Traditional Armenian food – 37 Armenian dishes you must try

New to Armenian food? Start with three dishes and you’ll have the essentials covered: lavash, the flatbread that anchors nearly every meal; dolma, grape leaves stuffed with rice, meat, and herbs; and khorovats, Armenia’s answer to the kebab, marinated meat grilled over charcoal. From there, branch into the sweeter side with gata or baklava, and finish the way Armenians do — with a small, strong cup of soorj and a slower conversation than you’d planned on.

Armenia may not be on every travelers list to visit and it should be as one of those off the beaten path traveler experiences it can’t be beaten. Armenia straddles the divide between Europe and Asia and the food of Armenia does the same combining influences and blending of both Oriental and Western civilizations over the course of centuries.

Armenia lies just south of the Caucasus Mountains and is bordered by Georgia and Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran. Armenia was the first country to officially adopt Christianity and all throughout this gorgeous country you will find some of the world’s oldest churches and monasteries.

Talking about the food of Armenia I have to mention that Armenia is also one of the oldest wine producing countries in the world. Located on the fertile valleys of Mount Ararat where some of the finest grapes are grown the wines of Armenia are superb.

Some of the most famous Armenians around the world include the glorious Cher, the Kardashians, Garry Kasparov and the musical treasure System of a Down.

Armenian cuisine is rich with vegetables, grains and seasonings. The staple flat bread lavash is known worldwide and has become a foodie favourite.

Eating is a huge part of Armenian culture and there is always an excuse for a festival including a great Armenian food feast. Many of these dishes will be familiar to you for example dolma, kebabs,and tabbouleh but the Armenians put their own twists and flavours into these essential dishes.

I’ve put together some of the best dishes you need to try once in Armenia.

Armenian Bread

Lavash

Lavash is a soft thin flatbread that in a way resembles a Mexican tortilla although it is usually shaped in a rectangle. Lavash is considered the king of Armenian breads and it is the national bread of Armenia.

Matnakash

Matnakash is another traditional Armenian bread that uses wheat flour and a leavening agent. The dough is shaped into rounds or ovals with deep central ridges created by pulling a finger through the raw dough. The crust is brushed with a sweet tea before baking.

Tahinov Hatz (Armenian Tahini Bread)

A   crispy and sweet bread also called Khobz bi–tahini, sesame paste bread, or tahini roll. A sweet treat this bread is covered with sesame paste, sugar, and sometimes layered with cinnamon.

Zhengyalov hats

This literally means a flatbread stuffed with a variety of herbs. The herbs are layered onto a thin dough and then it is baked in a special pan. According to which baker you listen to the bread must be layered with 7, 8, 9, 20 or 27 fresh herbs each one has their own secret herb mixture.

Armenian dishes

Dolma

Dolma are found all over Europe and the Armenian dish is very similar. Minced meat is mixed with rice and various herbs then wrapped tightly in fresh grape leaves. In Armenia dolma are usually served with a yoghurt made from fermented milk and mixed with garlic.

Pasus Tolma – Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Tolma are the cabbage leaf version of Dolmas where the stuffing includes lentils, chickpeas, red beans and bulgur mixed with tomato paste and seasonings.

Harissa

Armenian Harissa is not the same as the spice paste you may know. In Armenia harissa is a sort of porridge that combines meat and what that is cooked for many hours. Harissa is considered the National Dish of Armenia.

Manti

Manti here in Armenia is the same as Manti served in Turkey. The dumplings are filled with beef or lamb along with finely chopped onion and parsley and it is served with garlic youghurt or tomato sauce.

These little pillows of flavour are actually roasted and then covered in a red pepper and tomato sauce which is then baked so that the sauce becomes absorbed into the dumplings. Manti is served with the traditional Armenian dip of yogurt and garlic.

Lahmacun/Lahmajun/ Lamadjo

Lahmajun is one of Armenia’s favourite dishes. It is a sort of pizza with a round bread base topped with minced beef, onions, garlic and peeled tomatoes. It is oven baked and then served with fresh mint leaves and a squeeze of lemon.

Ailazan

Ailazan is an ancient dish of Armenian cuisine which dates back to the 19th century. Traditionally it is cooked in a special oven called Tondir. Ailazan is a vegetable stew prepared from potatoes, aubergines, bell pepper, green beans, and tomatoes. Vegetables should be laid in layers in a cauldron and stewed for an hour.

Khorovats

The word khorovats means grilled meats or barbecue sort of the Armenian version of kebabs. Pork is the usual meat used and it is marinated in salt, garlic, onion and pepper with some herbs added. The meat is then skewered and grilled over charcoal in the tondir.

Shashlik and Kebabs

Armenian lamb kebabs are marinated with onion, thyme and basil and then grilled on skewers over hot coals.

Kyufta

A minced meat dish that is lightly spiced and mixed with crushed wheat and onions however, they are not grilled but cooked in a chicken broth that is flavoured with brown sugar and pomegranate molasses.

Vospov Kofte

This is an Armenian Lentil Kofte with the kofte patty made from red lentils and bulgur. The cooked lentils and wheat are mixed with onions, butter and salt and fried then served with a salad and sprinkled with cumin.

Lule Kebab

Is a traditional Armenian dish of skewered minced meat kebab. It is made with different types of meat like beef, lamb, or mutton ground with onions, herbs, spices, and seasonings. The meat is shaped into a sort of flat sausage around a skewer and then grilled on a mangal.

The kebabs are then wrapped with a lavash and various vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, roasted peppers are added along with a sprinkling of sumac.

Cig Kofte/Chikofte

Often called the ‘Armenian steak tartare’ these meatballs are made of ground lamb, goat or beef mixed with bulgur, spices, tomato or pepper paste and onions. The meatballs when cooked are topped with olive oil and lemon and served with chopped tomato. onion, cucumber and peppers.

Yershig

Yershig is a dry fermented sausage that is pretty spicy and salty. Made with ground meat which is usually lamb or beef and a ton of spices and seasonings. When dried it is quite hard so it is fried in its own fat or combined with stews and soups.

Basturma

Basturma is an air-dried, smoked beef rather like Jerky in America. The salted meat is dried for 15 days and then covered in a spicy paste of cumin, hot paprika, pepper, fenugreek, allspice, salt and garlic. The Basturma can be eaten raw or cooked and is often used like pastrami in sandwiches.

Khash

Khash is a soup that is used to soothe the head and stomach after say a heavy drinking sessions. The soup is made from offal and other parts of the sheep.

The name Khash comes from the Armenian Khashel which means to boil. The soup is served with dried lavash crumbled into it and often served for breakfast. It is served along with condiments like radish, garlic, lemon, cinnamon and vinegar.

Byorek/Burek/ Dabgadz Banir Boerag

Often served as an appetizer or in an Armenian meze platter byoreks are heavenly hand pies of beautifully crisp and flaky phyllo dough stuffed with cheese, herbs and spinach. The filling is bound with eggs and then wrapped in the delicate phyllo pastry.

Boreks, bureks or borags, beregs, boregs, boeregs, are found throughout the ancient Ottoman empire countries including as Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, and Serbia.

Chechil Armenian Cheese

is an all-natural smoked, braided, string-cheese snack handmade from pasteurized cow milk the perfect snack to go with your beer.

Pomegranates

Armenians love there fruits and the Pomegranate is indigenous to the Armenian highlands and considered the countries symbol. They represent abundance, fertility and marriage.

Armenians love pomegranate juice and the sweet fermented pomegranate wine.

Dried Fruit

Many Armenian markets and shops display dozens of dried fruits. You will see apricots, sour cherries, sumac berries and black plums and these are often use to add a sour note to puddings, cakes, and soups.

T’tu Lavash

T’tu lavash is an Armenian fruit leather and popular in many countries such as Georgia tklapi, Turkey pestil, Iran lavashak and the Arabic countries where it is known as amerdeen.

The fruit is dried in the sun and then rolled into thin leather like sheets. The best one in Armenia is the Apricot T’tu lavash because the Armenian apricolt is the national symbol of the country.

Matsun

Matsun is an ancient Armenian food like a yogurt it is a fermented cow’s milk yogurt. A very important component of Armenian cuisine it can be eaten with Lavash or added as an ingredient into other dishes.

Matsun can also be dried and it then becomes Kamats matsun which is created when the yogurt is strained and dried to preserve it.

Eetch

Eetch is very much like tabbouleh and is made from pureed tomatoes, bulgur, onion, paprika, bell peppers and parsley.

Mshosh

Mshoh is a traditional Armenian salad prepared from brown lentils, dried apricots, walnuts and onion cooked together. Mshosh is served as a salad or snack hot or cold.

Topik

Topik is a favourite Armenian dish and it is a dumpling made from chickpea flour or ground chickpeas mixed with potatoes and white flour rolled into little balls with onions, pine nuts, herbs, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and tahini. The dumplings are boiled and served cold.

Tjvjik/Tzhvzhik

An Armenian dish of fried liver and onions.

Armenian Eggplant

A simple side dish that is considered a salad in Armenia the eggplant is sliced and fired. When cooked the dish is covered in sour cream/yogurt, grated garlic and chopped walnuts. The slices are then garnished with chopped dill and pomegranate seeds.

Ishkhan

The most famous Armenian fish dish is Ishkhan or Sevan trout. This is a freshwater trout that Armenians love. Ishkan translates as Prince and this fish is considered to be among the best in the country.

Kololik

Kololik is an Armenian meatball soup, with the meatballs made from ground lamb mixed with rice, onions, parsley and seasonings. The broth of the soup if usually beef and has onions, tarragon, potatoes and rice in it.

Kchuch

Kchuch is a rich meat and vegetable stew made with lamb and vegetables that may include potatoes, onions, peppers and eggplant. A truly authentic Armenian cuisine dish it is finished with a dash of Armenian wine.

Ghapama

Ghapama is a pumpkin that is stuffed with rice, dried fruits, sugar, cinnamon sugar or honey and nuts and baked until soft. It is usually served on New Years Eve or Armenian Christmas on January 6th.

Fasulya / Lobahashu Bean Soup

Fasulya/lobahashu is a dried bean soup, made from kidney beans that have been cooked and mashed with tomatoes and peppers. The mixture is then seasoned with herbs, garlic, walnuts and spices.

Armenian Rice Pilaf

Rice Pilafs are known throughout the world and the Armenian version is a combination of rice, vermicelli noodles (sometimes orzo or bulgur) cooked in stock seasoned with a variety of spices like mint, parsley, oregano, and allspice.

Armenian desserts

Sujuk

The main ingredients in Sujuk are grape, apricot, pomegranate, and flour which is mixed with hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts and occasionally chocolate and raisins are involved. The mixture is thickend around a string and then dipped in grape juice and dried.

Gata

This is a sweet bread made from a dough of flour, eggs, butter, baking soda, baking powder, and sour cream or heavy cream. The dough is rolled with sugar and butter to create a light fluffy pastry enjoyed by Armenians as a snack or dessert.

Baklava/ Pakhlava

Just like the Middle Eastern desert Armenian baklava is also made of layers of phyllo pastry filled with nuts and then drenched in a sweet syrup or honey.

Nazook

A brilliant cookie/coffee cake sweet, light flakey pastry layered with a streusel or walnut filling very similar to Gata.One of the Armenian favorites with coffee or tea is this cookie-coffee cake. Sweet pastry with many shapes, with butter, crispy sweet, rolled inside streusel or walnut filling.

Chorek

Usually made to celebrate Easter Chorek is a soft sweet bread enriched with eggs, butter, milk, and sugar along with Mahlab to make it slightly sweet, rich, and tender-crumbed.

Mahleb is a spice made from the seeds of a species of small wild cherry that is ground and used in many middle eastern dishes particularly a lamb tagine. But mahleb is dominantly used in sweet dishes. The flavour a combination of cherry, rose and almond but it does have a bitter aftertaste. In baking it adds that certain flavour that no-one can identify.

Mikado Cake

Nope not Japanese but a traditional Armenia dish Mikado cake is a multi-layered chocolate cake with its thin layers held together with a caramel buttercream icing and topped with shaved chocolate.

Armenian drinks

Soorj – Armenian Coffee

Armenian coffee is black and is very, very strong, and it is a normally unfiltered coffee with small serving size. It is normally black coffee making it very strong.

Matsnaprtosh/ okroshka

Matsnaprtosh is a traditional cold Armenian drink that uses matsun combined with cucumbers and dill with salt and other herbs that is diluted with water and served in a glass.

The dish can also be turned into a cold soup to which is added boiled potatoes, green onions, radishes, bulgur, mint, and cilantro. This is a refreshing soup on a very hot day.

Tan

This is basically kefir or a fermented milk like yogurt and is a thick cooling drink usually served with lamacun by Armenian street food vendors.

Final Thoughts on Armenian Food

Armenian food is complex and deeply entwined with the culture and history of the country. Armenia is former Soviet republic that became a country in 1991. With its title as one of the earliest Christian civilizations it contains a rich traditional cuisine based on both Oriental and Western culinary heritages.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about Armenian food and will not only visit this amazing country but indulge in some great culinary traditions.

If this list has you ready to cook, a few sources are worth bookmarking. The Armenian Kitchen is run by two home cooks preserving family recipes and tracking down the harder-to-find dishes readers ask about. Mission Food Adventure shares tested, from-scratch Armenian recipes, including a well-loved homemade manti. For a proper cookbook, Lavash: The Bread That Launched 1,000 Meals by Kate Leahy and Ara Zada is one of the most complete modern collections — part cookbook, part cultural history. And for the least Americanized versions, Armenian community organizations like AGBU sell cookbooks compiled from diaspora families, closer to what’s actually cooked at home than most commercial editions.

If you are a foodie traveller check out my Global Food Guide for inspiration