Probably one of the most special and extraordinary dishes of Armenian cuisine is harissa. It is neither a soup, not something we can call a fast food. The making of harissa is quite complicated but after you make it and eat just one spoon of it, you are completely full, even if you were desperately hungry. This dish is very tasty and historically it helped Armenians to survive during war. This is one of the dishes that helped this nation to survive, to fight, to have power and to have enough energy to go ahead. It Is one of the national symbols of Armenia and not just a hot dish.
You ingredients must be
- 300 g. Beforehand rinsed and soaked wheat berries,
- 1kg. Boneless beef meat
- 1kg. Boneless lamb meat
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1teaspoon cinnamon
- Chopped parsley
- Butter
- Salt
To make this dish you have to get prepared a day before. It needs some special preparation.
You have to put the wheat into water and keep it there one day, so that they will become softer. The next day when they are softened enough it is the right time to boil them. Because meat needs to get prepared well. After the wheat is finally boiled and the meat is not row and well prepared, you have to tear the meat into peace. After you make small bites of meat you add them into the mass we have with wheat. Then you chop the onion into small peace, fry them and add to the mess with meat and wheat. Then it is the right time to mix the mess we have in a proper way and then add butter as much as we like. The last step to have the think soup ready is to season them with salt. Harissa is ready.
As we have already mentioned harissa is a very think soup and it is really heavy. If you have already eaten something do not eat it. You have to be really hungry to enjoy it.
As mentioned before, it is a really hard process to make harissa. It will take more than 3 hours but the result we will have is amazing.
It is a very nutritious dish, because it includes wheat and meat. The dish is very rich in calories. Especially if you add much butter it becomes oily and that makes it even richer in calories. After eating one spoon of it you will have the feeling that you have swallowed a crocodile, as the nutrition level becomes very high.
The dish harissa is also very special when it comes to the level of difficulty, it is really difficult to cook it, as said before, and young people usually cannot cook it. It is something to do for old women. You need to have much experience to prepare it. Usually it takes more than 3 hours to make it, and it is like a special meditation not just a dish making process.
The thing about this think soup is that young Armenian people cannot make it, they lack of experience. It is usually made by really old Armenian women because such brutal dish can be cooked by those only who have had enough experience in cooking in general. It is not just a brilliant and tasty Armenian dish, it is not just a part of Armenian food heritage but a part of Armenian identity, Armenian history and it was the only means for Armenians to survive.
