Khorovats:  An Introduction to Armenian Cuisine    

Of the many pieces of culture to choose from when visiting another country, my favorite is the food by far. One of the most popular dishes Armenia has to offer is khorovats, otherwise known as barbeque. Since it can be quite expensive to have a barbeque, it is usually done on special occasions. Lucky for me, my host family has an enormous extended family in the village and it seems every other week is a relative’s birthday celebration.

One day I came home from training kind of late and as soon as I walked in the door my host mother told me to be ready to leave in 5 minutes since we were attending a birthday party tonight and having khorovats. I had learned what khorovats was from the other Volunteers since they have had it at their host family’s house. I finally got to have my turn trying it and couldn’t wait. The first thing necessary for a good is a good grill. As it turns out, my host father is the village welder and made the grill that was used that day.

By the time we arrived the wood used was barely being put on fire and food was being prepared. The first thing I noticed was that when it comes to khorovats the men do all the preparation and grilling. The women do all the other non-khorovat food preparation. When I wasn’t snapping pictures I got to assist by putting meat and potatoes on the large skewers. These metal skewers are about two feet (0.60 meters) long and there was enough pork and potatoes to fill 25 skewers up.

Once the wood is finally at the desired temperature it is time to start grilling. The men are focused and the smoke from the grilling bring a flood of pleasant aromas. After a few minutes, mouths begin to water as the smells begin to overwhelm the senses and all you can think about is sinking your teeth in the food in front of you. When the food is ready there is a large bowl to let the food cool down and we removed the barbequed food from the shish kebabs by using bread as kitchen mitts to slide the food off and into the bowl.

The best part about sliding the food off the skewers is snacking off a piece here and there. The main grill master is the grandfather and patriarch of the family. Everyone there takes a piece of khorovats and gives the patriarch a nod of approval. I notice he doesn’t really respond to compliments about the food because he’s been doing this for decades and knows it tastes great! Naturally, eating salty food cannot be eaten without something to drink and that’s where the homemade vodka aka moonshine enter the picture. This stuff is not your run of the mill vodka and is very potent and the patriarch keeps on filling up our shot glasses. It’s very similar to the moonshine I had in Romania called palinca. After 3 or 4 shots I know I have to stop because once we begin eating inside with all the family members at the table, the celebratory toasts will be ongoing and I got class the next morning.

After all the meat has been cooked and had a chance to cool down we go inside to meet the rest of family members to begin the dinner. There are close to 25 family members in attendance and later find out it’s one of the daughter in law’s birthday. The khorovats is excellent and is eaten quickly. As a big fan of cooking/travel shows like Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations and Andrew Zimmer’s Bizarre Foods I always appreciate how they stress how food is such a great way to bridge the cultural divide. It couldn’t be any truer for me. The best thing about this particular khorovats experience was that I got a chance to repeat it about 4 days later at the same home for another birthday party!

 Happy travels and bon apetit or baree akhordzak as they say in Armenian.