Khash is an Armenian name (means “to boil”) for a fatty food that’s called Kalle-Pache (Persian: کله پاچه) in Iran. “Kalle” which literally means sheep’s head and “pache” which is the trotter, together make the word “kalle-pache” means “head and trotter”.It’s a dish including a sheep or cow’s head, hooves, tripe, brain, and even eyes. It is a traditional dish in Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Mongolia, and Turkey.
The exact brief recipe of Khash is to stew every and each eatable part of a cow or sheep’s meat overnight and serve. Khash is a hard-to-cook dish that takes a long time to get ready and eatable. The chef boils all needed ingredients in water for something about 8 to 10 hours until the meat gets separated from the bones. He may add salt, garlic, lemon juice, or vinegar according to his taste.
It’ll be more delicate if making tilit by mixing little pieces of bread, especially Sangak or Lavash, and the water of kalle-pache in which the meat was boiled. It’s just like Abgoosht.
It’s an energy producer, super fatty, and heavy food eaten mostly as breakfast which is forbidden for people over 40. You like it and have the permission to et? OK, Eat! But have vodka or any kind of beverage after, if you still want to be alive and sharp or you must inevitably sleep after eating!
Khash is known as one of the most unusual and somehow cruel-to-cook dishes which is not pleasant for some people, mostly women. But it has many healthy and healing properties. It’s good for the bones and healing different kinds of fractures. The rich amount of cholesterol besides protein and vitamin B family makes this meal a nutritious but not-always-eatable food. It also makes cancer away from you and is good for your cells’ strength.
It’s also recommended to women who foster their babies.
Pay ATTENTION, please! If you have high cholesterol or kidney problems, avoid eating even its tilit.
Perhaps, it first seems a bit frightening when different parts of the sheep’s head including the brain, eyes, and tongue are served on your plate, but the taste seasoned with lemon and cinnamon will absolutely change your first perception.
So give it a try when visiting Iran. It’s much more pleasant than other unusual meals.