Amazing pumpkin fruit! It can grow in the garden to such a size that you can’t even lift it! And there are so many vitamins and microelements in it that it would take too long to list.
© DepositPhotos
You can prepare a huge number of dishes from pumpkin for different tastes: soups, porridges, side dishes, pies, pancakes, casseroles, jelly, jams, preserves and even candied fruits.
© DepositPhotos
But all this is familiar. But if you serve not just porridge in a saucepan, but porridge directly in a pumpkin, appetizingly baked in the oven, it will be just a holiday - both original, and fun, and satisfying!
Pumpkin baked in the oven
Traditional Armenian khapama is a pumpkin stuffed with rice, dried fruits, nuts and honey. Since time immemorial, it has been a mandatory dish on Armenian holiday tables; people loved it so much that they even wrote a song about it.
Until now, this dish is prepared for the New Year, Easter, weddings and birthdays, solemnly brought to the table and sung: “Hey, jan khapama, tasty and aromatic. Hey, jan, khapama, with honey inside the khapama.”
Armenian khapama
In the old days, there were several options for preparing khapama. For example, the filling was prepared from wheat, meat and fresh fruit. However, the most common recipe is with rice, dried fruits, nuts and honey.
Ingredients
- 1 pumpkin
- 100 g rice
- 0.5 tbsp. dried apricots
- 0.3 tbsp. prunes
- 0.5 tbsp. raisins
- 0.5 tbsp. walnuts
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 6 tbsp. l. honey
- 100 g butter
Preparation
Dietary buckwheat with pumpkin and chicken
The recipe for this treat, in my opinion, is found only in Russian cuisine. "So simple!" offers an original, easy and super healthy recipe: pumpkin stuffed with buckwheat and meat.
Ingredients
- 1 pumpkin
- 300 g buckwheat
- 500 g chicken meat
- 50 g prunes
- 50 g butter
- 1 clove of garlic
- black pepper, salt, sugar to taste
- vegetable oil
Preparation
This kind of buckwheat takes quite a long time to prepare, but it turns out really tasty, not like the one we are all used to. Try it, maybe this method of preparing porridge will become your favorite.
Pumpkin is not only an indispensable attribute of a healthy diet, but also a wonderful remedy for maintaining facial beauty. The orange pulp of the fruit can slow down aging, restore youth to the skin and fill it with nutrients.
Pumpkin, carrots and ginger: this orange soup will lift your spirits and fill your body with vitamin C, folic acid and fiber!
Khapama, a traditional autumn dish consisting of pumpkin stuffed to the brim with rice, nuts, raisins, dried apricots (dried apricots) and other seasonings depending on personal preference, is very Armenian. It's so Armenian that Harut Pambukchian, an Armenian-American singer who is such an international treasure that we'd preserve him in gold and cast his profile on coins if we could, dedicated a song to this dish called "Hey , jan, khapama."
The entire song is all about the amazing pumpkin, detailing bringing a ripe pumpkin home, chopping up the ingredients and putting it in the oven and having 100 people, including various relatives, and sisters-in-law bring it out to eat (it's that good). So, if you speak Armenian, listening to this song will practically give you the recipe. The problem is that, generally speaking, this song is played towards the middle or end of weddings or other public events, when alcohol and sweets flow freely for hours, leaving you full of joy and complete freedom from any proper coordination. Everyone knows the chorus. If you are that lucky person, you would also be singing about a filled pumpkin.
The process of making hapama is quite simple and makes a colorful and unique addition to any fall Thanksgiving table. The beauty of this exceptional dish, prepared during October or November, lies not only in its warmth (especially useful considering how cold the transition of the seasons is in Armenia into autumn and winter), but also in the fact that the vibrancy of its colors never overwhelms , but honors others with every bite.
However, it is very difficult to go wrong with dried fruits, butter, cinnamon and honey mixed with white steamed rice. This is a very versatile dish. You can use other melons if you like, swapping rice for cranberries, for example, or adding pecans instead of walnuts.
If you go traditional and use pumpkin, choose sugar pumpkin (used for pumpkin pie). It's a lovely, comfortable size; and since it is used for baking, you are guaranteed to get your hands on a good quality hapama.
If you leave the stem/tail of the pumpkin when serving, the view will be magnificent when you present it to your hungry family of 100 people who will of course be vying for this majestic Armenian delicacy. Harut Pambukchyan says so.
Whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving or looking to add a quirky twist to your table during the colder months, it doesn't matter where you're from, hapama is the perfect app to take you from wherever you are to covered a snow-covered village where foreigners (strangers), especially the frozen ones, are family.
Armenian khapama
This recipe comes from a now stained, very old piece of paper written in Armenia, acquired by my mother (and stolen by me!) many, many years ago.
Ingredients
1 cup white, short grain rice (you can substitute brown rice, increase or decrease the amount depending on the size of your squash)
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried apricots
½ cup walnuts
½ stick butter (room temperature)
6 tablespoons honey (reduce or increase depending on taste) + 2 tablespoons to line the walls of the pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cooking method:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (about 230 degrees Celsius - ed.)
Wash the pumpkin and cut off the top of the head in a circle, paying attention to symmetry throughout the circle from start to finish.
Use a spoon to scrape out the pulp, including the seeds. Pro tip: Save the seeds to roast later.
Cover the walls of the pumpkin with 2 tablespoons of honey, coating thoroughly.
Cook the rice, making sure it is half cooked so that the rest of the cooking takes place inside the pumpkin. Place it in a separate bowl.
Cut the butter into pieces and add to the rice.
Place dry ingredients, including rice, dried apricots, walnuts and cinnamon, in another bowl.
Pour the rice along with the melted butter into the dry ingredient mixture, being careful to mix well.
Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of honey to the rice, nuts and dried fruit mixture.
Fill the pumpkin to the brim with the mixture, being careful to fill it tightly.
Brush the outside of your pumpkin with oil [optional - the pumpkin in the recipe above did not have oil, but it does come out of the oven with a delicious crispy color].
Place the top of the pumpkin and place your pumpkin on a level baking dish.
Cook for an hour at 450 degrees F [you'll know it's cooked when you touch the squash and it's soft; your finger will leave an imprint]
Let cool before slicing, which you can do sequentially along the backs of the squash to create a stunning dish while still providing everyone with an extra slice.
While eating, listen to the song “Hey, jan, khapama” (Alcohol is required)
All photos: © Ianyanmag
Pumpkin, having a special shape of a natural pot, is often used to prepare dishes directly in it. In Russian cuisine, millet porridge with pumpkin is prepared this way, and in Armenian cuisine, sweet pilaf, or khapama.
It seemed, what so tasty and interesting could be prepared from this ordinary vegetable - pumpkin? These questions will disappear on their own if you cook pumpkin according to this wonderful recipe, which rightfully belongs to Armenian cuisine.
For khapama you will need a pumpkin. The top of the pumpkin is cut off to create a pumpkin pot. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds with a spoon. A little pulp is set aside for the filling.
After boiling, Yantar rice is cooked for about five minutes.
Dried apricots, raisins, prunes are thoroughly washed.
The apple is cut into thin slices.
In Armenia, onions are not added to khapama, but I decided that it would not spoil the taste at all. Finely chop half the onion.
In Armenia there is even a song praising pumpkin. I will translate an Armenian song while simultaneously describing the preparation of khapama.
Imagine the head of an Armenian family singing in anticipation, or rather in anticipation of Khapama, which has been languishing for two hours in the oven: “Hey, jan, Khapama! What a smell, what a taste!!!” - the owner sings joyfully, and to pass the time, he tells: “How we went to the melon garden, how we looked for and found an excellent pumpkin, how we brought it home” - smacking his lips with pleasure and not forgetting to chant: “Hey, jan, Khapama !!! What a smell, what a taste! ", and then begins to list with delight - what they put in the pumpkin (after thoroughly cleaning it; Rice (already almost cooked) raisins, dried apricots, prunes.
The inside of the pumpkin is greased with butter, rice, onions, dried apricots, prunes, apples, pumpkin pulp, cinnamon, and black pepper are placed in it, slightly boiled in salted water. Everything gets mixed up. Butter is placed on top. The filling in the pumpkin is not laid out to the very top, because it will still increase.
The pumpkin is closed with a cut off lid. Wrap in foil and put in the oven for 2 hours (200 degrees.)
Here the strength of the host-singer leaves and the hostess enters in tenor, noticing in horror how relatives gather at the smell - like bees for honey... Almost crying, she sings that a hundred people have come and a friendly counting begins: “Here is dad and mom and her sister, Here is the mother-in-law and father-in-law with their sister, Here is the brother and sister and brother-in-law with his wife, Here is the mother-in-law, father-in-law, matchmaker and matchmaker, Uncles and aunties and a crowd of children, Friends and girlfriends with their wives and husbands, With children and godfathers... .. Eee-hey hey jan, hey jan, hey jan..." Of course, the owner greets everyone joyfully and everyone sings hosanna to Hapama and dances...
And the aroma is actually very, very good, it whets your appetite.
Khapama is a dish designed for a large, noisy feast - the pumpkin is usually cut at a round table, and when at least the whole family gathers, everyone gets a piece.
Khapama is ready, come, dear guests, eat our pumpkin.
Khapama is a sweet pilaf cooked in pumpkin, a very tasty Armenian dish. Previously, khapama was prepared for wedding feasts as a symbol of abundance. I've been wanting to cook this dish for a long time, but I couldn't find a beautiful pumpkin. Finally, I got lucky and found a suitable pear-shaped butternut squash. After cutting the top off, the pumpkin came out to be a wonderful hapama pot. For this dish you should use basmati rice, any dried fruits, candied fruits and nuts that you like, as well as apples.
Cook basmati rice in a ratio of 1:1.5, that is, 1 part rice, 1.5 parts water.
Peel the apple, remove the seeds and cut into cubes. Also chop the dried apricots. Combine with rice.
Remove seeds and fibers from pumpkin. Use a spoon to remove some of the pulp from the sides. The wall thickness should remain about 12 mm. After I removed all the excess from the pumpkin, its weight remained at 850 g.
Add candied fruits and nuts to the rice. I chose candied pineapple, raisins, cashews and walnuts. The nuts need to be chopped with a knife. Chop some of the pumpkin pulp and add to the rice filling.
Grease the walls of the pumpkin with butter and fill with the prepared filling. Place pieces of butter on top as well.
Place the pumpkin in a heat-resistant form, cover with two layers of foil, pressing well against the walls of the pumpkin. Pour some water into the mold, about 100 ml.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees and cook the pumpkin for 1.5 hours. After turning off the oven, keep the khapama there for another half hour.
Place the pumpkin on a large plate and cut into slices, like a watermelon. Delicious dish!
Bon appetit!
Hey jan, Hapama!This is the song dedicated to Hapama stuck in my head)))
We prepared it on New Year's Day.
A wonderful Armenian pumpkin dish. Very festive, elegant, tasty and healthy.
I'm posting the recipe here. Because I promised to collect here all the interesting recipes in which I used what was grown in our garden.
The main thing in Khapam is pumpkin. And it was grown in my garden in the summer.
Khapama, a very elegant dish. It fits perfectly on the holiday table. If the family is large or there are many guests, then baking a large, beautiful pumpkin, the contents of which are enough for everyone, is the most appropriate action.
But we prepared small portioned pumpkins for ourselves. I thought that I would no longer grow this little thing... But it turned out to be so convenient, both for juices and for khapama.
I took three pumpkins.
I removed the tops and made a beautiful natural pot out of the pumpkin. Use a spoon to scrape off a little of the pulp inside, which you can then add to the delicious filling. And the walls of the pumpkin can be coated with honey.
Rice, rinse, boil a little. I regretted that I boiled it just a little bit, thinking that in an hour in the oven it would definitely boil down. No, he was damp. and I had to simmer the pumpkin in the oven. Keep in mind that if you cook, cook the rice until almost done. In Armenia, I like to buy Thai Better rice. Of all the rice I've tried here, this is the best. For my taste.
Dried apricots, prunes, raisins (in my case, a little bit three different raisins each) - wash well, cut the prunes and dried apricots into small pieces. Dried cherry plum or any dried fruit with sourness is added there, but I didn’t have it.
I also chopped an apple and some quince. I mixed everything.
Add more nuts. Any. But I didn’t do this.
Add cinnamon to taste. If you love. You can sweeten with granulated sugar. But, of course, we added honey from the heart. And according to the recipe, I think it’s correct to cook it with honey.
Place the filling into the prepared pumpkin.
Place pieces of butter on top.
I line a baking sheet with foil. But once upon a time, pumpkin was baked in a tonyr. I don’t have a tonyra yet. And there is a simple electric oven. In which I baked the pumpkin. Cover the pumpkins with lids. And into the oven, at a temperature of 170 degrees. about 50 minutes. Depends of course on the size of the pumpkin.
That's it, our holiday dish is ready.
I’ll play another video for you here, it’s in Armenian, but everything is visible and understandable. Just so you can hear a little of this song and imagine life in an Armenian village. The woman in it somehow cooks it with her soul. I like it.
But in another video, everything is simply well shown how Khapama is prepared. Fast and easy.
Well, the song sounds))) The guests sing in anticipation)) “Hey, jan, Khapama! What a smell, what a taste!” “Honey is inside, Khapama” And there, according to the text, guests flock like bees to honey - “Here is dad with mom and her sister, Here is mother-in-law and father-in-law with their sister, Here is brother and sister and brother-in-law with his wife, Here is mother-in-law, father-in-law, matchmaker and matchmaker, uncles and aunties and a crowd of children, friends and girlfriends with wives and husbands, with children and godfathers.... Eee-hey hey jan, hey jan, hey jan...Hapama)))
Happy holidays and good year to you. Welcome guests. And excellent, tasty and healthy food, not only for the holidays, but for the whole year!
I hope it will be fruitful for everyone. And we will have pumpkins for everything, including for Hapama.
