Arganak (Արգանակ (Arganak))
Overview
Arganak is an Armenian festive chicken soup with small meatballs. A whole chicken is simmered slowly with onion and carrot to make a rich, golden broth, which is skimmed carefully and strained so that it stays clear. Tiny meatballs of minced beef or lamb and chicken, mixed with grated onion, a little rice and egg, are rolled between the palms and poached in the broth, with a handful of rice. The chicken meat is pulled into strips and returned to the pot. Arganak is seasoned with salt and black pepper, and finished with chopped parsley, coriander or dill. Some cooks thicken it with egg and lemon.
History
The word arganak means a strong meat broth in Armenian, and it was long a dish for special occasions. It is cooked for family feasts, weddings and holidays, and many families serve it at New Year, when the table is at its most generous. Diaspora communities in Lebanon, Syria and the United States kept the dish alive, and it appears in many Armenian community cookbooks.
Main ingredients
Chicken, minced meat, rice, onion, egg, herbs. The soup is built on clear chicken broth with meatballs and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Chicken soups · Rice soups · Egg soups · More soups from Armenia
Recipe
Method
- 11 h
Simmer the chicken with the onion and carrot in 3 l salted water for 1 hour, skimming, then strain the broth.
- 2
Mix the minced meat with the grated onion, egg, rice, salt and pepper and roll into tiny balls.
- 320 min
Bring the broth back to the boil, add the meatballs and the rice and simmer for 20 minutes.
- 4
Pull the chicken meat into strips and add it to the pot.
- 5
Season, add the chopped herbs and serve.
- ✓
Serve. About 2 h from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
