vegan Armenian recipe ideas

Spring is slowly but surely beginning and the planning for the next summer holiday is beginning: a change from everyday life and traditional country cuisine really make you want to travel.
Since it might still be a while until the next vacation, Lotao has put together some exotic recipe ideas . So that you can bring the summer feeling and variety into your kitchen now - and it's healthy and of course vegan!
This time our destination is Armenia! Anyone who has never cooked Armenian food will be amazed. Armenia is a country in the mountainous Caucasus region between Asia and Europe and is not only an interesting holiday destination, but also a country with great food! In this blog post we present three recipes from Armenian cuisine - and how you can cook them easily, vegan and healthy at home.

1. Lahmacun with veggie mince

(Recipe for approx. 4 servings)

Ingredients for the dough:

• 300 g pizza flour
• 150 ml lukewarm water
• ¼ cube of fresh yeast
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt

Preparation:

1. Dissolve yeast and salt in warm water.
2. In a bowl, put flour, olive oil and add the yeast water and knead.
3. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for about 45 minutes.

Ingredients for the topping:

• 50 g Lotao Veggie Hack , let it swell according to the instructions on the package
• 1 pc onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½ red pepper, cut into small cubes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp paprika pulp
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Fry onion, garlic and peppers. Then add the veggie mince and mix everything together.
2. Season with paprika paste, tomato paste, cumin, salt and pepper and season to taste.
3. Preheat the oven to 250°C top/bottom heat. Grease baking tray with olive oil.
4. Divide the dough into 4 portions and shape into even balls and let rest covered for about 10 - 15 minutes. Roll out the dough ball thinly, place it on a baking tray and spread with approx. 2 tablespoons of the minced mixture. The minced mixture should be thinly but evenly distributed. Now bake the flatbread for about 6-10 minutes until the lahmacun takes on a slight color.
5. Sprinkle the flatbreads with lettuce, flat-leaf parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions as desired and serve.

2. Börek with veggie mince

(for a baking tray)

Ingredients for the dough:

• 2 layers of yufka dough
• Olive oil for greasing
• sesame
• black caraway

Ingredients for the filling:

• 100g Lotao Veggie Hack , let it swell according to the instructions on the package
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 pc onion, finely chopped
• 1 pc red pepper
• 1 piece, floury potato, boiled and mashed
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp paprika pulp
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander, ground
• 1 pc ripe tomato, cut into small cubes
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Fry garlic, onion and red pepper well. Add veggie mince and tomato and let simmer.
2. Add the tomato paste, paprika paste, cumin and coriander and mix.
3. Place the mixture in a large bowl and allow to cool. Add mashed potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
4. Preheat oven to 180° Celsius. Grease a baking tray with olive oil and line it with a yufka leaf; then grease the dough with olive oil. Place another sheet of dough on top, now spread half of the filling over it and repeat this process. Then simply grease with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame or black cumin.
5. Then bake the Börek in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

3. Manti with veggie mince

(Recipe for 4 servings)

Ingredients for the dough:

• 150g flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 70 ml lukewarm water

Preparation:

1. Mix flour, salt and lukewarm water in a bowl.
2. Knead the resulting dough well on a work surface.
3. When the dough becomes smooth, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 100 g Lotao Veggie Hack , let it swell according to the instructions on the package
• 1 pc onion, chopped
• 1 piece garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp paprika pulp
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 small floury potato, boiled and mashed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Salt
• pepper

Ingredients for the vegan yogurt sauce:

• 1 cup coconut yogurt
• 1/1 piece garlic clove, chopped
• salt and pepper
• Some lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Pour olive oil into a pan and heat it up. Fry the onion and garlic well in it.
2. Add veggie mince and mix once. Then add the tomato paste, paprika paste and cumin and continue to simmer.
3. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cool. Add mashed potato and chopped parsley and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Now to the dough: sprinkle some flour on a work surface. Roll out the dough to a thickness of approx. 2 mm and cut out squares measuring approx. 3 cm x 3 cm with a knife. Place ¼ teaspoon of filling in the middle of each and fold the corners towards the middle.
5. Boil salted water in a large pot. Cook manti in it for about 4 minutes.
6. The vegan yogurt sauce is made by mixing all its ingredients well!
7. Remove and drain the manti and serve with the vegan yogurt sauce.

 

If you decide to make one of these recipes and maybe even take a photo of it, we would be happy to hear from you on Instagram at @lotaosecrets!

In any case, we wish you bon appetit and a great week!