Zhingyalov hats
Zhingyalov hats (Armenian: Ժենգյալով հաց, also zhengyalav hatz, zhangyalov hats, or jingalov hats) is a type of flatbread stuffed with finely diced herbs and green vegetables.[1][2] It is a traditional dish of Armenians from Artsakh[3][4] and Syunik[5] and has traditionally been a staple in times of scarcity, such as famine and war.[6]
Zhengyalov Hatz, an Armenian restaurant in Glendale, California, has been recognized and featured in an article by the Michelin Guide in 2025 for its mastercraft of the dish.[7]
Preparation
[edit]Unleavened dough is rolled out until it becomes paper-thin, then it is filled with a stuffing that consists of 10 to 20 types of diced and oiled wild and cultivated herbs.[2] One of the most important steps in preparing a good zhingyalov hats is the greens' composition. Tasteless leaf vegetables and herbs with less pronounced taste make up the base of the stuffing: examples include lettuce, spinach, atriplex, beet greens, chickweed, shepherd's-purse, viola leaves and similar plants.[3][4] Herbs with distinctive tastes (chervil, urtica, allium), sour (rumex) or spicy (laserpitium) ones are needed in smaller quantities; bitter-tasting greens as taraxacum should be sparse. Additionally the stuffing might contain bryndza and fried onions.
After stuffing, zhingyalov hats are fried for around 10 minutes on a special griddle called "saj" or "sajin" (Armenian: սաջին), or in a tonir for a couple of minutes.
The finished dish is consumed with beer, doogh, or wine. Zhingyalov hats is especially popular during the Great Lent.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Rao, Tejal (2020-01-01). "These Armenian Flatbreads Stuffed With Greens Are the Perfect Snack". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- 1 2 "Как приготовить Женгялов хац: Рецепт и способ приготовления". PanARMENIAN.Net (in Russian). 2014-11-20. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- 1 2 "Москвичи отведают знаменитый карабахский «Жингалов Хац»". PanARMENIAN.Net (in Russian). 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- 1 2 Petrov, V. A. (1940). Этноботаника Нагорного-Карабаха [Ethnobotany of Nagorno-Karabakh] (in Russian). USSR Academy of Sciences.
- ↑ "The Hirshon Armenian 'Zhingyalov Hats' Herb-Stuffed Flatbread - Ժենգյալով հաց - ✮ The Food Dictator ✮". 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- ↑ "Supplies begin to run low as Nagorno-Karabakh blockade continues | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- ↑ "The MICHELIN Guide's Only Armenian Restaurant in America". Michelin Guide. 2025-03-24.
External links
[edit]- Zhingyalov hats is cooked on a Stepanakert market.
- Qutab with herbs (zhingyalov hats) recipe
