Khashlama, which is a stew in own juice meat with vegetables is so tasty that many nations dispute the authorship of this dish. However, most often khashlama is still classified as Armenian cuisine. Khashlama in Armenian is prepared according to different recipes, a variety of types of meat can be used for it, but there are still common points that distinguish this dish from other similar dishes. If you know them, even an inexperienced housewife can prepare khashlama, indistinguishable from the traditional Armenian one, without spending much effort on it. After all, khashlama is prepared, although it takes a long time, but simply, almost completely without the participation of the cook himself.
It would be wrong to say that the Armenians were the first to come up with the idea of stewing meat and vegetables - such dishes are found in almost all cuisines of the world. But still, khashlama prepared according to Armenian recipes is unique. To prevent the dish from turning into an ordinary stew, you need to know the technology for preparing Armenian khashlama and follow the recommendations contained in the original recipes.
Armenian khashlama includes vegetables such as onions and sweet pepper. Carrots are often added, and eggplants and potatoes are added a little less often. Mushrooms and beans can be used. Tomatoes are added instead of sauce, they give ready-made dish juiciness and pleasant sourness. The final taste depends on what vegetables are added to the dish.
Cooking method:
Carefully place the finished khashlama on plates and sprinkle with fresh herbs, chopping them with a knife. Do not let the khashlama cool, otherwise its flavor will be less pronounced.
Cooking method:
There is no need for a side dish for khashlama in Armenian; instead of bread, it is better to serve it with lavash.
Cooking method:
Khashlama prepared according to this Armenian recipe, it turns out especially fragrant. There is no taste or smell of beer in it, only subtle notes of hops and malt remain, which give khashlama an unusual taste, highlighting the taste of lamb ribs.
Armenian khashlama can be prepared from any type of meat. If you know the technology of its preparation and follow the recommendations in the recipe, it will turn out tasty and aromatic even for a novice cook.
1) Wash the pumpkin, dry it and cut off the top. The top should be cut off not with a straight cut, but by inserting a knife at an angle so that the cut forms a low cone. This method will securely hold the “lid” on our pumpkin “pot” during baking.
Use a spoon to remove the seeds and fibers, and use a knife and spoon to remove some of the pulp, making the walls 10-13 mm thick.
3) Prepare sweet additives for rice. Traditionally, dried fruits are added to khapama: dried apricots, raisins and cherry plums and fresh fruits: apples or quinces.
Since the dish has spread widely not only in oriental cuisine, but also in Europe, they began to put any dried fruits and nuts of the hostess’ choice into the khapama.
IN this recipe dried fruits used: raisins, dried apricots, prunes and dates. Quantity - according to your taste. All these ingredients need to be washed, dried and cut into small pieces (raisins, of course, do not need to be cut). If these components are excessively dry, they should be pre-soaked. Just chop the nuts.
9) Place the pumpkin in a baking dish. I took a silicone one, nothing sticks to it, in other forms it is better to cover 2-3 layers of baking paper. Cover the pumpkin with the cut top and place in the oven to bake.
Due to different pumpkin volumes and oven conditions, cooking times may vary. On average it takes 40 minutes - 1.5 hours at a temperature of 180 degrees.
10) The rice inside is cooked, saturated with the aromas of fruit and the pumpkin itself - you can take it out. Usually the pumpkin is cut like a watermelon, from top to bottom in slices.
You can serve melted butter and honey with the khapama, as well as washed dried fruits if they are soft and pliable. Very delicious dish it turns out.
Pumpkin, having a special shape of a natural pot, is often used to prepare dishes directly in it. In Russian cuisine, millet porridge with pumpkin is prepared this way, and in Armenian cuisine, sweet pilaf, or khapama.
It seemed, what so tasty and interesting could be prepared from this ordinary vegetable - pumpkin? These questions will disappear on their own if you cook pumpkin according to this wonderful recipe, which rightfully belongs to Armenian cuisine.
For khapama you will need a pumpkin. The top of the pumpkin is cut off to create a pumpkin pot. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds with a spoon. A little pulp is set aside for the filling.
After boiling, Yantar rice is cooked for about five minutes.
Dried apricots, raisins, prunes are thoroughly washed.
The apple is cut into thin slices.
In Armenia, onions are not added to khapama, but I decided that it would not spoil the taste at all. Finely chop half the onion.
In Armenia there is even a song praising pumpkin. I will translate an Armenian song and at the same time describe the preparation of khapama.
Imagine the head of an Armenian family singing in anticipation, or rather in anticipation of Khapama, which has been languishing in the oven for two hours: “Hey, jan, Khapama! What a smell, what a taste!!!” - the owner sings joyfully, and to pass the time, he tells: “How we went to the melon garden, how we looked for and found an excellent pumpkin, how we brought it home” - smacking his lips with pleasure and not forgetting to chant: “Hey, jan, Khapama !!! What a smell, what a taste!
The inside of the pumpkin is lubricated butter, put in it rice, slightly boiled in salted water, onions, dried apricots, prunes, apples, pumpkin pulp, cinnamon, black pepper. Everything gets mixed up. Butter is placed on top. The filling in the pumpkin is not laid out to the very top, because it will still increase.
The pumpkin is closed with a cut off lid. Wrap in foil and put in the oven for 2 hours (200 degrees.)
Here the strength of the host-singer leaves and the hostess enters in tenor, noticing in horror how relatives are gathering at the smell - like bees for honey... Almost crying, she sings that a hundred people have come and a friendly counting begins: “Here is dad and mom and her sister, Here is the mother-in-law and father-in-law with their sister, Here is the brother and sister and brother-in-law with his wife, Here is the mother-in-law, father-in-law, matchmaker and matchmaker, Uncles and aunties and a crowd of children, Friends and girlfriends with their wives and husbands, With children and godfathers... .. Eee-hey hey jan, hey jan, hey jan..." Of course, the owner greets everyone joyfully and everyone sings hosanna to Hapama and dances...
And the aroma is actually very, very good, it whets your appetite.
Khapama is a dish designed for a large, noisy feast - the pumpkin is usually cut at a round table, and when at least the whole family gathers, everyone gets a piece.
Khapama is ready, come, dear guests, eat our pumpkin.
Hey jan, Hapama!This is the song dedicated to Hapama stuck in my head)))
We prepared it on New Year's Day.
A wonderful Armenian pumpkin dish. Very festive, elegant, tasty and healthy.
I'm posting the recipe here. Because I promised to collect everything here interesting recipes, in which I used what was grown in our garden and vegetable garden.
The main thing in Khapam is pumpkin. And it was grown in my garden in the summer.
Khapama, a very elegant dish. It fits perfectly festive table. If the family is large or there are many guests, then baking a large, beautiful pumpkin, the contents of which are enough for everyone, is the most appropriate action.
But we prepared small portioned pumpkins for ourselves. I thought that I would no longer grow this little thing... But it turned out to be so convenient, both for juices and for khapama.
I took three pumpkins.
I removed the tops and made a beautiful natural pot out of the pumpkin. Using a spoon, skim off the pulp inside a little, which you then add to delicious filling. And the walls of the pumpkin can be coated with honey.
Rice, rinse, boil a little. I regretted that I boiled it just a little bit, thinking that in an hour in the oven it would definitely boil down. No, he was damp. and I had to simmer the pumpkin in the oven. Keep in mind that if you cook, cook the rice until almost done. In Armenia, I like to buy Thai Better rice. Of all the things I've tried here, this is best rice. For my taste.
Dried apricots, prunes, raisins (in my case, a little bit three different raisins each) - wash well, cut the prunes and dried apricots into small pieces. Dried cherry plum or any dried fruit with sourness is added there, but I didn’t have it.
I also chopped an apple and some quince. I mixed everything.
Add more nuts. Any. But I didn’t do this.
Add cinnamon to taste. If you love. You can sweeten it granulated sugar. But, of course, we added honey from the heart. And according to the recipe, I think it’s correct to cook it with honey.
Place the filling into the prepared pumpkin.
Place pieces of butter on top.
I line a baking sheet with foil. But once upon a time, pumpkin was baked in a tonyr. I don’t have a tonyra yet. And there is a simple electric oven. In which I baked the pumpkin. Cover the pumpkins with lids. And into the oven, at a temperature of 170 degrees. about 50 minutes. Depends of course on the size of the pumpkin.
Everything is ours holiday dish- ready.
I’ll play another video for you here, it’s in Armenian, but everything is visible and understandable. Just so you can hear a little of this song and imagine life in an Armenian village. The woman in it somehow cooks it with her soul. I liked it.
But in another video, everything is simply well shown how Khapama is prepared. Fast and easy.
Well, the song sounds))) The guests sing in anticipation)) “Hey, jan, Khapama! What a smell, what a taste!” “Honey is inside, Khapama” And there, according to the text, guests flock like bees to honey - “Here is dad with mom and her sister, Here is mother-in-law and father-in-law with their sister, Here is brother and sister and brother-in-law with his wife, Here is mother-in-law, father-in-law, matchmaker and matchmaker, uncles and aunties and a crowd of children, friends and girlfriends with wives and husbands, with children and godfathers.... Eee-hey hey jan, hey jan, hey jan...Hapama)))
Happy holidays and good year to you. Welcome guests. And excellent, tasty and healthy food, not only for the holidays, but for the whole year!
I hope it will be fruitful for everyone. And we will have pumpkins for everything, including for Hapama.
Khapama, a traditional autumn dish consisting of pumpkin stuffed to the brim with rice, nuts, raisins, dried apricots (dried apricots) and other seasonings depending on personal preference, is very Armenian. It's so Armenian that Harut Pambukchian, an Armenian-American singer who is such an international treasure that we would preserve him in gold and cast his profile on coins if we could, dedicated a song to this dish called "Hey , jan, khapama."
The entire song is all about the amazing pumpkin, detailing bringing a ripe pumpkin home, chopping up the ingredients and putting it in the oven and having 100 people, including various relatives, and sisters-in-law bring it out to eat (it's that good). So, if you speak Armenian, listening to this song will practically give you the recipe. The problem is that, generally speaking, this song is played towards the middle or end of weddings or other public events, when alcohol and sweets flow freely for hours, leaving you full of joy and complete freedom from any proper coordination. Everyone knows the chorus. If you are that lucky person, you would also be singing about a filled pumpkin.
The process of making hapama is quite simple and makes a colorful and unique addition to any fall Thanksgiving table. The beauty of this exceptional dish, prepared during October or November, lies not only in its warmth (especially helpful considering how cold the transition of the seasons is in Armenia into autumn and winter), but also in the fact that the vibrancy of its colors never overwhelms , but honors others with every bite.
However, it is very difficult to go wrong with dried fruits, butter, cinnamon and honey mixed with white steamed rice. This is a very versatile dish. You can use other melons if you like, swapping rice for cranberries, for example, or adding pecans instead of walnuts.
If you stick to tradition and use pumpkin, choose sugar pumpkin(used for pumpkin pie). It's a lovely, comfortable size; and since it is used for baking, you are guaranteed to get your hands on a good quality hapama.
If you leave the stem/tail of the pumpkin when serving, the view will be magnificent when you present it to your hungry family of 100 people who will, of course, be vying for this majestic Armenian delicacy. Harut Pambukchyan says so.
Whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving or looking to add a quirky twist to your table during the colder months, it doesn't matter where you're from, hapama is the perfect app to take you from wherever you are to covered a snow-covered village where foreigners (strangers), especially the frozen ones, are family.
Armenian khapama
This recipe comes from a now stained, very old piece of paper written in Armenia, acquired by my mother (and stolen by me!) many, many years ago.
Ingredients
1 cup white, short grain rice (you can substitute brown rice, increase or decrease the amount depending on the size of your squash)
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried apricots
½ cup walnuts
½ stick of butter ( room temperature)
6 tablespoons honey (reduce or increase depending on taste) + 2 tablespoons to line the walls of the pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cooking method:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (about 230 degrees Celsius - ed.)
Wash the pumpkin and cut off the top of the head in a circle, paying attention to symmetry throughout the entire circle from start to finish.
Use a spoon to scrape out the pulp, including the seeds. Pro tip: Save the seeds to roast later.
Cover the walls of the pumpkin with 2 tablespoons of honey, coating thoroughly.
Cook the rice, making sure it is half cooked so that the rest of the cooking takes place inside the pumpkin. Place it in a separate bowl.
Cut the butter into pieces and add to the rice.
Add dry ingredients including rice, dried apricots, walnuts and cinnamon, into another bowl.
Pour the rice along with the melted butter into the dry ingredient mixture, being careful to mix well.
Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of honey to the rice, nuts and dried fruit mixture.
Fill the pumpkin to the brim with the mixture, being careful to fill it tightly.
Brush the outside of your pumpkin with oil [optional – the pumpkin in the recipe above did not have oil, but it does come out of the oven with a delicious crispy color].
Place the top of the pumpkin and place your pumpkin on a level baking dish.
Cook for an hour at 450 degrees F [you'll know it's cooked when you touch the squash and it's soft; your finger will leave an imprint]
Let cool before slicing, which you can do sequentially along the backs of the squash to create a stunning dish while still providing everyone with an extra slice.
While eating, listen to the song “Hey, jan, khapama” (Alcohol is required)
All photos: © Ianyanmag
