Special Recipes related to Mid – Lent (Michink)

• Michink falls on a Wednesday.
• It is not a feast day.
• The same Wednesday Lenten services are
  performed on this day.
• Michink is celebrated during the middle of
  lent to encourage people to persevere until the end of lent.
• During this celebration, women would insert a
  coin into a pastry (gata or pagharch) and whoever receives the slice (of
  pastry) with the coin in it would receive good luck.
• A special sandwich, Michink Koutap, is also prepared on this day.

According to the Consulate General of Armenia in Los
Angeles, “a variety of special foods are prepared in Armenian homes for Michink
– such as unleavened breads, called “Bagharj,” and a kind of sandwich called “Koutap” that is filled with
a mixture of boiled green beans, broad beans, and other vegetables. It is
the custom to hide a metal coin or special object in both the Bagharj bread and the
Koutap.”