Summer Calling : Bringing in new treats for clean eating.
This sweltering heat is keeping most of us indoors and away from our favourite foods. Even walking for 5 minutes in the sun, seems like you have walked for miles in a dessert. However, little do people know that this is also the time which brings out some of the best ingredients and flavours; which earnestly demonstrate unique tastes which are not possible in seasons otherwise.
Why don’t we try embrace the goodness of this weather too?
How about understanding the ingredients which fit perfectly into our summer moods? Recipes that are easy to execute and wholesome to our health and heart.
These thoughts bring us to the Armenian peasants wrap. Or, as Americans call them Hye Rollers.
Eating food rolled inside a lavash bread is an Armenian obsession and habit. One of the oldest wraps in Armenia is called “brdooch” or “peasants wrap”. It’s basically a wrap filled with salted cheese, herbs and lettuce. This has been a basic meal for many generations of Armenian peasants and shepherds. It is said that one Armenian peasant/shepherd would have consumed at least a thousand “brdooches” in his lifetime!
When the Armenian genocide took place in 1915, most of the Armenians migrated to different parts of the world, in search of a peaceful life. But wherever they migrated, they carried their food traditions with them. When the Armenians went to the United States of America, they set up small eateries outside their homes where they would sell these wraps. These wraps became very popular with the Americans and the Americans named these wraps — “Hye Rolls” (Hye because Armenia is also known as Hayastan).
The word “brdooch” is derived from the Armenian word “brdel” , which means to crumble.
At Lavaash by Saby we serve both the Peasants wrap and the Hye rolls. The Peasants wrap is made with Lavash rolled with hummus, roasted vegetables, coriander, salted homemade cheese, smoked Bandel cheese, salted Bandel cheese, hummus, coarse salt and homemade lavaash spice.
The Hye rolls at Lavaash are of two kinds — one is with spiced minced lamb and the second is with pork ham. The rest of the ingredients are the same as the peasants wrap.
At Lavaash by Saby, we are using indigenous cheese from West Bengal and Sikkim. The Bandel cheese comes from the town named Bandel , which is an erstwhile Portuguese settlement, around 50 km North of Calcutta. This cheese was introduced in India by the Portuguese and this unripened cheese is made from cows milk and has two varieties — the salted Bandel and the smoked Bandel.
The peasants wrap and the hye rolls at Lavaash are one of the few dishes where you can see how local ingredients have been merged with Armenian history and techniques to create an iconic Armenian dish , yet with very familiar flavours.
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