GHAPAMA - SHOW STOPPER FOR YOUR THANKSGIVING TABLE

With so much going on in my homeland, I’ve been feeling a pull back to my roots. I’ve always had Armenian food at home growing up, mostly the same recipes over and over again. But there are so many more out there. I didn’t have this growing up and had never made it before but I decided to try my hand at it this year. Just a small one!

Most families don’t have rice on their table for Thanksgiving, but I always did. Growing up we had TWO different rice pilafs. One traditional one, and another one that my great grandmother made up using the Turkey gizzards with a mixture of other seasonings.

Unrest in Armenia has stirred up many emotions and fears that go back generations leaving a sense of insecurity. As we face an existential threat, our nervous systems shift into flight mode which causes dissociation from our bodies. In other words, are bodies feel like an unsafe place to be.

Now, what does this have to do with food? In order to come back into balance we need to bring the body and mind back into harmony. We need to create a safe and sturdy groundedness by taking care of the first layer of the self, the physical body.

One of the ways is through nourishment, another is through movement.

Yoga offers both.

You know the poses but may not know much about the food part. The ancient science of Ayurveda, yoga’s sister lifestyle practice, addresses diet as a means for healing and managing anxiety. According to Ayurveda, “food is medicine when consumed properly.”

Ayurveda emphasizes eating foods that are in season, building digestive fire by eating cooked and warm foods in the winter rather than salads and raw foods, and understanding your constitution (which is for another post) which gets into specific foods to avoid for your body type.

In general winter and fall months take us back to the earth, focusing on root veggies like pumpkin, squash, carrots, potatoes, stews and soups. Warming spices that include cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, ginger among others. The use of ghee as a cooking oil is recommended as well. Eating this way not only nourishes our physical body but can also reduce anxiety.

I’ve found that many Armenian and middle eastern recipes can be easily tweeked to be Ayurvedic. Ghapama is one of them!

Here I make a few simple adjustments to make sure that this Ayurveda friendly. Note that traditionally Ayurveda is personalized to the individual so this is very general.

• Ghee instead of oil or butter

• Add honey at the end

• Use basmati rice

• Soak dried fruits before adding them to the rice mixture

• Use cashews or almonds for nuts

• Add turmeric and ginger to the spice blend

Here is a recipe adapted by The Stuffed Grapeleaf. I’ve focused on one small pumpkin but feel free to double for a larger one.

1 small pie pumpkin

1 cup of bone broth (or regular broth or water, I use bone broth for extra protein)

1/2 cup basmati rice - rinsed until the water runs clear

.5 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons ghee

1.5 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 ¼ cup chopped walnuts

1 ¼ cup dried fruit e.g. raisins, cranberries, diced apricots, diced dates

1 finely chopped large green apple

Wash the outside of the pumpkin and cut the lids out then clean out the pulp, seeds and insides. Rinse the inside out.

Pre-cook the basmati rice by adding the rice with the broth or water to a pot, season with some salt then bring to a boil. Once it boils, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until halfway done.

While the rice is cooking, add your dried fruits to some warm water to soak.

Once the rice is done cooking, remove it from the pan and drain, reserving the liquid.

To a large bowl, add the cooked rice. Chop the dried fruits that you are using.

Melt the ghee in a pan and lightly coat the insides of the pumpkin with a tablespoon of the mixture. Add the rest to the rice and then mix in the dried fruit, nuts and spices and toss until combined.

Loosely fill the pumpkins to the brim with the rice mixture. Pour the reserved cooking liquid from the rice on top of the filled pumpkin.

Secure the pumpkin lid and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush the outside of the pumpkin with some ghee. Bake in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 1-1 ½ hours, or until the pumpkin flesh is soft. (You can test by gently poking it after about 50 minutes of baking and see if the flesh gives a little.)

To serve, cut vertically all around the pumpkin with the rice in the middle. Drizzle with some local honey and serve a piece of the pumpkin along with a scoop of filling.