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The Story of St. Sarkis Day
St.
Sarkis has been one of the most popular saints for Armenians,
especially for teenagers & lovers. There is an interesting tradition
in Armenia related to this holiday. The night before St. Sarkis Day,
the teenagers will go to church, firmly keeping an “Aghi plit” (salty
cookie) in their pockets, which must be eaten before going to sleep. The
salty cookie will make them thirsty & in their dreams whoever
offers them a drink of water, will be their future husband or wife.
There
are other special foods related to that holiday. St. Sarkis’s holiday
known as “Khashil bas”, “khashil” is a very unique food, prepared with
roasted & ground wheat. The Armenians in Lebanon and Syria used to
buy a special halva for that occasion. But the most delicious cake for
St. Sarkis holiday is the Musa Daghian “kumba”, a kind of “Darehats”
(Year Bread), which has been a habit to prepare at New Year, in all the
regions of Armenia. According to the tradition of darehats, also in
kumba, it’s a term to put a “michink” (something to put in), a coin or a
core of a fruit. Whoever receives the item in their serving of bread or
cake will be the luckiest of that year, and will be the supporter of
that family.
Here
is the Kumba cake recipe from my grandmother Marinus (Mariam). The cake
is very aromatic and has a special taste because of the abundance of
spices and nuts. By the way, it’s a Lenten recipe, and because of that,
the cake does not contain milk, eggs or butter, so the cake doesn’t rise
much and the texture is a bit dense.
KUMBA Cake
Ingredients:
5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of olive oil
1 cup of boiling water
1 cup of sugar
½ cup of honey
1 cup of chopped nuts (walnut, almond, pistachio, hazelnut)
½ cup of raisins
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon of ground cardamom
½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon of ground mahlab
a coin, wrapped in foil
½ cup of white sesame seeds for the top
Preparation:
1. If you desire, roast the flour, until it turns to pale. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and the spices.
2. Add the oil & boiling water, stir until a thick dough is formed.
3. Add the honey, nuts & raisins.
4. Spread the dough in a large non-stick pan. Put the wrapped coin in it & cover with dough.
5. Dip your hands in water and smooth out the surface of the dough.
6. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on the surface.
7. Bake Kumba at 350° F, about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Ingredients:
5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of olive oil
1 cup of boiling water
1 cup of sugar
½ cup of honey
1 cup of chopped nuts (walnut, almond, pistachio, hazelnut)
½ cup of raisins
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon of ground cardamom
½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon of ground mahlab
a coin, wrapped in foil
½ cup of white sesame seeds for the top
Preparation:
1. If you desire, roast the flour, until it turns to pale. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and the spices.
2. Add the oil & boiling water, stir until a thick dough is formed.
3. Add the honey, nuts & raisins.
4. Spread the dough in a large non-stick pan. Put the wrapped coin in it & cover with dough.
5. Dip your hands in water and smooth out the surface of the dough.
6. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on the surface.
7. Bake Kumba at 350° F, about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
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