Hummus (a transliteration of the Arabic also spelled hamos,
houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos, hummous or humus; see romanization of
Arabic) is a Levantine dip or spread made from cooked, mashed
chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and
garlic. It is a popular food in various local forms throughout the
Middle Eastern world and elsewhere.

The word comes from Arabic ‎hummus ‘chickpeas’. Like other Arabic
loanwords, its spelling in English is unstable. The earliest known use
of the word hummus in English, noted by the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED), was in 1955. Among the common spellings for this word as
transliterated into English are hummus, hommos and hoummos. The
spelling humus is avoided in English due to its having the same
spelling as another English word humus, though this is the most common
Turkish spelling and the OED indicates the word entered the English
language from Turkish. The full Arabic name of the prepared spread is
(hummus bi tahīna) which means chickpeas with tahina.

Many cuisine-related sources carry forward a folklore which describes
hummus as one of the oldest known prepared foods with a long history
in the Middle East which stretches back to antiquity, but its
historical origins are unknown. The historical enigma is such that the
origins of hummus-bi-tahini could be much more recent than is widely
believed. One of the earliest verifiable descriptions of hummus comes
from 18th-century Damascus and the same source claims it was unknown
elsewhere.

Meanwhile some cookbooks repeat the legend that hummus was first
prepared in the 12th century by Saladin. Sources such as Cooking in
Ancient Civilizations by Cathy K. Kaufman carry speculative recipes
for an ancient Egyptian hummus, substituting vinegar for lemon juice,
but acknowledge we do not know how the Egyptians ate their chick-peas.
Similarly, no recipe for hummus has been identified among the many
books on cooking surviving from ancient Rome.

Charles Perry, co-author of Medieval Arab Cookery notes that owing to
hummus bi tahina being an everyday staple, and because of the lack of
Arab recipe books published between the 14th and 20th centuries, no
recipes documenting this food’s early ingredients have been found. He
says the nearest medieval example recorded in a 13th century Arab
cookbook, Kitab Wasf al-Atima al-Mutada is Hummus kasa, which
substitutes vinegar for lemon, includes extra herbs and adds walnuts,
hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios.

Late summer in Armenia means Lamajun or shish kebab; the latter cooked out on the backyard grill with pilaf tomato/parsley salad on the side. Summer meals are always accompanied with Tahn (a yogurt drink served icy cold) or an iced tea that is more like a tea punch, blended as it is with the freshly squeezed juices of oranges and lemons, with enough sugar to sweeten it well. Hot summer evenings might also call for a cold bulghur wheat and vegetable salad called Tabbouleh; lots of fresh fruit and cheeses, special oil-cured Greek olives or, possibly, a gentle soup made from the insides of the zucchini used earlier for dolma.

In the Fall, Fasoula ( a kind of lamb, tomato and green bean stew), served usually with a pilaf and the ever-present flatbread, as well as Yogurt or Greek Lemon soup, Pasterma and Eggs, and casseroles like Mousakka or Sou-Berag.

By winter, shish kebab evolves into Tass kebab (which is basically a steamed version of the grilled lamb dish), with Persian Pilaf, or another sort of bulgur and vegetable dish, served piping hot, rather than the cold summer version. Fresh fruits give way to dried fruits, like dates and figs and apricots.

Wherever Armenians have settled, the taste and style of the cuisine never ceases to be Armenian. That is primarily because of the unique blend of traditional spices and seasonings that thread throughout the recipes.

Baklava– A delicious phyllo dough pastry layered with cinnamon and nuts served with a simple syrup glaze.

Nazook–traditonal, Mildly sweet, armenian pastry made wih “Khoris” filling

Nut Roll– Also known as “cigarette cookies”, these cookies made of cream cheese/butter dough, filled with ground walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.

Shakar lokoom– A delicate sugar cookie.

Perog– Jam filled pastry. Try these heavenly treats!

Sarma, those little cigar-shaped rolls of grape leaves, rice, onions, spices, and (sometimes) meat that have begun to appear in health food stores and specialty food markets, have been a Middle Eastern treat for centuries. They are popular in Armenian and Turkish cuisines, but are found throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean countries, such as Greece, where they are often lumped in with another favorite – dolma, or vegetables stuffed with the same basic mixture.

Sarma can be served hot or cold – although usually the rice ones are served cold and the meat ones hot, with dollops of fresh madzoon (yogurt).

Lavash also known as lahvash or cracker bread is a soft, thin flatbread made with flour, water, and salt. It is the most widespread type of bread in Iran, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Toasted sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds are sometimes sprinkled on it before baking, though this is very uncommon in Armenia. While some wrap breads sold in the United States label them as lavash, actual lavash is significantly thinner than those products.

Traditionally the dough is rolled out flat and slapped against the hot walls of a tandoor oven, also called tandir in Azerbaijani, tonir in Armenian, tone in Georgian, tanur in Persian and tandır in Turkish. This is still the method used all throughout Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey and in the United States.

While flexible like a tortilla when fresh, lavash dries out quickly and becomes brittle and hard. The soft form tastes better and is easier to use when making wrap sandwiches; however, the dry form can be used for long-term storage and is used instead of leavened bread in Eucharist traditions by the Armenian Apostolic Church. Dry, left-over lavash is used in Iran to make quick meals after being rehydrated with water, butter and cheese. Lavash bread is also used with kebabs. In Turkey, a meat kebab rolled in lavash bread takes the name “dürüm”, possibly qualified by the kebab’s first name. For example, an Adana Kebab rolled in lavash bread takes the name of “Adana dürüm”, the most popular dürüm type in Turkey.

Popular as an appetizer in the Middle East and Greece, hummus is a creamy dip made from chickpeas, combined with tahini, lemon juice, garlic and other spices. Often served with pita, hummus has been a staple of the Mediterranean diet for thousands of years. Ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Socrates made reference to hummus’ nutritional value in their writings and ancient Egyptian recipes for hummus have been discovered.

Fast Facts

1. Popular as a dip for Pita
2. High in fiber, iron, and vitamin C
3. Name is from the Arabic “hummus” for chickpeas
4. Sometimes spelled hamos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos, hummous or humus
5. Can add additional ingredients like Feta and Artichokes

In season you may get (and do ask for), Georgian lobiov pashtet (loh-bee-OV pahsh-TEHT, a pate made of red beans and walnuts, garlic and spices); s’khtoruk (s’kh-to-ROOK, pickled garlic stems–a treat not to be missed); spanakh (spah-NAHKH, spinach mixed with eggs or with s’khtor matzun (s’kh-TOR mah-TZOON), garlic mixed with yogurt); sunk (SOONK, mushrooms–pickled, spiced, fried, mixed into a pate);

The waiter will also bring (de rigeur) a large plate of kanachi (kah-nah-CHEE, Greens). These are very tasty herbs that include fresh tarragon, rosemary, oregano, thyme, dill, and others. It customary to have two or three types of tomato or yogurt based sauces on the table as well. You may never eat more powerful s’khtor (s’kh-TOR, garlic) than in Armenia.

There is an old Armenian saying: “Ever since pilaf burned his mouth, he blows even on his yogurt.”

The obvious allusion to an overly cautious man aside, the proverb underscores what a staple this rice dish is, not just for Armenians. It is found on tables throughout the entire Middle East.

There are, perhaps, hundreds of different sorts of pilafs on tables from Syria to Greece – and they vary by the culture, by the ingredients available, by the meat dish served with it, and by the individual taste and style of the cook. Basically, the main ingredient of these dishes is rice, bulgur wheat or couscous, steamed in some sort of stock and flavored with various spices and minced vegetable additions to the dish.

This is a basic rice recipe, popular in Turkey and parts of Syria. It goes equally well with lamb shish kebabs or with a wide variety of chicken dishes.

Baklava: Phyllo dough pastry layered with a mixture of cinnamon and nuts served with a simple syrup glaze.
Bourma: Similar to Baklava, but rolled phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and cinnamon.
Nut Rolls: Also known as “cigarette cookies”, these cookies made of cream cheese/butter dough, filled with ground walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.
Gatah: Similar to Choreg but in a round ring loaf…Great for breakfast.
Perog: Jam filled pastry. These are heavenly treats!

Bulgur is a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine, whether it’s served hot, in pilafs or cold in tabbouleh (or tabbouleh). By itself, 100 grams of bulgur is said to contain 8 grams of fiber, 12.5 grams of protein, and 8 grams of natural sugar and about 60 grams of carbohydrate. About 1.75 grams of that 100 gram sample of bulgur would also have only about 1.7 grams of fat, of which, only about 0.2 grams is saturated fat. In short, mixed with vegetables in various recipes, it becomes a pretty well-balance, low fat, and high fiber meal.

Prepared from wheat in a process that’s over a thousand years old (please see my blog on the topic), bulgur also keeps for months at a time with no refrigeration and is easily transportable – a must for cultures who are often traditionally nomadic. Yet, in any recipe, it is simply delicious, with a light, nutty flavor and a real “stick to your ribs” quality that belies the fact that it’s also an extremely healthy food to have as part of your diet.