Ghapama

Ghapama, a traditional Autumnal dish consisting of a pumpkin stuffed to the brim with rice, nuts, raisins, apricots and other trimmings depending on personal preferences is very Armenian. It is so very Armenian that Harout Pamboukjian, an Armenian-American pop singer who is such a transnational treasure that we would enshrine him in gold and cast his profile on coins if we could, has an entire song dedicated to the dish called “Hey Jan Ghapama.” The song is wholly  about this gourd of wonder, detailing bringing a ripe pumpkin home, chopping up ingredients and putting it in the oven and having 100 people, including various relatives and sister-in-laws and cousins show up to eat it (because that’s how good it is).

So if you speak Armenian, listening to it will practically give you the recipe. The problem with that is, generally speaking, this song comes on towards the middle of end of weddings or other massive celebrations when the liquor and sweat have been flowing for hours, rendering you full of joy and devoid of any proper coordination whatsoever. Everyone knows the chorus. Everyone will sing it with you and at you. When you’re that happy, you’d sing about a stuffed pumpkin, too.

“Ghapama” means “closing” in Turkish, a likely reference to the fact that you have to cover or “close” the top of the pumpkin to cook the contents inside.

Turkish, which contains vocabulary and loan words from Arabic, French, Persian, Greek and Armenian languages, was the lingua franca of the vast and diverse Ottoman Empire, which is why many foods in Armenian cookery are still referred to by Turkish names.

When Armenian Genocide survivors fled the cities and villages in the empire that crumbled and became Turkey - whether it further East or West to America, the name of their foods never changed, In fact, they’re still in use today, in communities that settled originally as refugees in the crevices of the United States, to cities across Europe and the Middle East.

These names neither denote complete ownership to one particular ethnic group while denying ownership to another, nor necessarily deserve to be replaced, they’re just an important clue to history, to what once was, to the various populations that invented, modified, and carried on the food, no matter how far away they were from their ancestral lands.

They serve as one of the strongest reminders that Armenians cannot be denied nor divorced from these ancestral lands.

Though the exact emergence of this village dish is obscured (like so many other foods in the region), the ghapama, in various forms, is referenced in both Eastern and Western Armenian literature.

A memoir published in the 1960s about the many centuries old Armenian neighborhoods of Evereg and Fenesse (often referred to as Evereg-Fenesse) in the Kayseri region of central Turkey references the ghapama, this time made with meat and cooked with eggplant and a little water in a tonir, a traditional clay oven used in Armenian cooking.

Similarly, the Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, “Haykakan Sovetakan Hanragitaran” published in the 1970s includes an entry for ghapama, which it defines as an “Armenian dish of lamb, onion and basil stuffed inside of cored onions or in the stomach of the lamb and cooked for around five hours, covered in a lid made with dough. There’s also mention of the version we know today: a pumpkin, stuffed with boiled rice, raisins, oil, honey and spices.

The ghapama process is pretty simple, and makes a colorful and unique addition to any fall table. The beauty with this particular dish, made during October and November is not only its warmth (especially helpful considering how cold Armenia tends to get in the fall and winter) but how the intensity of the different flavors never overwhelm, but compliment each other in every bite.

Then again, it’s hard to go wrong with dried fruit, butter, cinnamon and honey mixed in with white, steaming rice. It’s also a very flexible dish. You can use other gourds if you wish, or change up the ingredients to fit your tastes, switching out raisins for cranberries for example, or adding pecans instead of walnuts. Think of it as a gigantic, sweet dolma made with a pumpkin instead of grape leaves.

If you’re sticking with tradition and using a pumpkin, go for a sugar pumpkin (used for pumpkin pie). They’re a perfect, manageable size and because they’re used in baking, you’re guaranteed to have a fool-proof ghapama on your hands.

Leaving the pumpkin stem on gives the dish a great look when you present to your hungry clan of 100 people who will surely fight over this magnificent Armenian delicacy. Harout Pampoukjian says so.

The ghapama is a perfect addition to transport you from wherever you are, to a snow-covered village where strangers, especially cold ones, are family.

Armenian Ghapama

This recipe comes from a stained, very old piece of paper, written in Armenian, acquired by my mother (and stolen by me!) many, many years ago.

Ingredients

1 cup white rice (I've done this with both short and long grain, so the choice it up to you. You can even substitute brown or increase and decrease quantities, depending on the size of your pumpkin)

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 a stick of butter [room temperature]

6 tablespoons of honey (increase or decrease depending on taste) + 2 tablespoons to line the walls of the pumpkin

1 teaspoon cinnamon (you can also add other spices you prefer, like cloves or ginger)

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

• Wash and carve circular or zig zag hole on top of the pumpkin, taking care to remain symmetrical as possible all the way around.

• Using a spoon, empty out the pulp, including seeds. Pro tip: Save the seeds to roast later.

• Cover the walls of the pumpkin with 2 tablespoons of honey, coating thoroughly.

• Boil the rice, taking care to cook it only half way so the rest of the baking occurs inside the pumpkin. Put in separate bowl.

• Cut up butter and add to rice.

• Pour the dry ingredients, including raisins, apricots, walnuts and cinnamon into another bowl.

• Pour the rice, along with melted butter into the dry ingredient mixture, taking care to mix well.

• Add your remaining 6 (or less depending on taste) tablespoons of honey to the rice, nut and fruit mixture.

• Fill your pumpkin with the mixture to the brim, packing in tightly.

• Coat the outside of your pumpkin with butter

• Put the top of the pumpkin back on and place your pumpkin on a lined baking dish.

• Cook for one hour at 350 degrees F [You’ll know it’s cooked when you touch the pumpkin and it’s soft, your finger leaves an imprint]

• Let cool before cutting which you can do by following the ridges of the pumpkin to produce a stunning dish but also making sure everyone gets an even slice.

• Listen to “Hey Jan Ghapama” while eating [Alcohol is mandatory]