The American holiday of Halloween, which dates back to Celtic beliefs, has become popular all over the world today. But each nation celebrates All Saints Day in its own way: for example, Armenians prefer to use pumpkin not for making lanterns, but for making fragrant ghapama.
Armenian Halloween
At the end of October, the entire Western world celebrates All Saints' Day - Halloween, today this tradition begins to spread throughout the world. Halloween paraphernalia - pumpkins, candles, witch costumes - are becoming popular in many countries thanks to globalization. But each nation brings its own national customs to the celebration of the day when the spirits of the dead return to earth.
One of the symbols of Halloween is a pumpkin, but in the American tradition it is not prepared for the holiday (usually only pumpkin-shaped sweets are served), but the so-called Jack's lamp is made of it. A core is cut into the pumpkin, an ominous face is cut through, and a candle is placed inside. Such lanterns are designed to drive away spirits from the house.
But in other parts of the world, pumpkin has an important place in the culinary tradition, so during the celebration of All Saints' Day, it is often used for cooking. Armenians, for example, have been preparing a ghapam dish for holidays and various events for a long time. This stuffed pumpkin was a must-have on the table during the wedding, as it symbolized the sweet and rich life. And today it is traditionally prepared on October 31, on Halloween with an Armenian twist.
Hapama
Hapama is usually made with large pumpkins, as this dish is meant for a large number of people. But to make ghapama for Armenian Halloween, you can take smaller pumpkins, for example, one for each person, or choose one large pumpkin. Armenians use different fillings, add fruits, dried fruits, honey and other sweets.
There are many recipes for making ghapama, but basically they are all similar: the main ingredients are pumpkin, rice and sweets.
First, prepare the pumpkin - wash it well, cut off the top with a tail to make a pumpkin pot lid. It is advisable to cut it not in a straight line, but at an angle, so that you get a cone that will fit more tightly during cooking. Spoon all the contents out of the pumpkin with a spoon until only the walls of this pot remain. If the walls are too thick, some of the pulp can be cut off and added to the filling. Then rinse the pumpkin again.
Rice is boiled in water until half cooked and cooled. To prepare the filling, sliced fruits and dried fruits, pumpkin pulp, nuts, sugar and cinnamon are added to the rice. Grease the pumpkin inside with butter and put the filling, leaving a place on top. Put a piece of butter on the rice and cover the pumpkin with a lid.
To make the filling tastier and more aromatic, you can add ginger root and lemon zest to it.
Hapama is baked in the oven on baking paper or in a silicone mold, the cooking time depends on the size of the dish. After the pumpkin is cut into portions, poured with honey and eaten.
