Ms. Aridzanjan, for most people, Armenia is a blank spot on the map. Where is Armenia actually located? Anna Aridzanjan: Armenia is a tiny country in the South Caucasus. East of Turkey, south of Georgia and Russia, north of Iran and west of Azerbaijan. It is a very mountainous little country, although it is very, very small, it has very different climate zones and vegetation throughout its area. Armenia also boasts of being the first Christian state in the world, adopting Christianity before Rome. Religion remains a very important part of Armenian identity today.
You were born in Yerevan. Do you still have memories of your childhood? I was only four years old when we came to Germany, but I still remember a few things from before. I remember my grandma and her little kitchen. It must have been one of my earliest memories of walking through my grandma’s kitchen with a very overripe, huge tomato that I wanted to eat. I held her so tightly, clutching her with my clumsy hands so she wouldn’t fall to the floor. Of course I crushed them and made a huge mess.
Why did your parents leave Armenia? The war in Nagorno-Karabakh was still raging in the early 1990s. We were in Yerevan, so it was relatively safe. But at the same time the Soviet Union was collapsing. We came to Germany a month before the Soviet Union officially dissolved on paper. But you already knew it was coming to an end. My parents didn’t want my childhood to take place in wars and national crises.
What was it like for you to come to Germany as a four-year-old? Difficult. Everything was different. It was new and unknown and big and colorful. There was so much choice and a new language. My parents still say that I was able to settle in quickly and easily. But my parents could no longer work in their jobs. My father was a surgeon in Armenia, my mother a translator. My father’s degree was not recognized in Germany, he would have had to start studying medicine again…
You wrote a cookbook about the cuisine of your roots, your home Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, together with your colleague Marianna Deinyan. Upon publication, you were directly nominated for the “German Cookbook Prize” in the “International” category and won second place. Did you expect that? Zero, absolutely not. When I looked at the competition, they were tough. I’m really happy about second place, but this nomination alone was worth its weight in gold. It is a confirmation that what we set our minds to was absolutely right and everyone who tried to talk us out of it was wrong.
Who wanted to talk you out of the project? A few people from the media and book industry told us that the cookbook market is oversaturated. And then also a cookbook about Armenian cuisine. Who knows Armenia? Way too niche. And that there would be no interest in such a book, let alone a publisher would invest in such a book.
The critics shouldn’t be right. What was the initial inspiration for this cookbook? Armenian culture has always been a part of our everyday life: Marianna and I both speak Armenian fluently, and we were served Armenian dishes at home. This is the easiest way, especially for diaspora children, to stay connected to their own culture. A few years ago I made a kind of Advent calendar with Armenian dishes on Twitter and the response was so great that people kept asking: When is your cookbook finally coming out? At some point I spoke to Marianna and almost at the same time we asked ourselves whether we wanted to write an Armenian cookbook – and one thing led to another.
What is Armenian cuisine in your words? A stew of the best that the surrounding regions have to offer and what Armenia has to offer in its culture and identity. Armenia has a cuisine that – from a European perspective – is very reminiscent of Turkish cuisine. Which is no coincidence, because Armenia hasn’t always been so small; at its peak, Armenia expanded far beyond the then Ottoman Empire or today’s Turkey, beyond Azerbaijan with a part of Persia. In ancient times and the Middle Ages, Armenia was a huge kingdom. Of course, a certain type of culture and cuisine has been established, which over the course of history has been in constant contact with the Persian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. The influences are diverse.
And then there is also a religious background. Which dishes are based on Christian traditions? Take gata for example. This is a round holiday cake that is somewhat reminiscent of sweet bread. With a sweet filling that consists of a kind of butter streusel mixture. The cake comes from the Christian tradition of the Last Supper, the breaking of bread. Like a kind of host that used to be shared in church services. Armenian Easter rice is also one of these dishes; it used to be a traditional Easter dish. Harissa, a chicken porridge, was traditionally prepared for New Year’s Day. Every Armenian dish has its own story. And if you ask Armenian women for a recipe, they always tell you about it.
What ingredients do you absolutely need for Armenian cuisine?Wheat. The grain is one of the most important ingredients. Wheat is used not only in breads and pastries such as cakes, but also in husked form, similar to rice. Peeled wheat, bulgur, wheat semolina, you can find it everywhere in Armenia. Wheat is used for porridge, porridge or as a filling for dumplings. Fresh herbs are also essential. It doesn’t matter which one: parsley, coriander, basil, the main thing is that you have a huge plate of fresh herbs at every meal, as a starter, so to speak. They don’t have to be cut either. Armenian cuisine without herbs? It does not work.
What about spices – like cumin or cardamom – which we know from Persian or Turkish cuisine, for example? We hardly have them. What spices are to many cultures in this region, herbs are to us. Armenia is such a mountainous area, wild herbs grow like crazy there.
In your book I stumbled upon a special herb: Aveluk. What is that? Aveluk is Armenian wild mountain sorrel. Botanically it is related to the sorrel in this country. Aveluk is usually harvested in spring and summer, braided into braids and dried. This is how it is preserved for the winter. The herb is bursting with vitamins and minerals. You soak the dried braids in water and use it like spinach or chard. You can overcook it, you can use it in soups, in stir-fries or in salads. You can hardly get this in Germany, you would have to order it online. But you can replace it with fresh kale, which tastes very close to Aveluk: earthy, slightly bitter and still mild. Add a splash of lemon juice to add a sour note. You can also prepare aveluk in a very modern way, for example as a sandwich: flatbread, butter, fried aveluk and fresh tomatoes. Divine!
Armenian people are now spread around the world due to persecution, expulsion and even genocide. In the book you write that these drastic, traumatic events continue to shape Armenian identity and culture to this day. Also the food culture. How does this manifest itself? Armenians would rather chop off a leg than throw away food. Because our people, our country, has already seen so many traumatic events – wars, genocide, displacement, hunger, scarcity – we react very, very sensitively to food waste. And that means that from the very beginning, right from the food production stage, we try to get as much as possible out of the dishes. A good example of this is Khash, which is not in the cookbook. It is a kind of broth made from calf feet, which are now a waste product of slaughter. There are no waste products in Armenia. The veal feet are cooked for hours and then served as broth, with enough stale, dry lavash bread (editor’s note: a type of flatbread) added until a porridge-like consistency is created. Then add freshly pressed garlic and, if you like, lemon juice. Then take soft lavash and spoon the porridge with it. Vodka is often served with it. And lots of fresh ingredients like radishes, radishes and fresh herbs. The soup used to be often served as a winter breakfast for farmers and workers.
Do you find it difficult to throw away food yourself? Totally. It’s also a legacy from my grandma, who really instilled in me from a young age: You don’t throw away food! For example, I can’t throw away bread, I still use it even when it’s bone dry. That’s why there are also Armenian knights in the cookbook. Some would say it’s nothing special. But all Armenian children grow up with it because no Armenian family can throw away bread. For us, poor knights are just salty and not sweet.
In the book you differentiate between western and eastern Armenian cuisine. What are the differences? Basically two different forms of rule that the Armenian people were under at the time. Western Armenian cuisine originated in the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Eastern Armenian cuisine originated in the territory of the Tsarist Empire. Western Armenian is very similar to Turkish and Arabic cuisine. Eastern Armenian cuisine is what largely originated in what is now Armenia. The differences can still be felt today. Poor Knights, for example, all the salads, that’s all Eastern Armenian and dishes like Lahmajo, Harissa or Ghapama, the stuffed pumpkin, that’s more Western Armenian. There is also more spice there. Sweet and salty, i.e. dried fruit in the salty rice dish. This is not the case in Eastern Armenian cuisine, where pickles are more common, a legacy of the Tsarist Empire and the Soviet Union.
What are Armenian everyday dishes? Actually the poor knights, I make them almost every day. Or the Armenian lentil soup, which is very simple, quick to prepare and tastes good to almost everyone. And she’s even vegan. There is a base of vegan dishes in Armenian cuisine, which is due to the Christian Armenian tradition of not consuming animal products for 40 days during Lent. So vegan is not a new invention, but rather super traditional there.
What do you eat at festivals? Ghapama, a stuffed pumpkin that also looks very impressive. But also Armenian BBQ called Khorovats, where meat, vegetables and fish are grilled. You always invite guests to do this; you don’t do something like that in everyday life. The Olivier salad is typical for holidays and is probably known not only in Armenia, but throughout the entire Eastern Bloc. A type of potato salad that people like to prepare for New Year’s Eve.
You dedicated the book to your mothers. How much of them is in “Yerevan”? One hundred percent. If it weren’t for her influence, we wouldn’t be cooking Armenian food. They were the ones who first introduced us to Armenian cuisine.
You write “In Armenia, the way to the heart is through the stomach.” There are exclamations such as “Utem kes” (“I want to eat you”) and “Jigyaret Utem” (“Let me eat your liver!”) as caresses for children. How important is food in Armenian families? It is part of life and everyday life. You can’t visit an Armenian family without eating there. No matter how short your stay and no matter whether it is a business or private visit, whether it is a sad occasion or a happy one, or whether you are just a neighbor who wants to return a borrowed baking tray. There is always something to eat for you. And it doesn’t matter how poor the family is, because being a host is part of the Armenian mentality. You can’t avoid eating. People use it to express their love and affection.
And if you refuse? You should always proceed with caution (laughs). If you refuse, you feel like you’re hurting people. That’s why you should proceed very diplomatically and carefully.
What does your childhood taste like? Roasted pasta with butter. After salty poor knights. Freshly baked gata, still warm from the oven. In the summer after compote and in the winter after khash, because as a child I ate everything. Even offal.
When do you know exactly that you have Armenian roots? When I offer someone food. And also away from home: I’d rather invite people than be invited. And I don’t let people pay separately. I hate that. When I cook myself, I especially notice that I am Armenian. Because I make about three to four times the amount of what is actually needed.
What Armenian dish always brings you comfort? Harissa, the hearty chicken porridge, is a comfort food for me. It is a warm porridge, it is hearty, salty, filling and provides warmth.
What dishes do you use to impress guests? I recently made eggplant rolls with walnut filling for a class party at my daughter’s elementary school. That was a blast.
What does the gastronomic culture in Yerevan look like today? Are there any trends you can observe? Is there an upscale restaurant? Or is it more of a poor man’s kitchen? There’s a little bit of everything. There is very expensive, upscale gastronomy at a very high level. There are affordable restaurants that are very good and popular. But there are also many offers for people with less money. These are places that are called “bufet” in Armenia. They come from Soviet culture so that, for example, workers or students could eat their fill, similar to in a canteen. Even today, you don’t pay more than the equivalent of one or two euros for a lunch with a starter, main course, drink and dessert. The fascinating thing about it is that business people now also eat there. They go there because it tastes like home, like mom and grandma’s. There has also been a boom in vegetarian and vegan restaurants in recent years. If you eat a purely plant-based diet, you should actually go to Armenia during Christian Lent, that’s my tip. Because during this time every major restaurant also has a vegan menu – and the fasting dishes taste great.
Transparency note: The cookbook author Anna Aridzanjan is responsible for audience development at stern. Her cookbook “Yerevan” was published by Riva Verlag. “Yerevan” took second place in the “International” category at the “German Cookbook Prize”.
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