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CUISINE AND CULTURE: UNESCO PUTS ARMENIAN HARISA ON LIST OF TURKISH NATIONAL DISHES
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow
02.12.11
One of the most popular dishes of the Armenian ethnic cuisine -
harisa - has appeared this week on the UNESCO list of world heritage
as a Turkish national dish called Keshkesk. The news has outraged
many in Armenia.
Sedrak Mamulyan, heading Development and Preservation of the Armenian
Culinary Traditions NGO, says harisa can absolutely not be Turkish.
"We have had two kinds of harisa: the harisa itself and kashika,
which has been transformed by the Turks into keshkesh. Kashika is
cooked in a tonir (cylindrical clay oven), and the fact that only
Armenians have had in-ground tonirs excludes the possibility of this
dish being Turkish. Turks never had tonirs," he says.
Kashika is mutton (or chicken) and wheat cooked together in a jar in
a tonir semi-buried or built in the ground (the heat is traditionally
generated by charcoal or wood fire, burning within the tonir itself,
thus exposing the food to live-fire giving a peculiar taste), whereas
harisa is cooked in above-ground ovens, and have to be stirred
constantly (for hours) until it's cooked. The name "harisa" derives
from the Armenian word for stir - "harel" .
Mamulyan says pagan Armenians made tonirs in resemblance with the
setting sun "going into the ground" (Sun being the main deity) and
Armenian women even bowed to the tonir before starting to bake bread
or cook something in it.
"Tonir Fest" will be held next summer, on August 11, for the Navasard
holiday (the old Armenian "New Year", which was dedicated to 7
Armenian pagan gods), featuring dishes cooked in this forefather of
the modern oven.
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow
02.12.11
One of the most popular dishes of the Armenian ethnic cuisine -
harisa - has appeared this week on the UNESCO list of world heritage
as a Turkish national dish called Keshkesk. The news has outraged
many in Armenia.
Sedrak Mamulyan, heading Development and Preservation of the Armenian
Culinary Traditions NGO, says harisa can absolutely not be Turkish.
"We have had two kinds of harisa: the harisa itself and kashika,
which has been transformed by the Turks into keshkesh. Kashika is
cooked in a tonir (cylindrical clay oven), and the fact that only
Armenians have had in-ground tonirs excludes the possibility of this
dish being Turkish. Turks never had tonirs," he says.
Kashika is mutton (or chicken) and wheat cooked together in a jar in
a tonir semi-buried or built in the ground (the heat is traditionally
generated by charcoal or wood fire, burning within the tonir itself,
thus exposing the food to live-fire giving a peculiar taste), whereas
harisa is cooked in above-ground ovens, and have to be stirred
constantly (for hours) until it's cooked. The name "harisa" derives
from the Armenian word for stir - "harel" .
Mamulyan says pagan Armenians made tonirs in resemblance with the
setting sun "going into the ground" (Sun being the main deity) and
Armenian women even bowed to the tonir before starting to bake bread
or cook something in it.
"Tonir Fest" will be held next summer, on August 11, for the Navasard
holiday (the old Armenian "New Year", which was dedicated to 7
Armenian pagan gods), featuring dishes cooked in this forefather of
the modern oven.