Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Armenian khurut

Here is a recipe I inherited from my Armenian great grandmother. My grandmother still used to make it occasionally, but my mother did not bother with it any more. I still remember the taste of it and one day I will make some (I promised to myself...).

So what is this mystery food? It is a potted mix that is used to flavour dishes, mostly soups. I did try to look for it on the net without success, so maybe modern Armenians don't bother with it either. If so, then I consider it doubly my duty to post it here as a heritage recipe. Of course, it may happen that in Armenia it goes by another name. I would appreciate if someone who happens to pass by could comment on it. There is another recipe I never found anywhere and which unfortunately I do not own, I just remember it from my childhood. It was called HARSNEMADNAG and it was a cigar shaped cookie. I would very much appreciate the recipe if you happen to have it...!!!

For now here is the description of how khurut was prepared in my great grandmother's house:

Bring 1 liter (4 cups) milk to just below boiling point, let it cool a bit, then mix in ½ liter (2 cups) pure sour cream (which does not contain any gelling agent), cover it and let it stand at room temperature overnight. Next day bring large quantities of milk, 6-8-10 liters, again to boiling point, let it cool and mix the previous day's clotted batch into it.

Cover and let this big pot sit in a warm room for three weeks, stirring it every day. After the three weeks put the resulting yogurt on the stove and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until it becomes as thick as good sour cream.

Meanwhile get a huge amount of parsley (about the size of a 10 lb bag of potatoes, or maybe even more), pick the leaves off the stems and grind these leaves in a food processor (the old recipe suggests a meat grinder), adding 10-12 celery tops (leaves only), and maybe some fresh tarragon leaves. Put the ground mix into the yogurt and keep simmering while stirring until it becomes as thick as marmalade.

Distribute this among jam jars while still hot, screw the tops on, turn them over for a short while, then store the jars in a dark closet. It will last indefinitely, or at least until next year. They usually prepared it in August or September.

It is used by adding a spoonful or so, mixed with fresh yogurt or sour cream, into soups or sauces, adjusting the amount to get a pleasingly sour taste.