As my birthday falls near Christmas, my birthday celebrations has became a standard fixture on the festive calendar for me and my friends—for me a time to enjoy the season, for them a chance to eat fabulous Armenian and Middle-Eastern cuisine. The problem would come when they would ask me what was in each dish and I would struggle to find the English word for the spice or the grain—this book would have very much come in handy.
Armenian Cuisine, by the founders and chefs at the Mayrig restaurant in Beirut have brought to market a stunning cookery book which would be a wonderful coffee table book in itself, but for the fact it will get quickly stained by food through overuse. The chapters are typically divided by ingredient but more interestingly, throughout the book are interviews regarding the cuisine in different region of historic Armenia and their specialities such as Urfa, Musa Ler and Cilicia, bringing together in one book dishes that remind me of my Lebanese—Armenian grandmother but also my Cypriot-Armenian grandmother and their cooking traditions. Like the best of these women, all the measurements are in cups and you can easily end up cooking for 20 people with one recipe—the only way for us.
Interspersed throughout the book are explanations on the ingredients—the garmir biber that we all know and love but I could not for the life of me find an English equivalent. In addition, are also some beautiful photos of food, landscape and the writer of the book and their families—as I say a coffee table book as much as an incredible cookbook.
Written by Arda Eghiayan
Originally written for Bardez, AI’s periodical in 2013-2020