a wide variety of garlic seasonings. Meat dishes are especially respected – shish kebab from large pieces of meat “khorovats” (“karsi” – cooked on the grill, “khazani” – in a saucepan), shish kebab from beef and fat tail fat “iki-bir”, meat balls from beaten in a special way and boiled meat – “kufta”, round meatballs in the broth “kokolik”, the famous “tolma” and its lean version – “pasuts tolma”, the thinnest strips of boiled beef “baskyrtat”, porridge-like mass of chicken meat and wheat “arisa”, boiled lamb with peas and greens “bozbash”, “putuk”, “basturma”, fried chicken with eggplant and matsun “borani”, meat “sujukh”, absolutely unimaginable assorted liver and vegetables “tisvzhik”, “kchuch” from lamb, “pastynery”, “amich”, various pilafs – with pomegranate (“nrov plav”), with smoked fish (“plav aphtats dzkov”) or dried fruits (“chrov plav”) and etc. One of the “most Armenian” dishes is the Sevan trout “ishkhan khorovats” fried on a spit. Also good are “kutan”, “fish kchuch” and “ishkhan in wine”.
Preliminary preparation of meat is complex and multi-stage, therefore, all Armenian meat dishes have a completely unique taste. An important place on the table is occupied by soups – beef tail stew “poch”, matsyun soup “spas”, the famous soup “khash”, beef soup with dried apricots “yayni”, chicken soup “tarkhana”, rice soup with onions “chulumbur apur “, mushroom soup with rice “sunki apur”, dried apricot soup “anushapur”, cereal soups “vospnapur” and “khrchik”, fruit soups “anushapur”, “chirapur”, etc. Boiled meat, greens and indispensable pita. Armenian cuisine simply does not exist without lavash. This thin unleavened bread is still baked according to the ancient technology in clay tonir ovens. Also constantly on the table is oval or round bread “matnakash” and small durum cheese sandwiches. Local sweets and confectionery products are good – a traditional wide flatbread made of puff pastry stuffed with “gata” (kyata), “nazuk”, “yugatert”, cookies “nshablit”, “bagarj”, “shpot”, “sharots”, candied apricots ” shalakh”, dried apricots and figs, homemade halva, peaches stuffed with various nuts, sweet “sujukh”, numerous types of cookies with nuts and fruit jams, pies and various jams.
The national drink of the country is cognac. Cognac production in Armenia was founded just over a hundred years ago, but in such an insignificant period of time the country has gained a well-deserved reputation as one of the best producers of this drink. Armenian cognac is produced from selected grape varieties – “Mekhali”, ” which is produced both industrially and artisanally (in almost every yard) is considered a healing drink, which also has a great taste. Of the non-alcoholic drinks, without a doubt, the most famous is “tarragon” (not at all what you can buy in a plastic bottle). The country’s excellent mineral waters and fruit juices are also very popular. Coffee and tea – on every corner and excellent quality.
Armenia: Money and currency of Armenia
Money, CURRENCY AMD (international designation – AMD), equal to 100 lums. There are banknotes in circulation in denominations of 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5,000, 20,000 and 50,000 drams, as well as coins of 1, 3, 5 and 10 drams (rarely used).
