FRESNO — This updated keshkeg recipe by Marty Ohanesian is featured in A Taste of Fresno Armenian and American Cuisine Cookbook by the Ladies Society of St. Paul Armenian Church in Fresno.
Keshkeg (Harissa, Herriseh) is named one of the Top Ten Most Popular Armenian Dishes by TasteAtlas, a world atlas of food and drinks, and an encyclopedia of flavors. Considered a national dish of Armenia, keshkeg is a thick porridge made by slowly simmering dzedzadz (dried or roasted whole wheat kernals) together with fatty pieces of lamb or chicken meat. According to Armenian tradition, it is said to have been invented in the Ararat plains — the origins of the dish can be traced back to ancient times, as well as to St. Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint of Armenia, who would offer it as a charity meal.
Andrew Janjigian, the former long-time test cook at Cook’s Illustrated magazine writes:
“Harissa — also known as herisseh, harisa, or keshkeg — is a wheat berry and meat porridge. The meat in question is usually chicken or lamb (occasionally beef), and the wheat is usually korkot, or ‘shelled’ wheat, meaning wheat berries that have had their tough hulls removed, making them (somewhat) quicker to cook. The meat and the wheat berries are combined with water or stock and then cooked and stirred over a low flame for hours until both break down into a uniform, amorphous, stodgy porridge. None of those sound like positive attributes for a main dish, but the process seems to alchemically transform these simple ingredients into a thoroughly satisfying, deeply savory whole. And once you top the harissa with its mandatory Aleppo pepper-spiced browned butter, the dish absolutely sings.”
The Art of Armenian & Middle Eastern Cooking blog writes, “Even to this day, harissa is considered a charity meal, and is traditionally prepared each year for Easter, as well as to commemorate the Musa Ler resistance during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. When it comes to the method of preparing, there are two diverging opinions; one claims it is forbidden to stir harissa until it is cooked all the way, while the other insists it should be stirred as soon as the wheat is half-cooked.”
Serve keshkeg with melted butter, cumin and ground pepper.
