I really enjoy requests from newcomers to Armenian cuisine. One such request came from Tegan Harris of Brisbane, Australia.


Tegan wrote:
“I stumbled across your Armenian food blog while I was researching Armenian cuisine. My boyfriend and I decided it would be interesting to eat our way around the world and this weekend is Armenia. Your blog has so many recipes on it I don’t really know where to start so I was wondering if you help me out?? What would a traditional Armenian meal consist of? What main dishes get paired with which side dishes? Could you provide me with some suggestions? “


Before giving her an answer I needed to know their general geographic location, their ability to acquire lamb, and so on. Once I knew that, I suggested a simple menu I thought Tegan and her boyfriend Anthony could easily prepare and enjoy.


Learning that they live in Australia, it was a sure bet they’d be able to get lamb, so I suggested a basic menu consisting of lamb stew, bulgur pilaf, Armenian salad, bread for dipping, and Armenian coffee served with mini paklava or labne drizzled with honey and sprinkled with chopped pistachio nuts. I also gave them links to some of our videos to view as guiding tools.

“Hi Robyn,
We cooked some Armenian food on Sunday night and it was delicious!! We tweaked our menu a little. We made the (lamb) Kebabs that you have the video posted on your website, with the pomegranate juice and they were juicy and tender. We served it with the (bulgur)pilaf, which I have decided I am going to use instead of brown rice from now on; it has the same nutty flavour but takes much less time and is lighter. We couldn’t find the pasta to go in (the pilaf) so we use risoni (rice-shaped) pasta and I think it turned out great. We had a fatoush salad which we found on another Armenian website, and a cucumber and yoghurt sauce. It was all delicious and if we could have fit in dessert we would have, but we were just so full. Thank-you so much for your time and help and I am sure I will be back to try some more Armenian recipes.”

Tegan and Anthony’s Armenian meal – Before …

and After!

Tegan reported that their next Armenian food adventure will include Armenian coffee (soorj) and the labne dessert.


The Armenian Kitchen thanks Tegan and Anthony for their enthusiastic interest in Armenian food, and invites anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure of dining Armenian-style to give it a try!