TRAVEL SPECIAL ....Bread-time Story

TRAVEL ..... Bread-time Story





Armenia is a mind-boggling array of grilled meats, flavour-charged dishes and fresh salads, with ovenwarm flatbreads at the heart of its gastronomy

Succulent shashliks grilled to a gossamer gold, auberginesand tomato-stuffed Bo rani (fried chicken) bursting with flavour, baked vegetables saturated with the smell of coals, khorovats (barbecued meats) dripping golden juices, kyuftas (meat balls) that melt in the mouth, brine-rip ened cheeses, dolma (stuffed grape leaves) brimming with meaty goodness... A happy embrace of different cultures -Turkish, Iranian, Russian, Arabic means Armenia is also rich and diverse.

Centuries before Turkish or Soviet intru sions, the south Caucasian country of three million people was on a key Silk Road route that led to cross-cultural influ ences, resulting in a mind-boggling array of grilled meats, flavour-charged dishes, fresh salads and oven-warm flatbreads.

As I travelled across the pint-sized country -peppered with valleys, gorges, lakes -the diversity of its food (cereals, lentils, vegetables, fruits) nurtured on mountainous terrain characterised by multiple distinct microclimates -was a treat to savour.

Bread lies at the heart of Armenian gas tronomy. At the Trinity Canyon Vineyards in Vayots Dzor, in south-eastern Armenia, we were invited for wine tasting and a tonir-lavash baking ceremony where we get to watch the village baker make the Armenian flatbread in the tonir (clay oven). First, a wheat flour and water dough is prepared and laid across a rabata (hay-filled cushion) to stretch.After a while, one portion of the now-pliable dough is pulled out and rolled thin (to about two feet) till it becomes translucent.Plunging her torso, the baker quickly plants the rolled dough into the hot oven, smacking it against the glowing oven wall. Almost immediately, the lavash begins to crackle and crisp. When it starts blistering, the bread is removed with an iron rod and stacked in a tray. Lavash, explained our host Hovakim Saghatelyan, owner of Trinity Canyon, a 4.5-hectare organic vineyard that combines contemporary oenology with Armenian traditions, “is one of the oldest breads in the world“. The way it is crafted features on UNESCO's Representative List Of The Intangible Cultural Heritage Of Humanity; There's leavened or unleavened lavash, thick or thin, soft or crisp.

Different villages have their own fiercely-guarded recipes. Lavash bak ing can also be a communitarian exer cise with ladies preparing large batch es to store them for the punishing win ter months. The bread remains unspoilt for over a year. Just sprinkle some water over it, heat it and its as good as new. As the baker brings the tray load of lavash to our table -set amidst vineyards overlooking magnificent mountain landscapes -our feast begins.We wrap the bread around khorovats (pork meat), stuff salty cheese and spicy peppers into it and top it all with thick creamy curds called matzun. It was a delicious mess. And use of cutlery was eschewed. Lavash was our napkin, plate, spoon, serving bowl, all rolled into one!

Meat Treat

Meat dishes occupy a cult status in Armenia. Shashlik comes at the top of the carnivore's pyramid cooked the same it was 1,500 years ago. I try out at least a dozen varieties in restaurants and people's homes. The reason why Armenian shashlik is so delicious; a local chef tells me conspiratorially, is because before we marinate the meat in cognac or wine to tenderise the protein. There's prolific use of herbs and condiments as well. We use over 300 kinds of wild grasses and flowers as seasonings, a local grocer tells me as I survey his smorgasbord of peppers, coriander, fenugreek, black pepper, mint, tarragon, basil, thyme, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, saffron, vanilla and a gazillion other spices and aromats.

Armenia is also fruit country and apricot is the national fruit. The fleshy fruit is mashed to make jellies, jams, marmalades, boiled and distilled into compote (a clear fruit juice), stewed with lamb or chicken or steeped in pilafs and stuffed in meats. Story goes that in the first century BC, Roman general Lucullus took several apricot saplings from Armenia to Rome.The Romans planted those saplings in their city and eureka, the “Armenian plum“ was born! At the ancient monasteries, the sight of women selling garlands of dried fruits (churchkela) hanging like curtains from their makeshift stalls is ubiquitous. They also sell sweet Sujuk, a chewy nougat made from honey, nuts and fruits as well as gata, a sweet pie studded with slivers of almonds. Armenian rivers and lakes brim with fish which chefs proudly put on their menus. Trout bred and caught in Lake Sevan (the largest water body in the Caucasus region) is called ishkhan and is particularly prized. At a local restaurant, I try the fish to find out what the fuss is all about. The fish is cooked simply, on a grill with a smidgen of olive oil and rock salt. But it was to die for!

Neeta lal

ETM27AUG17