Lambros' kitchen travellog

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13B. Armenia – Lahmajoun

By popular demand (and by that I mean my family protesting for not baking Lahmajoun now that we reached Armenia), let’s try some Lahmajoun!

12B. Armenia – LahmajounDownload

Ingredients

  • Dough: 500 g wheat flour, 7 g dry yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1.5 tsp salt, 300 ml warm water, 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Topping: 400–500 g minced beef or lamb (or mix)
  • 1 onion, finely grated or minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 red bell pepper, very finely chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, finely grated/chopped (or 200 g crushed tomatoes, wellndrained)
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1/2 tsp allspice or cinnamon (optional but very Armenian)
  • 1/2–1 tsp chilli flakes (to taste)
  • 1.5 tsp salt + black pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • To serve: lemon wedges, extra parsley, sliced red onion, optional yoghurt

Steps

  • Dough: Mix warm water + sugar + yeast; rest 5 min until foamy. Stir in flour + salt, then olive oil. Knead 6–8 min until smooth.
  • Rise: Cover and let rise 45–60 min (until doubled).
  • Make topping: Mix mince with onion, garlic, pepper, tomato, tomato paste, parsley, spices, salt/pepper, olive oil and lemon. The mixture should be spreadable—if watery, drain tomatoes a bit; if too stiff, add 1–2 tbsp water.
  • Heat oven: 250°C (or as hot as it goes). Preheat a baking tray (or pizza stone) for better crispness.
  • Shape: Divide dough into 8–10 balls. Roll each very thin (20–24 cm).
  • Top: Spread a thin layer of meat mixture right to the edges (it cooks fast when thin).
  • Bake: Slide onto hot tray. Bake 6–8 min until edges brown and topping is cooked. Repeat.
  • Finish: Serve immediately with lemon to squeeze over. Roll up with parsley + onion inside.

Serve

  • Classic: squeeze lots of lemon, add parsley + red onion, roll and eat.
  • With a simple salad (cucumber, tomato) and yoghurt on the side

Notes

  • Weeknight shortcut: use storenbought thin flatbreads/tortillas; top and bake at 250°C for ~6–7 minutes.
  • If your oven maxes at 225°C, bake a bit longer (8–10 minutes) and keep the topping very thin