Ghapama — Armenia

Ghapama is a whole pumpkin hollowed out and filled with a mixture of boiled rice and dried fruit, most often walnuts, apple, dried cornelian cherry, apricot, prunes and raisins, then baked until the pumpkin's flesh softens and its sweetness mingles with the filling. It is reported as an Armenian holiday dish, prepared during the festive season and brought to the table as a centerpiece, with the whole pumpkin carried in and cut open in front of guests rather than served pre-portioned. The top of the pumpkin is cut off to form a lid, the seeds and stringy flesh are scraped out, and the cavity is filled with rice that has been parboiled and mixed with the chopped dried fruit and nuts, sometimes sweetened lightly with honey or sugar and warmed with cinnamon. The lid is replaced and the whole pumpkin is baked slowly until the flesh can be pierced easily with a knife. What distinguishes this dish is the pumpkin itself serving as both cooking vessel and part of the meal: once baked, the softened flesh is scooped along with the rice and fruit filling, so the sweetness of the pumpkin and the dried fruit combine in the same spoonful, rather than the pumpkin functioning only as decoration.