Friday, December 4, 2009

Khash



The pictures that you see above are the standard ingredients of a traditional Armenian food dish called khash. I took them today at the market near our house. Here’s a pretty good description of the cooking process brought to you by the always informative Wikipedia.org…


“The main ingredient in khash is cow's feet, although other cow parts, such as the head and stomach (tripe) may also be used. The feet are depilated, cleaned, kept in cold water in order to get rid of bad smell, and boiled in water all night long, until the water has become a thick broth and the meat has separated from the bones. No salt or spices are added during the boiling process. The dish is served hot…dried lavash is often crumbled into the broth to add substance…the meal is almost always accompanied by vodka (preferably mulberry vodka) and mineral water.”


So, I had my first experience with khash back in October and I would like to add some interesting details to the above description. The “thick broth” mentioned is more like a kind of glue, which is understandable considering that many types of glue are made of animal hooves. Boiling the feet until “the meat has separated from the bones” is kind of a misleading description too. As you can tell by the pictures, there really isn’t much “meat” on the feet. Instead, I would’ve probably chosen to say, “until the tendon and thick layer of skin have separated from the bone”, which will become the tasty highlight of the dish later on. And as you might guess, the passing mention of “the meal is almost always accompanied by vodka” should be more heavily emphasized.


Here are some other interesting facts about khash from the equally informative Armeniapedia.org…


“Usually Armenians go for khash in the morning on weekends, because after a khash party, participants are happy, but also heavy with sleep; and, typically not smelling so sociably acceptable. It may not be the cows feet that make a person sleepy; rather the vodka, which, real khash professionals assure is good for digestion…hardcore khash eaters use only their fingers for consuming the odd meal.”


Let’s see, what else can I add? Oh yeah, it’s very common to cover khash with a salty minced garlic and butter mixture right before eating it. Also, you will see from the first picture that it is sometimes common to throw in other random parts of a cow, especially from the head and digestive system, which should explain the nose, ear, tongue, and intestinal parts that are being displayed for sale.


Now, I’ve had some strange encounters with exotic foods in the past and I think I can reasonably say that I’ve always come out on top…until I met khash. It is the only time I can remember that I could not finish my plate. I did my best to explain my unfamiliarity with the dish, but I’m not sure how well it translated. To be fair, I think the batch of khash that I ate may have been a little off since it was on its third day and the feet and stomach lining may not have been cleaned properly; however, even at its best, I think it poses a challenge.


On a lighter note, when people eat khash, they usually throw a party. I’m not really sure why, but I usually don’t question the motives of a good party, even when it occurs at seven in the morning and is accompanied by massive amounts of garlic, vodka, and khash.


Well, I’m sure that I will cross paths with khash again in the near future since it is a typical winter dish here in Armenia. Khash may have one the first battle, but the war is far from over.


-Andy