Zhingyalov hats (Armenian: Ժենգյալով հաց, also zhengyalav hatz, zhangyalov hats, or jingalov hats) is a type of flatbread stuffed with finely diced herbs and green vegetables.[1][2] It is a traditional dish of Armenians from Artsakh[3] and Syunik[4] and has traditionally been a staple in times of scarcity, such as famine and war.[5]
Preparation
Unleavened dough is rolled out until it becomes paper-thin, then it is filled with a stuffing that consists of 10 to 20 types of diced and oiled wild and cultivated herbs.[6] One of the most important steps in preparing a good zhingyalov hats is the greens' composition. Tasteless leaf vegetables and herbs with less pronounced taste make up the base of the stuffing: examples include lettuce, spinach, atriplex, beet greens, chickweed, shepherd's-purse, viola leaves and similar plants.[7] Herbs with distinctive tastes (chervil, urtica, allium), sour (rumex) or spicy (laserpitium) ones are needed in smaller quantities; bitter-tasting greens as taraxacum should be sparse. Additionally the stuffing might contain bryndza and fried onions.
After stuffing, zhingyalov hats are fried for around 10 minutes on a special griddle called "saj" or "sajin" (Armenian: սաջին), or in a tonir for a couple of minutes.
