Khashlama (Armenian Lamb Stew)

Khashlama is a traditional Armenian vegetable and lamb stew. Made with simple ingredients, this iconic Armenian dish is delicious, satisfying, and, surprisingly, easy to make.

Khashlama is a highly disputed dish in the Caucasus region, with people from Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan all considering it their national dish. It is prepared slightly differently, with variations on ingredients and spices in each country.

For this recipe, we are focusing on the Armenian preparation.

In Armenia, this is a celebratory dish, usually prepared for special occasions.

It’s often cooked by the men of the family, who get together to chop the vegetables and marinate the meat. They also take their time to socialize and catch up on the latest family updates making the process of preparing this dish a part of the main event.

The History of Khashlama

The word Khashlama comes from the Armenian word “khashel,” which means to boil.

So, basically Khashlama consists of meat and vegetables boiled together in a rich, delicious broth.

Legend has it that hundreds of years ago Khashlama was prepared by people living high in the mountains. These regions didn’t have a wide variety of foods, but they always had plenty of lamb.

During those times, Khashlama was a summer dish because this was when the fresh lamb and juicy vegetables were available.

It was prepared over a fire in traditional cylindrical Armenian clay ovens called tonir.

Ingredients

• 3 ½ lbs bone-in lamb
• 8 medium potatoes, peeled
• 5 medium tomatoes
• 1 ½ medium onion