Categories: Main Dishes

Khorovats – the Armenian Barbecue

What exactly is Khorovats? 
According to Irina Petrosian, author of “Armenian Food – Fact, Fiction, and Folklore”, ‘khorovats is an Armenian word for life lived to the fullest and the celebration of good weather’. I couldn’t have said it better.


Doug’s shish kebab on mini metal skewers

Over the years, we’ve posted numerous stories about grilling
and barbecuing in general – and, of course recipes. The word ‘khorovats’ wasn’t used in our Armenian
household, but whenever we grilled or barbecued, the menu consisted of
lamb shish kebab or lule kebab.


A shish, or skewer, is a vital tool in the preparation of any
kind of kebab – metal, wooden, or bamboo are common materials used to make them. Metal skewers are
generally long and flat in design, although the shape might vary slightly.
My dad, Andy Dabbakian, with his hand-made shish kebab machine and skewers –  grilling his own kebab recipe. He was quite a guy!

My father, Andy Dabbakian, a machinist by trade, designed and built his own kebab machine and accompanying
skewers which were long, narrow, square-shaped, with a sharply pointed tip. The skewers held the cubes
of meat beautifully as his machine rotated each in unison, cooking the kebab evenly every time.


While scrolling through FaceBook, I came across an article about khorovats written by Kate Leahy on the
site, www.lavashthebook.com.  Ms. Leahy wrote this for the Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife
Festival blog.

Click here to read her story on ‘Armenia’s favorite grilling pastime’.


The next time you feel like grilling, I hope you will be inspired  to ‘khorovats’ instead!
(Visited 680 times, 1 visits today)

Recent Posts

Tahnabour (Yogurt Soup) from Marian Amiraian

Sometimes people are lucky enough to be in the right place, at the right time.…

2 months ago

Apricot Logs – a Holiday Favorite!

This recipe first appeared on The Armenian Kitchen website in December, 2015. It's been one…

3 months ago

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

Thanksgiving is decidedly an American holiday highlighted by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and football…

4 months ago

Vivian’s Homemade Armenian String Cheese

Armenian String Cheese Vivian Vezirian-Hovsepian is an amazing cook! Her yalanchi recipe is to-die-for, as…

5 months ago

Green Beans and Zucchini (Fassoulia yev Tutum)

Fassoulia literally means ‘bean’ – white, red, green –you get the idea. My husband and…

6 months ago

Armenian String Cheese (Tel Banir)

Even though my family and I LOVE Armenian string cheese (aka Tel Banir or chechil),…

8 months ago

This website uses cookies. find out more.