Not many people realize that it snows in Lebanon during the winter, yet snow it does and it’s glorious. In fact, it often snows so much that one may become stuck in a family town (the country is quite small, you see, and every family is from a particular town) with nothing to do but sit and eat by a fire. I found myself in this situation many times growing up. My family spent nearly every winter in Anjar, a town in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, where my mother was born. I fondly remember the many times we were snowed in, and would eat banirov hats (պանիրով հած), a traditional Armenian bread.
Snow-covered Anjar, taken during my last winter trip there in January 2016.
Most of Anjar’s inhabitants are Armenians, descendants of refugees from Musa Ler (or Musa Dagh), a town in the Hatay province of Turkey. Though Musa Ler’s Armenians rebelled against the Ottoman Empire’s genocidal war in 1915, most of them fled south after Turkey annexed the province in 1939.1 Every year in Anjar, residents come together and cook Harisa (a stew made from wheat and lamb) in honor of those who died in the 1915 Battle of Musa Ler. The meal is, in other words, a commemorative tool.2
But while Harisa is an essential dish for Armenians, its attachment to genocide gives it a somewhat somber note. Banirov hats, however, only conjures happy memories for me and my family. And unlike other dishes popular throughout the Armenian diaspora, banirov hats can only be found among Armenian refugees from Musa Ler, especially in Anjar.3
A photo of պանիրով հած that I enjoyed for breakfast not too long ago. Served with labneh, cucumber, and my grandmother’s olives.
The dish is traditionally made with shanklish cheese, a Middle Eastern delicacy. The cheese is mixed with onion, red pepper paste, and herbs. This mixture is then placed on a dough base and baked until golden. The most endearing thing about the dish is that the older it gets, the more robust its flavor it becomes. One can find the bread in just about any house in Anjar.
It might be a simple dish, yet it’s one I hold close to my heart. To me it symbolizes the history of Armenian immigration throughout the 20th century—an Armenian bread made with a distinctly Middle Eastern cheese that’s now cooked and loved by descendants of Musa Ler around the world, including my family in Melbourne, Australia. It has nourished descendants of the genocide’s survivors for generations, reflecting the Armenian people’s struggle to preserve their culture in the face of adversity. I can’t help but feel closer to my family and my ancestors every time I make this dish, and I’m honored to share my family’s recipe for posterity.
Recipe: Banirov Hats (պանիրով հած)
Serves — a lot of people; this is designed to last and to share with loved ones. This bread freezes well once baked, so there’s no need to shy away from the quantity. It also lasts a long time in the fridge and you can heat it up in the oven or a panini maker (avoid the microwave).
Pastry
1 kg (8 cups) plain flour
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups of lukewarm water
Cheese mixture
1 kg (8 cups) ricotta cheese
1 ball of shanklish cheese
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp red pepper paste
Olive oil
Directions
- The dough should be made first and left to one side. Begin by mixing the yeast with lukewarm water and then slowly add the other ingredients, leaving the salt till last. Mix everything and knead for around five minutes. Once the ingredients are combined, place in a bowl greased with olive oil. Cover and leave for around an hour or until risen.
- Once proved, divide the dough into equal-sized balls and leave to rest until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahreinheit).
- Make the mixture by mixing all ingredients together and add enough olive oil until the mixture is spreadable and not too firm. You should be able to spread the mixture on the dough with a spoon easily.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and roll out each ball of dough so it’s the size of a small pizza. Spread the cheese mixture evenly on top leaving a centimeter (⅓ inch) rim around the edges.
- Bake for around 20–30 minutes or until golden brown all over.
- Leave to cool and then cut and eat as desired.
- Vahram L. Shemmassian, The Musa Dagh Armenians: A Socioeconomic and Cultural History, 1919–1939 (Beirut: Haigazian University Press, 2015), 277–83. Shemmassian chronicles Armenian life in Musa Ler and their migration to Lebanon and elsewhere; Anjar is discussed in the epilogue. Another notable source on Armenian migration to Syria and Lebanon is Nicola Migliorino, Reconstructing Armenia in Lebanon and Syria: Ethno-cultural Diversity and the State in the Aftermath of a Refugee Crisis (Washington, D.C.: Berghahn Books, 2008), esp. 26. Two seminal histories of Lebanon and its various sectarian and ethnic groups are Kamal Salibi, A House of Many Mansions: A History of Lebanon Reconsidered (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988); and Fawwaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon, 2nd ed. (New York: Pluto Press, 2012).
- Ayla Jean Yackley, “Turkey’s last Armenian village honours long-ago stand,” Eurasianet, Aug. 30, 2018; Irina Petrosian and David Underwood, Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore (Bloomington, IN: Yerkir Publishing, 2006), 190–94.
- This is at least my own observation, and one supported by my 89-year-old grandmother, who is a descendant of Musa Ler and lived in Anjar for a period of time during the Lebanese Civil War.
