Armenian Cuisine - Soups

Soups

Armenian soups include spas, made from yogurt, hulled wheat and herbs (usually cilantro), and aveluk, made from lentils, walnuts, and wild mountain sorrel (which gives the soup its name). Kiufta soup is made with large balls of strained boiled meat (kiufta) and greens.

Another soup, khash, is considered an Armenian institution. Songs and poems have been written about this one dish, which is made from cow's feet and herbs made into a clear broth. Tradition holds that khash can only be cooked by men, who spend the entire night cooking, and can be eaten only in the early morning in the dead of winter, where it served with heaps of fresh garlic and dried lavash.

T'ghit is a very special and old traditional food, made from t'tu lavash (fruit leather, thin roll-up sheets of sour plum puree), which are cut into small pieces and boiled in water. Fried onions are added and the mixture is cooked into a purée. Pieces of lavash bread are placed on top of the mixture, and it is eaten hot with fresh lavash used to scoop up the mixture by hand.

Karshm is a local soup made in the town of Vaik in the Shirak Province. This is a walnut based soup with red and green beans, chick peas and spices, served garnished with red pepper and fresh garlic. Soups of Russian heritage include borscht, a beet root soup with meat and vegetables (served hot in Armenia, with fresh sour cream) and okroshka, a yogurt or kefir based soup with chopped cucumber, green onion, and garlic.

• Arganak (Armenian: արգանակ arganak) – chicken soup with small meatballs, garnished before serving with beaten egg yolks, lemon juice, and parsley.
• Blghourapour (Armenian: բլղուրապուր blġurapur) – a sweet soup made of hulled wheat cooked in grape juice; served hot or cold.
• Bozbash (Armenian: բոզբաշ bozbaš) – a mutton or lamb soup that exists in several regional varieties with the addition of different vegetables and fruits.
• Brndzapour (Armenian: բրնձապուր brnjapur) – rice and potato soup, garnished with coriander.
• Dzavarapour (Armenian: ձավարապուր javarapur) – hulled wheat, potatoes, tomato puree; egg yolks diluted with water are stirred into the soup before serving.
• Flol – beef soup with coarsely chopped spinach leaves and cherry-sized dumplings (Armenian: flol) made from oatmeal or wheat flour.
• Harissa (Armenian: հարիսա harisa, also known as ճիտապուր) – porridge of coarsely ground wheat with pieces of boned chicken
• Katnapour (Armenian: կաթնապուր kat’napur) – a milk-based rice soup, sweetened with sugar.
• Katnov (Armenian: կաթնով kat’nov) – a milk-based rice soup with cinnamon and sugar.
• Kololik (Armenian: կոլոլիկ kololik) – soup cooked from mutton bones with ground mutton dumplings, rice, and fresh tarragon garnish; a beaten egg is stirred into the soup before serving.
• Krchik – soup made from sauerkraut, hulled wheat, potatoes, and tomato puree.
• Mantapour (Armenian: մանթապուր mantʿapur) – beef soup with manti; the manti are typically served with yogurt or sour cream (ttvaser), accompanied by clear soup.
• Matsnaprtosh (Armenian: մածնաբրդոշ maçnabrdoš) - this is the same as okroshka, referenced earlier, with sour clotted milk diluted with cold water, with less vegetation than okroshka itself. Matsnaprtosh is served cold as a refreshment and has the ability to normalize blood pressure.
• Putuk (Armenian: պուտուկ putuk) – mutton cut into pieces, dried peas, potatoes, leeks, and tomato puree, cooked and served in individual crocks.
• Sarnapour (Armenian: սառնապուր saṙnapur) – pea soup with rice, beets and yogurt.
• Snkapur (Armenian: սնկապուր snkapur) – a mushroom soup.
• Tarkhana (Armenian: թարխանա t’arxana) – flour and yogurt soup
• Vospapour (Armenian: ոսպապուր ospapur) – lentil soup with dried fruits and ground walnuts.
• Pekhapour (mustache soup) -- chick peas, shelled wheat (ծեծած), lentils, in a vegetarian broth and fresh tarragon. This soup originates from Aintab.