Khorovats ( hy, խորոված, ) is an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

barbecue. The meat may be marinated before grilling, but it does not have to be. It can be made with lamb, pork, beef, chicken, fish, or even veal. This is generally a dish reserved for "festive occasions".

Etymology

The word " խորոված" ''khorovats'' means "grilled" in Armenian and comes from the verb "խորովել" ''khorovel'' (to grill).

Description

Khorovats can be made with lamb, pork, beef, chicken, or less commonly veal. Some type of vegetable is usually served with the meat. A common preparation for green vegetables like

asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus '' Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

or green beans is to fry them and combine with whipped

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, a dish which resembles scrambled eggs with vegetables. A typical khorovats is made of chunks of meat grilled on a shampoor (շամփուր) or skewer, although

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patti ...

s or

chops CHOPS is the stage name of Scott Jung, also known as Scott Chops Jung, an Asian American hip hop producer, rapper and former member of the Asian American Hip-Hop group, the Mountain Brothers. Jung grew up in Philadelphia and has Chinese ancestry ...

grilled without skewers may be also used. 2006 book ''Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore'' gives three tips for making good khorovats: #The distance between the fire and the skewers should be approximately 12 to 15 centimeters (about 6 inches) #The largest pieces of meat should always go in the middle, where there is more heat for the fire #Shampoors (skewers) should be placed close together to concentrate the heat from the cooking fire In Armenia itself, khorovats is often made with the bone still in the meat (as

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

pork chops A pork chop, like other meat chops, is a loin cut taken perpendicular to the spine of the pig and is usually a rib or part of a vertebra. Pork chops are unprocessed and leaner than other cuts. Chops are commonly served as an individual portio ...

). Proshian Street in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

is dubbed "Barbecue Street" by foreigners, because many khorovats restaurants are located on the street.

In popular culture

In his ''The Travels of Sir John Chardin in Persia and the Orient'' 17th-century French traveler

Jean Chardin Jean Chardin (16 November 1643 – 5 January 1713), born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book ''The Travels of Sir John Chardin'' is regarded as one of the finest ...

wrote: In a scene from the 1976 Soviet film '' When September Comes'', prominent Armenian actor

Armen Dzhigarkhanyan Armen Borisovich Dzhigarkhanyan (russian: Армен Борисович Джигарханян; hy, Արմեն Բորիսի Ջիգարխանյան, Armen Borisi Jigarkhanyan; ; 3 October 1935 – 14 November 2020) was a Soviet, Armenian, and Rus ...

(Levon) makes khorovats with his grandson in the balcony of his daughter's Moscow apartment. His neighbors see smoke coming out of the balcony and call the firemen, but when a fireman arrives, everything settles down and all the neighbors gather at Levon's house to enjoy the dish. Since 2009, an annual festival of khorovats has been held in

Akhtala Akhtala ( hy, Ախթալա), is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province of Armenia, located along the Shamlugh river, on the slopes of Lalvar mountain, at a distance of 186 km north of the capital Yerevan and 62 km north of ...

in northern Armenia. In 2012, John A. Heffern, the US ambassador to Armenia, was among 15,000 guests of the festival.

References

Sources

* {{Barbecue Armenian cuisine National dishes Armenian culture Meat dishes