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Out of the pan and into the Fire
Barev Everyone.
I thought it be fun to create a thread dedicated to recipes especially those created by us. I'm a chef myself (compliments to my mom and my broad imagination) and have been cooking from a very young age and continue to do so today. I know many guys, especially Armenian guys that say that it's not cool for a guy to cook but I politely say ... that's BS. Some of the most famous chef's in the world are men and frankly speaking ... even if I was the only male chef on this planet, I'd still continue to do what I do because I like doing it. Yes urishneri hamar chem aprum.
Coming back to what I was saying. In this thread, I'd like to talk about some of the recipes that I myself have created and discuss overall cooking and learn to make some good dishes you might know about.
Here's my first recipe. Created it last year and so far, whoever has eaten it has loved it.
I love hot food, especially Mexican and Indian, and when I came to Armenia, I wanted to make my own burrito since no one else did here, lol. Half way through though, I decided to experiment and try making something new. The result was an Armenized Burrito and that's where I got the name AR(Armenian)BITO(Burrito)
.
Here's how you make it and I hope you all like it.
I don't know if you know what Lavash is but just to give you an idea, it's a thin flat sheet of bread and is available in almost every Armenian kitchen here in Armenian. I've been in many countries but no bread comes even close to Lavash. Also, it's pretty long and wide and doesn't come or isn't made in small slices. It's approximately 3F long but trust me it finishes very fast once you start eating it. It tastes that great and is very light. You don’t realize how fast you ate it. Lavash is available in Turkey as well if I'm not mistaken.
Here's what you need:
Sunflower oil or any other oil you particularly like to use
~
1 long Lavash or any other type of flat bread out there because you probably won't find Lavash everywhere. I think the bread they use to make burritos will suffice
~
Plain, white Sour Cream (Smetan, here in Armenia). This is one of the most important ingredients
~
Vegetables of your choice but especially tomatoes, bell peppers, capsicum, chili’s (if you like), and potatoes although the potatoes must be cooked
~
Spices of your choice, especially chili powder and salt if you love spicy food
~
Canned or Cooked Corn
~
Cooked Rice (if you like rice)
~
Baked Beans, like they use in burritos OR any other beans that are cooked, just not the green beans, unless you like them.
~
Your favorite greens (Basil, etc.)
~
Motzarella Cheese
~
Any other ingredient you particularly like. Meat can be used as well but it should be cooked definitely. I haven't made mine with meat though so you'll have to experiment yourself. I'm a pure veg. and so is my entire family. I haven't ever eaten meat but have absolutely nothing against non-vegetarians. What you eat doesn't make you who you are. Hitler was a veg. but he destroyed the world, lol. My point is, being a good/bad person doesn't come from what you eat
~
That's about it but most importantly, have fun while cooking, that's very important. A person who doesn't cook may not realize this but I tell ya, the most important ingredient is love. You have to be patient and take your time. What you feel is placed into your food (the emotion basically) directly so the better your mood is, the better the recipe will turn out.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut the Lavash down the middle so you'll be able to make two Arbito's AND also incase you have a small frying pan/oven (You don't have to cut the lavash if you want a big Arbito). Spread half of the Lavash or the entire Lavash on your clean and dry kitchen table. Those who want to use a replacement for Lavash can use the flatbread used to make burritos.
2. Now, take the sour cream and spread it all over the bread but make sure it doesn’t go over the edges, let’s keep everything clean.
3. Next, add a bit of beans, the rice, then the corn, the greens, the potatoes, the other vegetables, the meat (if you decide to use some), and finally the mozzarella cheese on top. You aren’t going to make only one Arbito so add only a bit of each ingredient, not everything. Also, remember that you’ll have to role the bread up so make sure you’ll be able to after adding all the ingredients. Don’t forget to add salt and the other spices in the end.
4. Now role the Arbito up and add smetan or sour cream on the edges of the bread to make it stick together (if it hasn’t already).
5. There are two ways to make my Arbito. One is to fry it and the other is to bake it in the oven. It tastes good both ways but it would be nice to try both because both offer a unique taste and flavor.
If you want to fry:
1. Add the oil into a frying pan (the bigger the pan, the better). Let it get hot and then add the spices you wish. Mix it all up and once the oil is hot enough, put the Arbito in. Something I forgot to mention is that if you want to go with the frying method, it would be better if your Arbito is small in size after you roll it up so it will fit into your frying pan and cook faster.
2. Once the Arbito is in, I suggest you give the frying pan some room because you might get some oil on you. I’ll also tell you why. When the sour cream comes in contact with the hot oil (this may sound funny) it explodes and evaporates very soon. So be careful.
3. Take two forks (this is the simplest way) and begin turning the Arbito every ten-twenty seconds. The Lavash and almost any other bread becomes golden brown very fast so make sure you don’t burn it or anything. Even if you do though, don’t throw it away. I’m about to show you a magic trick. After a bit, poke the Arbito with your fork, creating small holes in it. What happens now is that all the smetan in your Arbito begins to explode within it and cook all the other ingredients. It doesn’t evaporate very fast though, don’t worry.
4. By now, you’ll notice the crust or outer shell of your Arbito is very hard but don’t worry, this is what you want. Now, take it out of the frying pan once its golden brown (in about 2-3 minutes).
5. Going back to that magic trick I mentioned a few sentences back. If your Arbito is burned or something (it sometimes happens), all you need to do is take you forks and hit the outer shell a few times. It will slightly crumble and reveal you’re steaming Arbito, ready to be eaten. Wala, that’s it.
The Arbito is very easy to prepare and is most importantly very fast. Many don’t have enough time so the Arbito comes in handy. Also, it is one of my favorite recipes because it can be made (with almost any ingredients) whether you have enough or not. It is not a light dish though and a couple of Arbito’s are enough to keep you full to the brim for 5-6 hours if not the entire day. This recipe is based a lot on creativity and I have made it many times. My family likes it a lot and many of my Indian friends here liked it too when I made it at their house.
If you want to bake:
1. Place the oil on your baking pan, spread it around, and then place your Arbito on it. I’d like to also add that this Arbito can and should be big, much bigger then the normal Arbito’s. You can make smaller ones if you want as well.
2. Heat the oven to as high as it can go if you want it to bake faster and once its crust is hard (check from time to time) and brown, remove it from the oven and place it on the dining table. Then take a knife and cut it into as may slices as you want.
3. Enjoy!
I’ve made this Arbito a few times as well and it’s been a great success.
Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did while creating it and I’d love to here of some of your own recipes. Till next time
!
I thought it be fun to create a thread dedicated to recipes especially those created by us. I'm a chef myself (compliments to my mom and my broad imagination) and have been cooking from a very young age and continue to do so today. I know many guys, especially Armenian guys that say that it's not cool for a guy to cook but I politely say ... that's BS. Some of the most famous chef's in the world are men and frankly speaking ... even if I was the only male chef on this planet, I'd still continue to do what I do because I like doing it. Yes urishneri hamar chem aprum.
Coming back to what I was saying. In this thread, I'd like to talk about some of the recipes that I myself have created and discuss overall cooking and learn to make some good dishes you might know about.
Here's my first recipe. Created it last year and so far, whoever has eaten it has loved it.
ARBITO
I love hot food, especially Mexican and Indian, and when I came to Armenia, I wanted to make my own burrito since no one else did here, lol. Half way through though, I decided to experiment and try making something new. The result was an Armenized Burrito and that's where I got the name AR(Armenian)BITO(Burrito)
.Here's how you make it and I hope you all like it.
I don't know if you know what Lavash is but just to give you an idea, it's a thin flat sheet of bread and is available in almost every Armenian kitchen here in Armenian. I've been in many countries but no bread comes even close to Lavash. Also, it's pretty long and wide and doesn't come or isn't made in small slices. It's approximately 3F long but trust me it finishes very fast once you start eating it. It tastes that great and is very light. You don’t realize how fast you ate it. Lavash is available in Turkey as well if I'm not mistaken.
Here's what you need:
Sunflower oil or any other oil you particularly like to use
~
1 long Lavash or any other type of flat bread out there because you probably won't find Lavash everywhere. I think the bread they use to make burritos will suffice
~
Plain, white Sour Cream (Smetan, here in Armenia). This is one of the most important ingredients
~
Vegetables of your choice but especially tomatoes, bell peppers, capsicum, chili’s (if you like), and potatoes although the potatoes must be cooked
~
Spices of your choice, especially chili powder and salt if you love spicy food
~
Canned or Cooked Corn
~
Cooked Rice (if you like rice)
~
Baked Beans, like they use in burritos OR any other beans that are cooked, just not the green beans, unless you like them.
~
Your favorite greens (Basil, etc.)
~
Motzarella Cheese
~
Any other ingredient you particularly like. Meat can be used as well but it should be cooked definitely. I haven't made mine with meat though so you'll have to experiment yourself. I'm a pure veg. and so is my entire family. I haven't ever eaten meat but have absolutely nothing against non-vegetarians. What you eat doesn't make you who you are. Hitler was a veg. but he destroyed the world, lol. My point is, being a good/bad person doesn't come from what you eat
~
That's about it but most importantly, have fun while cooking, that's very important. A person who doesn't cook may not realize this but I tell ya, the most important ingredient is love. You have to be patient and take your time. What you feel is placed into your food (the emotion basically) directly so the better your mood is, the better the recipe will turn out.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut the Lavash down the middle so you'll be able to make two Arbito's AND also incase you have a small frying pan/oven (You don't have to cut the lavash if you want a big Arbito). Spread half of the Lavash or the entire Lavash on your clean and dry kitchen table. Those who want to use a replacement for Lavash can use the flatbread used to make burritos.
2. Now, take the sour cream and spread it all over the bread but make sure it doesn’t go over the edges, let’s keep everything clean.
3. Next, add a bit of beans, the rice, then the corn, the greens, the potatoes, the other vegetables, the meat (if you decide to use some), and finally the mozzarella cheese on top. You aren’t going to make only one Arbito so add only a bit of each ingredient, not everything. Also, remember that you’ll have to role the bread up so make sure you’ll be able to after adding all the ingredients. Don’t forget to add salt and the other spices in the end.
4. Now role the Arbito up and add smetan or sour cream on the edges of the bread to make it stick together (if it hasn’t already).
5. There are two ways to make my Arbito. One is to fry it and the other is to bake it in the oven. It tastes good both ways but it would be nice to try both because both offer a unique taste and flavor.
If you want to fry:
1. Add the oil into a frying pan (the bigger the pan, the better). Let it get hot and then add the spices you wish. Mix it all up and once the oil is hot enough, put the Arbito in. Something I forgot to mention is that if you want to go with the frying method, it would be better if your Arbito is small in size after you roll it up so it will fit into your frying pan and cook faster.
2. Once the Arbito is in, I suggest you give the frying pan some room because you might get some oil on you. I’ll also tell you why. When the sour cream comes in contact with the hot oil (this may sound funny) it explodes and evaporates very soon. So be careful.
3. Take two forks (this is the simplest way) and begin turning the Arbito every ten-twenty seconds. The Lavash and almost any other bread becomes golden brown very fast so make sure you don’t burn it or anything. Even if you do though, don’t throw it away. I’m about to show you a magic trick. After a bit, poke the Arbito with your fork, creating small holes in it. What happens now is that all the smetan in your Arbito begins to explode within it and cook all the other ingredients. It doesn’t evaporate very fast though, don’t worry.
4. By now, you’ll notice the crust or outer shell of your Arbito is very hard but don’t worry, this is what you want. Now, take it out of the frying pan once its golden brown (in about 2-3 minutes).
5. Going back to that magic trick I mentioned a few sentences back. If your Arbito is burned or something (it sometimes happens), all you need to do is take you forks and hit the outer shell a few times. It will slightly crumble and reveal you’re steaming Arbito, ready to be eaten. Wala, that’s it.
The Arbito is very easy to prepare and is most importantly very fast. Many don’t have enough time so the Arbito comes in handy. Also, it is one of my favorite recipes because it can be made (with almost any ingredients) whether you have enough or not. It is not a light dish though and a couple of Arbito’s are enough to keep you full to the brim for 5-6 hours if not the entire day. This recipe is based a lot on creativity and I have made it many times. My family likes it a lot and many of my Indian friends here liked it too when I made it at their house.
If you want to bake:
1. Place the oil on your baking pan, spread it around, and then place your Arbito on it. I’d like to also add that this Arbito can and should be big, much bigger then the normal Arbito’s. You can make smaller ones if you want as well.
2. Heat the oven to as high as it can go if you want it to bake faster and once its crust is hard (check from time to time) and brown, remove it from the oven and place it on the dining table. Then take a knife and cut it into as may slices as you want.
3. Enjoy!
I’ve made this Arbito a few times as well and it’s been a great success.
Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did while creating it and I’d love to here of some of your own recipes. Till next time
!
Personally I adore spicy hot food so I'm going to try this but can you be a bit more specific with the amount of the ingredients we should use?
!
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