It takes 30 hours to prepare khash: the leg will be soaked for a day, and another 5-6 hours will be needed to cook and serve it. In the simplest version, you will need to spend 1 hour in the khash kitchen. To save time, you can buy an already cleaned leg (white) and soak it not for a day, but for 6 hours – but under a thin stream of running water. A pressure cooker will cook a leg for khash in 1.5 hours.
How to cook hash
The principle of preparation is to soak the beef legs in water for a day, then peel, divide with a knife into 4-6 pieces and cook for 5-6 hours on a very quiet fire. The pan must be covered with a lid so that the dish does not boil away. Pour the finished khash on plates and serve with snacks.
Choosing beef legs for fatty khash
Take at least 1 leg into a 5-liter pan, as the broth in khash should be fatty and sugary. Additionally, you can put a sugar bone, thanks to the bone marrow, the hash will become even fatter.
Cooking khash
In a saucepan with cold water, soak the leg for 24 hours, changing the water every 3-4 hours. This is done in order to remove the blood and soak the blockages. Then you need to scrape the leg with a knife or a skin for dishes until white and cut along the joints into 4-6 parts. Khash should be boiled over low heat until the joints are boiled – this is 5-6 hours. Close the lid of the pan tightly so that the broth does not evaporate much. Ideally, khash is cooked on a scalder for 8-10 hours, a pressure cooker will cope with the process in 1.5 hours.
Serving hash
Proper serving is almost as important a step as cooking. Catch pieces of a leg into a deep plate for each eater, and pour broth on top. Arrange in separate bowls:
– chopped garlic, soaked in water – eaters pour water with a spoon so that the garlic effect is softer;
– pita bread – freshly prepared and slightly dried is better – they break it and throw it into khash, where it is soaked and becomes very tasty;
– chopped radish – traditionally, and additionally any fresh vegetables and pickles;
– salt – since khash is not salted during cooking;
– cheese, ideally homemade;
– salty mineral water.
See more recipes for all soups and their cooking time!
Tasty Facts
Khash is an Armenian soup, served in the morning because of satiety – “for the whole day”. In addition, they simmered khash all night on fire – and in the morning they fed the whole family with fresh khash.
According to legend, the king took away good pieces of meat for himself, and threw the bad ones into the gorge. One day the shepherd saw these pieces and boiled them, and the smell reached the king and he liked it so much that the king invited the shepherd to his place and ordered to cook the same thing. After that, the king kept the pieces with bones for himself, and distributed the meat to the poor. In modern times, tripe, tails, and even meat are added during cooking to make the soup even tastier.
The first rule of tasty khash is the right legs, bigger and thicker is better. When choosing, pay attention to the color: whitish will say that the leg was cleaned with steam – such a leg will not give an appetizing smoky smell.
The most delicious khash is obtained under Armenian songs – there is also about khash:
“We don’t need kebabs and pilaf,
On the table, khash is the basis of the foundations,
And conversation is a calm river,
Friends here have peace and quiet.”
Traditionally, khash is prepared only by men – this is a manifestation of care in the conduct of everyday life. Women should rest on this day.