Armenian Ghapama, Vegetarian Festive Recipe

Armenian Ghapama is a vegetarian festive recipe. Armenians prepare this stuffed pumpkin dish between New Year and Armenian Christmas, or on other similar festive occasions, but especially during autumn and winter, when pumpkins are in season.

In Armenian, the word Ghapama means cooked in a covered pot. Recipe wise, the Armenian Ghapama involves removing the gut of Pumpkin, stuffing it with cooked rice along with dry fruits and then baking it.

Sometimes, people use locally available winter squash rather than pumpkin to make Ghapama.

To make Ghapama, you can take Pumpkin in any size. I have used a medium size pumpkin weighing approximately 800 gms. Remove the gut using a spoon. Prepare a mix of cooked rice with honey, some ghee, apple, and lots of dry fruits. Fill this stuffing inside the pumpkin and then slow bake for about an hour. Once done, take out and then cut open. Each serving should have a slice of pumpkin plus rice.

According to Jam News, Ghapama has been a mandatory dish at any Armenian festive table since time immemorial. People loved it so much that they even composed a song about it. Armenians still cook this dish for New Years, Easter, weddings and birthday parties. People merrily serve it to the table, singing: ‘Hey, jan ghapama, delicious and aromatic. Hey, jan ghapama, with honey inside ghapama.”

The age old belief is that pumpkin was a symbol of Planet Earth, rice was of mankind, while dried fruits and nuts were of the people of various faiths and ethnicities:

“As the saying goes, good should prevail on the planet, populated by different people with different religious faiths. And ghapama was cooked so that there could be peace on Earth.”

Please try this soulful traditional recipe and leave your comment to let me know how you liked it.

You may check some other main courses of mine here.

Armenian Ghapama, Vegetarian Festive Recipe

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Ghapama is a traditional autumn/fall dish from Armenia. Armenians prepare this stuffed pumpkin dish between New Year and Armenian Christmas, or on other similar festive occasions, but especially during autumn and winter, when pumpkins are in season.

In Armenian, the word Ghapama means cooked in a covered pot. Recipe wise, the Armenian Ghapama involves removing the gut of Pumpkin, stuffing it with cooked rice along with dry fruits and then baking it.

Sometimes, people use locally available winter squash rather than pumpkin to make Ghapama.

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 20 mins

Course festival recipe, Main Course

Cuisine Armenian

Servings 12

Calories 179 kcal

Ingredients

  

Below mentioned ingredients are together for one piece stuffed pumpkin and one piece stuffed squash. If you are making just one piece, then take half measure of each ingredient.

• 1 Medium Pumpkin or Acorn Squash. approx 800 grams or 1.7 Pounds. in weight. You can use larger Pumpkin also.
• 1 Medium Acorn Squash approx 800 grams in weight.

For Stuffing

• ½ cup Basmati Rice
• ½ cup Apple small thin slices.
• ¼ cup Raisins
• ¼ cup Chopped Walnuts.
• ¼ cup Chopped Cashew Nuts
• ¼ cup Dried Apricot
• 2 tbsp Ghee or melted butter.
• 2 tbsp Honey
• ½ tsp Cinnamon Powder
• ⅙ cup Prune
• ½ tsp Salt

To apply inside Pumpkin

• 1 tbsp Melted Ghee or Butter
• 1 tbsp Honey
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ⅛ tsp Cinnamon Powder

Instructions

 

Prepare Pumpkin and Acorn Squash

• Wash and dry pumpkin.
  
• Make a horizontal cut on top to cut open Pumpkin and Squash.
  
• With the help of a spoon, remove the gut from inside.
  

Prepare Stuffing.

• Boil 1 cup water in a heavy bottomed pan.
  
• When water starts to boil, add washed Basmati Rice.
  
• Cook for 2 minutes till first boil comes.
  
• Cover and cook for about 8 mnts or till rice is cooked but Al dente.
  
• Turn off flame. Spread the rice gently in a vessel. Allow to cool completely.
  
• Once cool, add all other ingredients mentioned above and mix properly.
  

Paste to apply inside Pumpkin

• Add Honey to melted Ghee.
  
• Add Cinnamon Powder.
  
• Add Salt.
  
• Brush this paste on the inside walls of Pumpkin.
  

Stuff Pumpkin

• Stuff the prepared Rice inside Pumpkin.
  
• Fill the stuffing inside Squash as well.
  
• Put the lid.
  
• Apply some melted ghee on the outer side.
  
• Put the lid for Squash too.
  
• Apply ghee on the outer layer of Squash.
  
• Arrange stuffed Pumpkin and Squash on Baking Dish.
  
• Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F/190°C for 60 minutes or till the pumpkin turns soft.
  
• Take out.
  
• Cut into wedges and serve.
  
• As you cut, the wedges will fall outward to lay like a sunflower, with the steaming, deliciously scented pilaf piled up in the middle.
  
• To serve, each diner gets a wedge of baked pumpkin along with a scoop of the rice pilaf.
  

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