 Armenian khorovats (barbecue) | |
| Course | Main course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin |  Armenia |
| Region or state | Armenia andArmenian diaspora |
| Associatedcuisine | Armenian cuisine |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Meat |
Khorovats (Armenian:խորոված,[χɔɾɔˈvɑt͡s]) is anArmenian barbecue.[1] The meat may be marinated before grilling, but it does not have to be.[1] It can be made with lamb, pork, beef, chicken, fish, or even veal. This is generally a dish reserved for "festive occasions".[2]
The word "խորոված"khorovats means "grilled" in Armenian and comes from the verb "խորովել"khorovel (to grill).
Khorovats can be made with lamb, pork, beef, chicken, or less commonly veal. Some type of vegetable is usually served with the meat. A common preparation for green vegetables likeasparagus or greenbeans is to fry them and combine with whippedeggs, a dish which resembles scrambled eggs with vegetables. It is usually cooked in a tonir.[3]
A typical khorovats is made of chunks of meat grilled on a shampoor (շամփուր) or skewer, althoughsteaks orchops grilled without skewers may be also used.
2006 bookArmenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore gives three tips for making good khorovats:[4]
In Armenia itself, khorovats is often made with the bone still in the meat (aslamb orpork chops).[2]
Proshian Street inYerevan is dubbed "Barbecue Street" by foreigners, because many khorovats restaurants are located on the street.[4]
In hisThe Travels of Sir John Chardin in Persia and the Orient, 17th-century French travelerJean Chardin wrote:[4]
The Armenians have a way of roasting the mutton and lamb in their own skin upon the coals, as they do chestnuts. When the mutton is dressed, they put the skin again upon it and sew it up well, and then they put it on the coals and cover it: the mutton is all night adoing, and it is not over and above good when it is done.
In a scene from the 1976 Soviet filmWhen September Comes, prominent Armenian actorArmen Dzhigarkhanyan (Levon) makes khorovats with his grandson in the balcony of his daughter's Moscow apartment. His neighbors see smoke coming out of the balcony and call the firemen, but when a fireman arrives, everything settles down and all the neighbors gather at Levon's house to enjoy the dish.[5]
Since 2009, an annual festival of khorovats has been held inAkhtala in northern Armenia.[6] In 2012,John A. Heffern, the US ambassador to Armenia, was among 15,000 guests of the festival.[7]
