Dersim – Cuisine (Part B)

The people of Dersim baked bread in a tonir, on a metallic saj, or on a stone slab placed on the hearth. The most popular and beloved type of bread was lavash, which was baked in a tonir.Saj bread was also popular, and it was usually made with the flour of corn or glgil [a cereal similar to corn, but less nutritious and with larger seeds]. Pournit was another type of bread – round, thick, very soft, and with a hole in the center of each roll. Aneg bread was baked without yeast, while pogegh was baked on New Year’s Eve. Pagharch was round, relatively thin bread, which was often dipped in djmour, sron, or other semi-liquid dishes. Chaghchi pagharch was bread baked on the red-hot stone slabs of the mill, without yeast and with freshly milled flour (for more details on chaghchi pagharch, see Dersim – Cuisine – Part A).

During the process of baking bread, including lavash bread, one of the young brides or girls of the household would use the dough of the same bread to make pishi (oiled bread). She would flatten the dough with her fingers, fry it in oil, drizzle honey on top, then serve it to members of the household and to guests.

This soup was a favorite of Dersim Armenians and was enjoyed throughout the year. It was served hot. It was prepared with coarse bulghur and yogurt. In the winter, it was prepared with preserved yogurt (chortan, pazgutan, or strained yogurt).

1. 1 liter of yogurt
2. 1 soupspoon of flour
3. ½ cup of coarse bulghur (or cracked wheat)
4. 2 onions
5. 2 soupspoons of oil
6. Dried or fresh mint (or wild mint)
7. Salt

Boil the bulghur. Beat the yogurt with the flour, then pour this mixture over the bulghur. Steam boil the chopped onions in oil and add the mint, then add this mixture to the boiling soup and cook for a few more minutes.

Baghtanabour was a summer version of tanabour. Boil bulghur and let them cool down, then mix in churned tan or yogurt.

Gorgodabour with tan was a refreshing summer dish. Boil cracked wheat and crushed chickpeas, then pour garlic yogurt over them. Serve with mint or wild mint leaves sprinkled on top.

1. ½ kilogram of fatty meat on the bone
2. 2 cups of cracked wheat (dzedzadz)
3. 3 onions
4. 1 soupspoon of oil
5. Salt

Thoroughly boil the meat and cracked wheat together. Add fried onions while still boiling. After removing the bone from the meat, whip the soup until it becomes homogeneous. Serve hot.

To make the ttmadj, add salt and water to flour and knead the dough until firm. Shape the dough into several balls, and with a rolling pin, roll open each doughball to a thickness of 0.5 centimeters. Arrange the discs of dough on top of each other, sprinkling flour in-between, then cut with a sharp knife and make long and thin strips of the dough. Boil these strips in saltwater.

Chop an onion and steam boil in oil or vegetable oil. Add fresh or ground mint (or wild mint), then pour the fried onions over the ttmadj. Continue boiling together until the dough is fully cooked. Crush garlic in yogurt (or tan), mix this yogurt into the steaming soup, and serve.

1. 1 cup of red lentils
2. ½ cup of fine bulghur
3. 2 onions
4. 1 soupspoon of oil
5. Garlic
6. Mint (or wild mint)
7. Hot red pepper
8. Salt

Boil the lentils in meat broth. Add the bulghur, then the fried onions and mint. Crush garlic into the soup before serving. During Lent, naturally, the soup was boiled in regular water and the onions were fried in vegetable oil.

1. 1 cup of kidney beans
2. ½ cup of cracked wheat (dzedzadz)
3. Red and black pepper
4. Mint (or wild mint)
5. Salt

Thoroughly boil the previously soaked beans and cracked wheat together, season, and then mash the mixture until it becomes a pulp. The dish could be served in two ways: a) as a cold pulp with an onion bulb; and b) after pouring water over it, boiling it, and serving it as a hot soup.

Chrkhash was prepared when the homemaker was very busy or if she had run out of food, but hungry household members arrived home late. It was a dish that could be prepared quickly from scratch. Boil water, add oil or butter, season, crack a few eggs into it, and stir constantly. Afterwards, add chopped fresh or dry greens. Serve by pouring the chrkhash over lavash breadcrumbs. The same dish could be prepared with ghavourma meat if guests dropped by suddenly.

Chrvrig was prepared in conjunction with ghavourma, using the ghavourma broth, to which were added several beaten eggs. The dish was served with breadcrumbs in it.

Djlbour soup was a liquid dish prepared from scratch, like chrkhash. Add boiling water and bran to fried onions. Serve with breadcrumbs in it.

Kordig was a Lenten dish and was considered a poor man’s dish. The paste of crushed sesame seeds was dissolved in boiling water, and the dish was served with breadcrumbs in it.

This soup was prepared with fresh or preserved greens, and with cracked wheat or coarse bulghur. On Lenten days, it was prepared with vegetable oil, and on non-Lenten days, with animal oil or ghavourma.

1. ½ kilogram of greens
2. 1 cup of boiled chickpeas
3. ½ cup of boiled cracked wheat (or coarse bulghur)
4. 2 soupspoons of oil
5. 2 onions
6. Garlic
7. Mint or wild mint
8. Red and black pepper
9. Salt

Boil the greens, mix in the boiled chickpeas and cracked wheat, and continue boiling. Meanwhile, chop the onions and garlic, fry in oil after adding the mint, then add this mixture to the soup. Continue boiling.

1. ½ kilogram of greens
2. 1 cup of bran
3. 2 soupspoons of oil
4. 2 onions
5. Red and black pepper
6. Mint and salt

Chop the greens and boil. Remove some of the water, add the bulghur to it, season, and then pour this mixture over the greens and continue boiling. Serve with fried onions on top.

Alrabour was prepared by boiling a mixture of flour, water, and salt. It was served with butter on top.

1. ½ kilograms of mushrooms
2. 1 onion
3. 1 carrot
4. 1 potato
5. 50 grams of butter
6. Herbs
7. Salt and pepper
8. Mint

Chop all the vegetables, boil them together, season, and add the butter before removing from the flame.

1. ½ kilograms of mushrooms
2. 1 liter of milk
3. 50 grams of butter
4. 1 soupspoon of flour
5. Salt and pepper

Chop the mushrooms and boil them in milk. Meanwhile, dissolve the flour in water, and pour this mixture over the mushrooms. Add butter before serving.

“The mountain dweller drinks the oil; the valley dweller licks the dregs” was a humorous adage often cited in reference to the dish called tankhash. In the mountainous areas of Dersim, it was customary for farm workers to pour a generous helping of oil on their tankhash, then scoop the dish with morsels of bread; while in the city and villages of the valley, tankhash was consumed in the regular manner.

1. 1 cup of cracked wheat
2. 1 liter of yogurt
3. 1 soupspoon of flour
4. Oil
5. Salt

Boil the cracked wheat. Mix the yogurt and flour, then boil. Pour the boiled yogurt and flour over the boiled cracked wheat, and continue boiling them together, stirring frequently until the mixture becomes a pulp. Serve by pouring the hot pulp into bowls and dripping oil in the center.

To make khashil, boil the bran of cracked groats in broth until the mixture becomes a pulp. Pour milk or melted butter over this pulp before serving.

To make lantag, boil the bran of cracked groats in milk until the mixture becomes a pulp. Pour melted butter over this pulp before serving.

Khavidz was prepared for pregnant and nursing mothers, as well as for children and the sick. First, roast flour in hot oil until it darkens and turns golden. Then pour boiling water into the boiling oil, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. According to preference, drip honey over the meal before serving.

Dish with pokhint (flour of milled wheat or barley) was prepared by boiling the pokhint, then mixing it with water or milk. After the mixture thickens, add oil and serve. According to preference, drip honey over the meal.

Smurdig was the name given to the mixture of sifted fine bulghur and ground bran. The same name was given to the dish prepared with this flour, which was cooked with milk and served with oil poured over it.

To make lentil dish, boil lentils and chopped onions, then season. On non-Lenten days, animal oil was poured over the dish before serving, and on Lenten days, the meal was prepared without animal oil. In the winter, some people would add squash or garlic to the boiling mixture.

1. 1 cup of lentils
2. ½ kilogram of greens
3. 2 onions
4. 2 soupspoons of sesame oil
5. Garlic
6. Mint (or wild mint)
7. Hot red pepper
8. Salt

Boil the lentils, then add the chopped greens, onions, and garlic. Remove a small amount of the soup water, dissolve the oil in it, and mix it back into the soup. Season, bring to a boil, and serve.

Kilour was the name given to pea picked before the seeds became fixed in the pod. These seeds were often eaten raw. Kilour was used fresh, dried, and preserved; and was also ground to make a paste.

1. 2 cups of fresh peas
2. 200 grams of ghavourma
3. 2 onions
4. Red and black pepper
5. Garlic
6. Thyme
7. Salt

Heat up the ghavourma in its own fat, mix in the chopped onions and garlic, season, and continue steam boiling on a low flame. Add the peas and water, then cook until the peas are boiled. During Lent, the same dish was prepared without meat, by pouring onions fried in vegetable oil over the boiled peas.

1. 2 cups of fresh peas
2. 1 carrot
3. 1 potato
4. 1 onion
5. 1 tomato
6. 1 pepper
7. 2 soupspoons of oil
8. Salt

Chop the vegetables finely and steam boil in oil. Mix in the fresh peas and continue cooking over a low flame. If necessary, add a small amount of water.

1. 2 cups of green peas
2. ½ cup of milk
3. 2 soupspoons of oil
4. Black pepper
5. Salt

Boil the peas in water, then crush them into a paste. Mix oil or butter into the boiled milk, then pour it over the paste, season, and serve after boiling this mixture. The density of the dish could be altered according to preference. To make the soup more liquid, mix water into it.

This dish was prepared when the locals took their herds to the pastures for the first time after the spring thaw. They invited their neighbors to share the dish and celebrate the occasion.

1. 1 kilogram of meat on the bones
2. ½ kilogram of small onions
3. 2 bulbs of garlic
4. 2 tomatoes
5. 2 peppers
6. 3 potatoes
7. Herbs
8. Red and black pepper
9. Thyme and wild mint
10. Salt

Boil the chopped meat, add the remaining ingredients, and cook over a low flame.

1. 1 chicken (or turkey)
2. 1 cup of coarse bulghur
3. 2 onions
4. 1 bulb of garlic
5. 2 soupspoons of oil
6. 1 cup of chopped dried fruits
7. ½ cup of raisins
8. ½ cup of walnuts
9. Red and black pepper
10. Thyme and wild mint
11. Salt

Partially boil the chicken. Cook the coarse bulghur in the chicken’s broth. Chop the onion and fry in oil alongside the chicken’s heart, lungs, and liver. Mix in the nuts, raisins, and dried fruits; season; and pour this mixture over the bulghur. Stuff this pilaf into the chicken’s abdomen, spreading whatever is left on a large pan. Place the stuffed chicken on top of the pilaf, rub oil and yogurt on the chicken, and cook it in an oven or tonir until it reddens completely.

On holidays, dolmas were made with chopped ghavourma meat. On non-Lenten days, dolmas were cooked in oil, and on Lenten days, in vegetable oil, with the addition of chopped walnuts. The other ingredients remained almost entirely the same throughout the year: coarse bulghur, chopped onions, garlic, herbs, wild mint, thyme, sumac, and hot pepper. Dolmas were rolled in the leaves of grapes, greens, and fresh or pickled cabbages. Summer dolmas were prepared in the form of stuffed eggplants, zucchinis, peppers, tomatoes, and onions.

1. 2 cups of coarse bulghur
2. 2 onions
3. 2 tomatoes
4. 2 peppers
5. 3 soupspoons of oil
6. 2 bulbs of garlic
7. 1 carrot
8. Fresh mint
9. Herbs
10. Salt and pepper
11. Sumac
12. Thyme and wild mint
13. For rolling: grape, greens, or cabbage leaves
14. For stuffing: eggplants, zucchinis, peppers, onions, and tomatoes

Chop the onions, tomatoes, peppers, and greens. Mix in the bulghur, oil, and spices. At the bottom of the pot, arrange sliced carrots, cloves of garlic, and mint leaves. Arrange the rolled or stuffed dolmas on top and add enough warm water to submerge them. Place a heavy plate on top, to prevent the dolmas from moving or collapsing while being boiled. Boil until the water is almost completely absorbed.

1. 500 grams of fatty ghavourma meat
2. 2 cups of coarse bulghur
3. 3 onions
4. 1 bulb of garlic
5. 1 carrot
6. Salt and pepper
7. Sumac
8. Thyme and wild mint
9. Grape leaves

Chop the meat and the onions. Mix in the bulghur, oil, and spices. At the bottom of the pot, arrange sliced carrots, cloves of garlic, and chopped onions. Arrange the rolled dolmas on top and add enough warm water to submerge them. Place a heavy plate on top, to prevent the dolmas from moving or collapsing while being boiled. Boil until the water is almost completely absorbed. Often, the water remaining in the pot after the dolmas were cooked was served separately alongside the dish, in small bowls.

1. 2 cups of coarse bulghur
2. 1 cup of chopped chickpeas
3. ½ cup of chopped walnuts
4. 4 onions
5. ½ cup of oil
6. 2 bulbs of garlic
7. 1 carrot
8. Salt and pepper
9. Sumac
10. Thyme and wild mint
11. Preserved grape or cabbage leaves

Chop the onions, and mix them with the bulghur, boiled chickpeas, and walnuts. Add the oil and spices. At the bottom of the pot, arrange sliced carrots, cloves of garlic, and chopped onions. Arrange the rolled dolmas on top and add enough warm water to submerge them. Place a heavy plate on top, to prevent the dolmas from moving or collapsing while being boiled. Boil until the water is almost completely absorbed. On Lenten days, this dish was often served alongside sesame sauce. To make this sauce, add hot water, vinegar, chopped onions, garlic, herbs, and spices to sesame seed paste.

When fresh meat was available, kouftas were made with pounded fresh meat. On other days, for the dough of the koufta, the Armenians of Dersim used fine bulghur and flour mixed with bran; and for the filling, they used ghavourma. The following is the recipe of regular kouftas, used in several of the recipes below:

1. 1 cup of fine bulghur
2. ½ cup of flour (mixed with bran)
3. Red and black pepper
4. Thyme and wild mint
5. Salt

Wet the bulghur, then add the flour and spices, and knead while wetting the fingers until the dough softens.

1. 1 kilogram of pounded meat
2. 1 kilogram of fine bulghur
3. ½ kilogram of ground fatty meat
4. ½ kilogram of onions
5. Red and black pepper
6. Thyme and wild mint
7. Salt

Fry the ground meat with chopped onions, season, and set aside so it cools down. According to preference, also fry with walnuts. Mix the pounded meat and bulghur, season, and while wetting the fingers, knead like dough. Shape the dough into round or oval kouftas. These could be fried, boiled, or cooked in tan soup.

Blorig was prepared with the dough of regular koufta, which was shaped into small balls. The doughballs were then boiled in saltwater with garlic. Blorig was served with melted clarified butter or fried onions on top. Fried koufta was made the same was as blorig, but after being boiled, the kouftas were fried in a generous clarified butter.

For the filling:

1. 1 cup of chopped chickpeas
2. 2 onions
3. ½ cup of chopped walnuts
4. 1 soupspoon of sesame seed paste
5. Red and black pepper
6. Wild mint or mint
7. Regular koufta dough

Knead regular koufta dough. For the filling, boil the chickpeas, drain them, mix in the chopped onions and walnuts, season, then add the sesame seed paste. Shape the dough into chunks the size of walnuts, open these up with the fingers, add the filling, close the dough back up, and boil the kouftas in saltwater until they float to the surface.

For the filling:

1. ½ cup of sesame seed paste
2. ½ cup of water
3. 2 soupspoons of vinegar
4. 2 cloves of garlic
5. 1 chopped onion
6. Red and black pepper
7. Sumac
8. Mint
9. Salt
10. Regular koufta dough

Wet the bulghur, then add the flour and season. Knead this dough while wetting the fingers. Shape the dough into small balls with a diameter of two centimeters. Flatten these with the palm and boil them in saltwater, until they float to the surface. Mix the other ingredients, pour over the kouftas, and serve.

1. ½ cups of greens
2. 2 onions
3. 2 cloves of garlic
4. 2 soupspoons of sesame seed paste
5. Oil
6. Red and black pepper
7. Sumac
8. Mint
9. Salt
10. Regular koufta dough

Boil and drain the greens, then fry them with onions. Add the boiled kouftas and serve with chopped walnuts and sesame seed paste on top.

1. ½ kilogram of greens
2. 2 onions
3. 2 soupspoons of oil
4. 1 cup of yogurt
5. 2 cloves of garlic
6. Red and black pepper
7. Sumac
8. Mint
9. Salt
10. Regular koufta dough

Boil, drain, then fry the greens. Season them, then mix in the previously boiled and fried kouftas. Pour garlic yogurt over the mixture, then fried onions, and serve.

Eggs were a very common ingredient in the cuisine of Dersim. They were consumed in various forms, including boiled, in omelets, in friend dishes, and in djmour. Eggs were consumed on every non-Lenten day, which meant that the people of Dersim ate a wide variety of omelets.

To make Hatsprton, beat several eggs after adding a soupspoon each of flour and milk. Slice bread, dip the bread slices in the eggs, then fry them in hot oil. Before serving, sprinkle with pot cheese, chopped herbs, and scallions. Some also liked dripping honey over the slices.

To make eggs with ghavourma, chop the ghavourma and fry it in its own fat. According to preference, fry with chopped onions and garlic. Beat the eggs with a small amount of flour, then pour them over the ghavourma. Fry both sides before serving.

To make eggs with kilour, steam boil peas in oil (according to preference, also add chopped onions). Then pour beaten eggs over the peas and continue cooking. Sprinkle with fresh or dried mint and red and black pepper before serving.

To make eggs with mushrooms, fry fresh mushrooms in oil (if the mushrooms are dried, boil them first). Then pour beaten eggs over the mushrooms, crush a clove of garlic into the mixture, and continue cooking. Sprinkle with fresh or dried mint and red and black pepper before serving.

To make eggs with artichoke, if the artichoke is preserved, simply let it drain; and if it’s fresh, boil it first. Fry the artichoke in oil. Pour beaten eggs over it, crush a clove of garlic into the mixture, and continue cooking. Sprinkle with fresh or dried mint and red and black pepper before serving.

To make eggs with bastegh (pestil), steam boil strips of bastegh in oil, then pour beaten eggs over them and continue cooking.

To make eggs with dried fruits, first soak and drain the dried fruits, then steam boil them in oil. Pour beaten eggs over them and continue cooking.

Eggs with cheese could be prepared in two ways. First version: steam boil fresh cheese (or pot cheese), pour beaten eggs over it, and continue cooking together. Sprinkle with fresh or dried mint and red and black pepper before serving. Second version: first fry the beaten eggs, then sprinkle with pot cheese.

To make eggs with onions, steam fry sliced onions or spring onions, then pour beaten eggs over them and continue cooking. Before serving, sprinkle with fresh mint or thyme and red and black pepper. According to preference, also add shredded cheese.

To make eggs with tomatoes, first fry sliced onions and peppers, then mix in the chopped tomatoes, season, and pour beaten eggs over the mixture. Continue cooking. Serve with chopped herbs and scallions on top.

There were two ways to make eggs with herbs. First version: fry previously chopped herbs and onions in oil, then add beaten eggs. Second version: first fry the eggs in hot oil, then sprinkle with chopped herbs and onions. According to preference, also add shredded cheese.

To make fried greens, first boil and drain the greens if they are dried or if they cook slowly (otherwise, steam boil in oil without boiling first). Fry the greens in oil, and according to preference, with onions. Season the fried greens, pour beaten eggs over them, and continue cooking. Serve with a sauce of garlic yogurt. During Lent, naturally, fry only with onions and garlic.

Fried Vegetables: Fried vegetables were consumed daily, both on Lenten and non-Lenten days. At every meal, they were served as a side dish. In the summer, fresh vegetables, such as eggplants (or green beans, zucchinis, squashes, potatoes, mushrooms, artichokes, and greens) were chopped, then steam boiled in oil with garlic and onions. Some people would also crack an egg on top of the vegetables or pour garlic yogurt over them once they were cooked. During Lent, naturally, the dish was fried with vegetable oil, using vegetables preserved in brine. Before frying dried or preserved vegetables, soak and boil them, then allow them to drain.

In Dersim, as in many Ottoman-Armenian regions, wheat was the staple cereal. Pilafs were made with coarse bulghur, which was locally known as gorgod. Pilafs were consumed daily. They were cooked in oil or vegetable oil, and on holidays, with ghavourma. If any other cereal was added to the pilaf, the dish was named after this second cereal.

1. 150 grams of ghavourma with its own fat
2. 1 cup of coarse bulghur
3. 2 cups of water
4. 1 onion
5. Ground red pepper
6. Ground mint and thyme
7. Salt

Chop the onion and meat, then fry in the meat’s own fat. Add the water and the bulghur, season, and cook on a low flame without covering, until the water is completely absorbed.

To make pilaf with khshig, boil coarse bulghur. Before serving, pour plenty of onions fried with mint and red pepper over the bulghur.

This dish was made with an edible green called lvindj, which had a bitter taste similar to that of scallions. To dry and preserve the lvindj for the winter, the Armenians of Dersim made braids with it.

1. 1 bunch of lvindj
2. 1 green garlic
3. 1 cup of coarse bulghur
4. 2 cups of water
5. 2 soupspoons of oil or vegetable oil
6. Ground red pepper
7. Ground mint or thyme
8. Salt

Steam boil the chopped garlic and lvindj in oil, add the bulghur and water, and season. Continue cooking on a low flame while covered, until the water is completely absorbed.

1. 1 cup of boiled crushed chickpeas
2. ½ cup of coarse bulghur
3. 1 cup of water
4. 2 soupspoons of oil
5. 1 onion
6. Ground red pepper
7. Ground mint and thyme
8. Salt

Add all the ingredients to fried onions. Cook on a low flame while covered, until the water is completely absorbed.

1. ½ kilogram of greens*
2. 2 onions
3. 1 cup of coarse bulghur
4. 2 cups of water
5. 2 soupspoons of oil or vegetable oil
6. Salt

Chop the onion and greens, and steam boil in oil. Add the bulghur and water, and cook on a low flame while covered, until the water is completely absorbed.

*Choose your preferred green. If it cooks slowly, chop and boil it first. Cook the pilaf in that same water.

1. ½ kilogram of mushrooms
2. 1 cup of coarse bulghur
3. 2 cups of water
4. 2 soupspoons of oil or vegetable oil
5. 1 onion
6. Ground red pepper
7. Ground mint and thyme
8. Salt

Chop the onion and the mushrooms, then steam boil in oil. Add the bulghur, seasoning, and water, and continue cooking on a low flame while covered, until the water is completely absorbed.

1. 3 boiled artichokes
2. 1 cup of coarse bulghur
3. 2 cups of water
4. 1 onion
5. Ground red pepper
6. Ground mint and thyme
7. Salt

Chop the artichokes and onion, and steam boil them in oil. Mix in the bulghur, seasoning, and water, and cook on a low flame while covered, until the water is completely absorbed.

1. 200 grams of erishda
2. 1 onion
3. 2 soupspoons of oil or vegetable oil
4. Ground red pepper
5. Ground mint or thyme
6. Salt

Boil and drain the erishda. Chop the onion and fry it. Season the fried onion, then mix in the boiled erishda. Continue cooking for several more minutes on a low flame while covered.

Pilaf with Erishda and Gorgod

1. 1 cup of erishda
2. 1 cup of coarse bulghur
3. 2 cups of water
4. 2 soupspoons of oil or vegetable oil
5. Ground red pepper
6. Ground mint or thyme
7. Salt

Boil the erishda, drain, and then fry in oil. Meanwhile, season the bulghur and cook over a low flame while covered. Before the bulghur absorb the water entirely, mix in the erishda, and continue cooking for several more minutes.

1. 1 cup of lentils
2. 2 ½ cups of water
3. 1 cup of coarse bulghur
4. 3 onions
5. 1 bulb of garlic
6. 3 teaspoons of oil or vegetable oil
7. Fresh mint
8. Salt

Boil the lentils, add the bulghur, and cook until the water is completely absorbed. Meanwhile, chop the onions and fry in oil. Each person can add fried onions and fresh mint leaves to the pilaf according to his or her preference.

Salads with greens were an everyday meal in Dersim from late autumn through the summer months. Boil the greens, drain, then add salt and pepper, chopped onions, garlic, oil, and vinegar.

To make djadjoukh, add chopped cucumbers, wild mint, and crushed garlic to yogurt. To make boranig, add boiled and drained perper (purslane) and several cloves of chopped garlic to yogurt.

To make purslane salad, boil and drain stonecrop and add plenty of garlic, chopped walnuts, hot pepper, oil, and vinegar.

Boil kidney beans, sprinkle with onions and herbs, then add salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil.

To make chickpea salad, dilute sesame seed paste in vinegar, then pour this mixture over boiled chickpeas. Mix in chopped onions, garlic, herbs, salt, and hot red pepper.

To make tomato salad, chop and mix tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and scallions. Add salt, pepper, sumac, and oil.

Chop lettuce, cucumbers, and greens. Add crushed garlic, sumac, and oil; and season with salt and pepper.

Salad with kalam was made by slicing cabbage into thin, long strips, then adding crushed garlic, mint powder, sumac, ground red pepper, oil, vegetable oil, and vinegar.

Djimila was prepared by frying slices of bread in hot oil, then pouring roub over them before serving.

The dough of bidjig was kneaded by mixing flour, salt, and water. Make small balls with the soft dough, cover them, and set aside for an hour. Then, flatten the doughballs with the fingers and fry in oil or sesame oil. Drip honey or roub on top; and serve hot.

Kharlama was made by youths, by pouring roub on soft snow and eating it.

To make pokhint dessert, grind dried apples, pears, or guelder roses. Mix one-to-one with pokhint flour, knead with oil or sesame oil and with honey or roub, then shape into morsels and serve.

Mamakzig was the name given to morsels of pokhint flour kneaded with roub and oil (sesame oil during Lent). It was a dish enjoyed daily.

Lokhma was the name given to sweet balls made with sesame seed paste and honey (or manna).

To make flour dish, cook the flour in water, drip roub on top, drip oil in the center, and serve.

To make pokhint dish, boil the pokhint in water, drip honey over it, drip oil in the center, and serve.

To make khoushab, pour previously boiled water over dried fruits and raisins, and according to preference, add nuts. Set aside to steep, then serve the softened dried fruits and the juice.

To make gatnabour, boil coarse bulghur in milk, then sprinkle with chopped walnuts and raisins.

To make fried dried fruits, first soak the dried fruits, then fry them in oil. Sprinkle with almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts. According to preference, drip honey on top before serving.

1. 1 cup of flour
2. ½ cup of oil (or vegetable oil during Lent)
3. ½ cup of honey or powdered sugar

Roast the flour in oil, then add the honey. Flatten in a plate, slice into pieces, and arrange walnuts on top.

1. ½ cup of oil or vegetable oil
2. 1 cup of flour
3. ½ cup of sugar
4. ¼ cup of water
5. 200 grams of unsalted white cheese or quark

Dissolve the sugar in water and boil. Roast the flour in oil, add slices of cheese, and constantly stir until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Then, slowly pour the sugar-water over the flour, still stirring. Flatten the mixture on a plate or shape it into small balls. Season according to preference.

1. 1 cup of corn flour
2. ½ cup of oil
3. 1 cup of roub
4. ½ cup of chopped walnuts

Roast the corn flour in oil, and slowly pour the roub over it, constantly stirring while the mixture boils. Mix in the chopped walnuts. The mixture will become chunky. Serve the helva wrapped in lavash bread.

1. ½ cup of butter
2. 1 cup of yogurt
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 teaspoon of soda
5. 1 soupspoon of vinegar
6. A pinch of salt
7. 3-3 ½ cups of flour

Mash the flour and softened butter together with the fingers. Add the eggs, then the yogurt. Mix in the soda and vinegar. Knead the dough and make 20 small balls with it. Cover the doughballs and set aside to settle. Then, roll open the doughballs with a rolling pin, place them on a baking tray, rub melted butter on top, add another layer of the dough, and so on until all the dough is used. Bake in an oven at medium temperature.

Prepare the dough of the kata as described above. For the filling: heat up ½ cup of oil, then slowly pour it into a cup of flour while stirring constantly until the mixture becomes chunky, like a pilaf. Make several balls with the dough, open each of them up with the fingers, spread the filling in the center, then fold up the edges of the dough to make rectangular cakes. Mark the dough with the khadkhich (the symbol of the kata), rub egg on the top surface, and bake. This cake was usually baked in honor of visiting guests, especially godfathers and in-laws.

Loghlig was the name given to square cakes with a filling, which a mother-in-law would prepare for her son-in-law when he came to kiss her hand.

Garev or garef was the name given to small cakes with a filling, which were specifically prepared when a new groom visited the bride’s family home. The bride’s relatives would sneak the cake into the groom’s pockets.

Lousnag was a cake baked for children, without a filling. It was small, and had a face traced in the dough. Sometimes, it was baked in the shape of a bird, a half-moon, or a rose; or with a deer traced in the dough.

Pan kata was prepared in the same way as kata with filling, but instead of being baked in an oven, it was baked in a pan in hot oil, which gave it its name. After both sides were fried, the cake was immersed, still hot, in honey (or honey was poured over it), until the cake absorbed all the honey and softened.

1. ½ cup of melted butter
2. 1 cup of milk
3. 1 egg
4. ½ cup of honey (or sugar)
5. 1 teaspoon of soda
6. 1 soupspoon of vinegar
7. A pinch of salt
8. 2 ½-3 cups of flour

For the filling:

1. ½ cup of oil
2. 1 ½ cups of flour
3. ½ cup of honey (or sugar)

Add the melted butter to the flour, mash with the fingers, then add the egg, honey, milk, soda, and vinegar, in that order. Knead the dough, shape it into several balls, and set aside to settle. For the filling, heat the oil, and add the flour in small amounts, constantly stirring, until the mixture becomes chunky. After the temperature drops to lukewarm, add the honey. Open up the dough with the fingers and spread the filling in the center. Gather the edges of the dough and close it up, then flatten with the fingers and shape into circular, oval, or rectangular cakes. Rub egg on top, mark with a cross, and bake at medium temperature.

This was a Lenten cake beloved by children, and it heralded the arrival of Christmas. It was round, shaped like a moon, and on its surface, raisins and nuts were arranged in the shape of a face.

1. ½ cup of oil
2. ½ cup of hot water
3. 1 teaspoon of soda
4. 1 soupspoon of vinegar
5. A pinch of salt
6. 2-3 cups of flour
7. 1 cup of chopped walnuts and raisins

Mix the soda and salt into the flour. Separately mix the vinegar, water, and oil, then pour this mixture over the flour. Knead the mixture. Open up the dough with the fingers, spread the walnuts and raisins, then gather the edges of the dough and close it up. Flatten the dough, rub water on top, and bake at medium temperature.

• Kevork Halachian, Dersimi Hayeri Azkakroutyunu [Ethnography of the Armenians of Dersim], Armenian Ethnography and Lore Series, volume 5, Yerevan, 
• Kevork S. Yerevanian, Badmoutyun Charsandjaki Hayots [History of the Armenians of Charsandjak], published by the central committee of the Hama-Charsandjak Association (Fresno), Beirut, Giragos Donigian Press, 1956.
• Haygazn Ghazarian, Badmakirk Chmshgadzaki [History of Chmshgadzak], Hamazkayin Vahe Setian Press, Beirut, 1971.
• Our gratitude to Shant Demirçivi, who provided us with details on the cuisine of Dersim, his place of birth, via correspondence.