Recipe Request: Chamanichur

13 years ago

Reader, Bob, is looking for a recipe his maternal grandmother used to make called ‘chamanichur’. When he presented his request, I confessed I didn’t know a recipe by that name. What sounded logical to me was that chamanichur might be a soup with chaman in it – chaman, the seasoning; ‘chur’, meaning water. My cookbooks and research revealed nothing.

I asked Bob for more information. He responded:

“These (Armenian Kitchen) recipes remind me of my Armenian mom’s family. My grandmother, who was from Kayseri, used to cook ‘chamanichur’, do you have this recipe? I would love to find it but no success so far.”

Bob went on to say, “My mother says that chamanichur was something with liver and chaman spice, but does not know the recipe. It was a sauce rather than soup, and it contained chaman, but we’re not sure of the other ingredients or the preparation method. I searched the internet and found only one entry in a forum from an Armenian in Australia, but there were no contact details.”

Well, folks, that’s all I have for you. If you could please put on your thinking caps, Bob – and I – would appreciate any suggestions for chamanichur. Thanks!

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Anonymous says:

March 6, 2012 at 3:59 pm

I found this homemade recipe. I am Armenian, not from Cesaria but I wanted to help. I believe cemen is curry. Correct me if I am wrong.

Cemen sauce:

Ingredients

500 gr. ground çemen
100 gr. garlic
80 gr. allspice

black pepper
cumin
fresh pepper (whatever that is)
cinnamon
red pepper

Preparation:

Place cemen in a plate, put two fingerfuls (yergou mad)of cold water and mix well. Let it sit for a day.

The next day add minced garlic and allspice in mxture, and a pinch of the other ingredients. Your sauce is ready.

Good on toast or as an appetizer.
- Robyn says:
  
  March 6, 2012 at 6:22 pm
  
  Thank you so much for your recipe contribution. In case Bob doesn't see this, I'll pass it along. In the meantime, I also found a similar recipe which I have sent him. Bob will have to decide if either recipe is what he is searching for.
Ara says:

March 7, 2012 at 1:12 am

Not sure where Bob lives. In LA, they do sell chaman in the Armenian markets.
Bob says:

March 9, 2012 at 9:27 pm

Thank you very much!!!
This is the recipe I was looking for, now I have to find the chaman (fenugreek). I live in Spain, it is a bit difficult because they do not use it here, but I will explore the different shops I hope to find it soon so I can show you the pictures.