Khapama is a sweet pilaf cooked in pumpkin, a very tasty Armenian dish. Previously, khapama was prepared for wedding feasts as a symbol of abundance. I've been wanting to cook this dish for a long time, but I couldn't find a beautiful pumpkin. Finally, I got lucky and found a suitable pear-shaped butternut squash. After cutting the top off, the pumpkin came out to be a wonderful hapama pot. For this dish you should use basmati rice, any dried fruits, candied fruits and nuts that you like, as well as apples.
Cook basmati rice in a ratio of 1:1.5, that is, 1 part rice, 1.5 parts water.
Peel the apple, remove the seeds and cut into cubes. Also chop the dried apricots. Combine with rice.
Remove seeds and fibers from pumpkin. Use a spoon to remove some of the pulp from the sides. The wall thickness should remain about 12 mm. After I removed all the excess from the pumpkin, its weight remained at 850 g.
Add candied fruits and nuts to the rice. I chose candied pineapple, raisins, cashews and walnuts. The nuts need to be chopped with a knife. Chop some of the pumpkin pulp and add to the rice filling.
Grease the walls of the pumpkin with butter and fill with the prepared filling. Place pieces of butter on top as well.
Place the pumpkin in a heat-resistant form, cover with two layers of foil, pressing well against the walls of the pumpkin. Pour some water into the mold, about 100 ml.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees and cook the pumpkin for 1.5 hours. After turning off the oven, keep the khapama there for another half hour.
Place the pumpkin on a large plate and cut into slices, like a watermelon. Delicious dish!
Bon appetit!
1) Wash the pumpkin, dry it and cut off the top. The top should be cut off not with a straight cut, but by inserting a knife at an angle so that the cut forms a low cone. This method will securely hold the “lid” on our pumpkin “pot” during baking.
Use a spoon to remove the seeds and fibers, and use a knife and spoon to remove some of the pulp, making the walls 10-13 mm thick.
3) Prepare sweet additives for rice. Traditionally, dried fruits are added to khapama: dried apricots, raisins and cherry plums and fresh fruits: apples or quinces.
Since the dish became widespread not only in Eastern cuisine, but also in European cuisine, they began to put any dried fruits and nuts of the hostess’ choice into the khapama.
This recipe uses dried fruits: raisins, dried apricots, prunes and dates. Quantity - according to your taste. All these ingredients need to be washed, dried and cut into small pieces (raisins, of course, do not need to be cut). If these components are excessively dry, they should be pre-soaked. Just chop the nuts.
9) Place the pumpkin in a baking dish. I took a silicone one, nothing sticks to it, in other forms it is better to cover 2-3 layers of baking paper. Cover the pumpkin with the cut top and place in the oven to bake.
Due to different pumpkin volumes and oven conditions, cooking times may vary. On average it takes 40 minutes - 1.5 hours at a temperature of 180 degrees.
10) The rice inside is cooked, saturated with the aromas of fruit and the pumpkin itself - you can take it out. Usually the pumpkin is cut like a watermelon, from top to bottom in slices.
You can serve melted butter and honey with the khapama, as well as washed dried fruits if they are soft and pliable. It turns out to be a very tasty dish.
This is the song dedicated to Hapama stuck in my head)))
We prepared it on New Year's Day.
A wonderful Armenian pumpkin dish. Very festive, elegant, tasty and healthy.
I'm posting the recipe here. Because I promised to collect here all the interesting recipes in which I used what was grown in our garden.
The main thing in Khapam is pumpkin. And it was grown in my garden in the summer.
Khapama, a very elegant dish. It fits perfectly on the holiday table. If the family is large or there are many guests, then baking a large, beautiful pumpkin, the contents of which are enough for everyone, is the most appropriate action.
But we prepared small portioned pumpkins for ourselves. I thought that I would no longer grow this little thing... But it turned out to be so convenient, both for juices and for khapama.
I took three pumpkins.
I removed the tops and made a beautiful natural pot out of the pumpkin. Use a spoon to scrape off a little of the pulp inside, which you can then add to the delicious filling. And the walls of the pumpkin can be coated with honey.
Rice, rinse, boil a little. I regretted that I boiled it just a little bit, thinking that in an hour in the oven it would definitely boil down. No, he was damp. and I had to simmer the pumpkin in the oven. Keep in mind that if you cook, cook the rice until almost done. In Armenia, I like to buy Thai Better rice. Of all the rice I've tried here, this is the best. For my taste.
Dried apricots, prunes, raisins (in my case, a little bit three different raisins each) - wash well, cut the prunes and dried apricots into small pieces. Dried cherry plum or any dried fruit with sourness is added there, but I didn’t have it.
I also chopped an apple and some quince. I mixed everything.
Add more nuts. Any. But I didn’t do this.
Add cinnamon to taste. If you love. You can sweeten with granulated sugar. But, of course, we added honey from the heart. And according to the recipe, I think it’s correct to cook it with honey.
Place the filling into the prepared pumpkin.
Place pieces of butter on top.
I line a baking sheet with foil. But once upon a time, pumpkin was baked in a tonyr. I don’t have a tonyra yet. And there is a simple electric oven. In which I baked the pumpkin. Cover the pumpkins with lids. And into the oven, at a temperature of 170 degrees. about 50 minutes. Depends of course on the size of the pumpkin.
That's it, our holiday dish is ready.
I’ll play another video for you here, it’s in Armenian, but everything is visible and understandable. Just so you can hear a little of this song and imagine life in an Armenian village. The woman in it somehow cooks it with her soul. I like it.
But in another video, everything is simply well shown how Khapama is prepared. Fast and easy.
Well, the song sounds))) The guests sing in anticipation)) “Hey, jan, Khapama! What a smell, what a taste!” “Honey is inside, Khapama” And there, according to the text, guests flock like bees to honey - “Here is dad with mom and her sister, Here is mother-in-law and father-in-law with their sister, Here is brother and sister and brother-in-law with his wife, Here is mother-in-law, father-in-law, matchmaker and matchmaker, Uncles and aunties and a crowd of children, Friends and girlfriends with wives and husbands, With children and godfathers.... Eee-hey hey jan, hey jan, hey jan...Hapama)))
Happy holidays and good year to you. Welcome guests. And excellent, tasty and healthy food, not only for the holidays, but for the whole year!
I hope it will be fruitful for everyone. And we will have pumpkins for everything, including for Hapama.
Khashlama, which is meat and vegetables stewed in its own juice, is so tasty that many nations dispute the authorship of this dish. However, most often khashlama is still classified as Armenian cuisine. Armenian khashlama is prepared according to different recipes; a variety of types of meat can be used for it, but there are still common points that distinguish this dish from other similar dishes. If you know them, even an inexperienced housewife can prepare khashlama, indistinguishable from the traditional Armenian one, without spending much effort on it. After all, khashlama is prepared, although it takes a long time, but simply, almost completely without the participation of the cook himself.
Cooking features
It would be wrong to say that the Armenians were the first to come up with stewing meat and vegetables - such dishes are found in almost all cuisines of the world. But still, khashlama prepared according to Armenian recipes is unique. To prevent the dish from turning into an ordinary stew, you need to know the technology for preparing Armenian khashlama and follow the recommendations contained in the original recipes.
- Khashlama can be prepared from any type of meat. Armenians most often make it from lamb or beef, less often from pork. Recipes for khashlama made from poultry are becoming increasingly popular. The main thing is to choose a high-quality and fresh product, giving preference to the meat of a young animal. Of course, with prolonged stewing, which involves the traditional recipe for khashlama, even old meat will soften, but veal and lamb will turn out much more tender.
- When choosing between tenderloin and meat on the bone, preference should be given to the latter, since khashlama from such meat is the most flavorful.
- The khashlama is not stirred during stewing. In order for the taste of the dish to be as harmonious as possible, the vegetables and meat are laid out in layers. It is better not to disturb the order of the layers, although it is usually not of decisive importance.
- Khashlama turns out to be especially tasty because the meat in it is stewed as if in its own juice, that is, using a minimal amount of liquid. Typically, per kilogram of used products take 100–150 ml of water or other liquid.
- Khashlama turns out more tender and tastier if the products are stewed not in water, but in wine or beer.
- Khashlama must be aromatic. To do this, a lot of herbs and various spices are added to it. Hot spices are added to taste - they are desirable, but not required.
- Khashlama should be stewed in a container that retains heat well inside. This is a cauldron, a thick-walled pan. In a thick-bottomed pan, food will start to burn before it becomes soft.
Armenian khashlama includes vegetables such as onions and sweet peppers. Carrots are often added, and eggplants and potatoes are added a little less often. Mushrooms and beans can be used. Tomatoes are added instead of sauce; they give the finished dish juiciness and pleasant sourness. The final taste depends on what vegetables are added to the dish.
Armenian lamb khashlama with wine
- lamb – 1 kg;
- carrots – 0.3 kg;
- onions – 0.4 kg;
- sweet pepper – 0.2 kg;
- tomatoes – 0.5 kg;
- wine – 150 ml;
- salt, herbs, pepper - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Wash the lamb and cut it into large pieces.
- Add salt, pepper, and other spices to the wine to your taste. Marinate the lamb in it, putting it in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Peel the onion, cut it into half rings about 2-3 cm thick and divide into 2 parts.
- Peel the carrots. Cut it into strips or thin bars. If desired, you can grate it using a grater with large holes, but it is still not necessary to grind it so much.
- Wash the pepper and cut off its stem. Remove the seeds. Cut the pulp lengthwise into thin strips.
- Wash the tomatoes. Make a cross-shaped cut on each vegetable with a knife. Boil water and throw the cut-skinned fruits into the boiling water. Blanch for two minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a container filled with cold water. There they will quickly cool down. Peel the cooled tomatoes and cut their pulp into small pieces of arbitrary shape.
- Place half the onion on the bottom of the cauldron. Place the meat on it and pour in the wine in which it was marinated.
- Cover the meat with a layer of chopped peppers and place the remaining onion on it. Place carrots on top.
- Place the tomatoes on the top layer and pour the juice released from the tomatoes into the cauldron.
- Place a bunch of greenery on top.
- Cover the cauldron and place it on the stove. Simmer the khashlama for 2.5 hours over low heat. If necessary, you can add half a glass of warm water. The dish should not be stirred.
Carefully place the finished khashlama on plates and sprinkle with fresh herbs, chopping them with a knife. Do not let the khashlama cool, otherwise its flavor will be less pronounced.
Armenian beef khashlama with potatoes
- beef – 1.5 kg;
- potatoes – 1 kg;
- sweet pepper – 1 kg;
- carrots – 0.5 kg;
- onions – 0.7 kg;
- tomatoes – 1 kg;
- lemon – 1 pc.;
- water – 0.5 l;
- garlic – 6 cloves;
- vegetable or ghee – 100 ml;
- Suneli hops, herbs, salt - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon and mix it with khmeli-suneli.
- After washing and drying the beef, cut into pieces like for a shish kebab, that is, about 4–5 cm.
- Marinate the meat for an hour in lemon juice.
- Peel the potatoes and cut each tuber into 2–6 pieces, depending on the size of the potato. The pieces must be large enough, otherwise the potatoes will be overcooked and lose their shape, becoming unappetizing.
- Wash the peppers. Cut off their stalks and remove the seeds. Cut into thin strips.
- Peel the onion and cut it into thin half rings.
- Cut the carrots into thin strips or grate them coarsely.
- Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and peel them. Cut into large slices.
- Finely chop the garlic with a knife.
- Tie the greenery into a common bunch.
- Pour oil into the bottom of the cauldron. Warm it up. Fry the meat in oil for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle carrots and onions over the meat. Top with peppers and potatoes. Sprinkle the potato layer with garlic.
- Place tomatoes and herbs on top. Pour water into the cauldron.
- Place the cauldron on low heat and simmer the khashlama without stirring for 2.5 hours.
There is no need for a side dish for khashlama in Armenian; instead of bread, it is better to serve it with lavash.
Armenian Khashlama of lamb ribs with beer
- lamb ribs – 1 kg;
- potatoes – 0.8 kg;
- onions – 0.6 kg;
- sweet peppers of different colors - 0.4 kg;
- carrots – 0.3 kg;
- tomatoes – 0.7 kg;
- beer – 0.5 l;
- salt, seasonings, herbs - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Chop the lamb ribs. Place them in a cauldron, sprinkle with spices and fill with beer.
- Cut the onion into rings or halves of rings, not too thin. Place it on the meat.
- Peel the carrots and cut into thin slices. If it is large, you can cut it into halves or even quarters. Place carrots on top of onions.
- Peel and coarsely chop the potatoes and place in a cauldron. Add salt and season.
- Peel the pepper, cut it into strips and place it on the potatoes.
- Peel the tomatoes and cut them into circles. Cover the contents of the cauldron with tomato slices.
- Place the dish on the fire to simmer. After 2 hours, sprinkle it with chopped herbs and continue to simmer for another quarter of an hour.
Khashlama prepared according to this Armenian recipe turns out to be especially aromatic. There is no taste or smell of beer in it, only subtle notes of hops and malt remain, which give khashlama an unusual taste, highlighting the taste of lamb ribs.
Armenian khashlama can be prepared from any type of meat. If you know the technology of its preparation and follow the recommendations in the recipe, it will turn out tasty and aromatic even for a novice cook.
Pumpkin, having a special shape of a natural pot, is often used to prepare dishes directly in it. In Russian cuisine, millet porridge with pumpkin is prepared this way, and in Armenian cuisine, sweet pilaf, or khapama.
It seemed, what so tasty and interesting could be prepared from this ordinary vegetable - pumpkin? These questions will disappear on their own if you cook pumpkin according to this wonderful recipe, which rightfully belongs to Armenian cuisine.
For khapama you will need a pumpkin. The top of the pumpkin is cut off to create a pumpkin pot. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds with a spoon. A little pulp is set aside for the filling.
After boiling, Yantar rice is cooked for about five minutes.
Dried apricots, raisins, prunes are thoroughly washed.
The apple is cut into thin slices.
In Armenia, onions are not added to khapama, but I decided that it would not spoil the taste at all. Finely chop half the onion.
In Armenia there is even a song praising pumpkin. I will translate an Armenian song while simultaneously describing the preparation of khapama.
Imagine the head of an Armenian family singing in anticipation, or rather in anticipation of Khapama, which has been languishing for two hours in the oven: “Hey, jan, Khapama! What a smell, what a taste!!!” - the owner sings joyfully, and to pass the time, he tells: “How we went to the melon garden, how we looked for and found an excellent pumpkin, how we brought it home” - smacking his lips with pleasure and not forgetting to chant: “Hey, jan, Khapama !!! What a smell, what a taste! ", and then begins to list with delight - what they put in the pumpkin (after thoroughly cleaning it; Rice (already almost cooked) raisins, dried apricots, prunes.
The inside of the pumpkin is greased with butter, rice, onions, dried apricots, prunes, apples, pumpkin pulp, cinnamon, and black pepper are placed in it, slightly boiled in salted water. Everything gets mixed up. Butter is placed on top. The filling in the pumpkin is not laid out to the very top, because it will still increase.
The pumpkin is closed with a cut off lid. Wrap in foil and put in the oven for 2 hours (200 degrees.)
Here the strength of the host-singer leaves and the hostess enters in tenor, noticing in horror how relatives are gathering at the smell - like bees for honey... Almost crying, she sings that a hundred people have come and a friendly counting begins: “Here is dad and mom and her sister, Here is the mother-in-law and father-in-law with their sister, Here is the brother and sister and brother-in-law with his wife, Here is the mother-in-law, father-in-law, matchmaker and matchmaker, Uncles and aunties and a crowd of children, Friends and girlfriends with their wives and husbands, With children and godfathers... .. Eee-hey hey jan, hey jan, hey jan..." Of course, the owner greets everyone joyfully and everyone sings hosanna to Hapama and dances...
And the aroma is actually very, very good, it whets your appetite.
Khapama is a dish designed for a large, noisy feast - the pumpkin is usually cut at a round table, and when at least the whole family gathers, everyone gets a piece.
Khapama is ready, come, dear guests, eat our pumpkin.
