Lamb meat is popular in Armenia. It is used for many dishes - also for grilled kebab. Berliner Wahagn Ovasapian serves it with traditional Armenian bread, lavash, in his restaurant, Dwin.
Image: Lena Ganssmann
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Video: Lule kebab, Armenia
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Wahagn Ovasapian: "You choose the best elements of each culture."
Wahagn Ovasapian was born in Berlin as the child of Armenian immigrants. His parents placed a lot of value on teaching their children about Armenian culture, making sure they learned the language, and encouraging them to feel connected to their Armenian roots. In 1989, Wahagn Ovasapian's father Samvel opened the restaurant Dwin in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Since then, it has become an institution – and not just among Armenians. While studying IT, Wahagn Ovasapian worked in his father's restaurant on the side, and in 2005 he joined the business as co-owner.
Wahagn OvasapianImage: Lena Ganssmann
Dwin Restaurant in Berlin's Wilmersdorf district
The family opened up the restaurant in 1988 in then West Berlin. It was the first in the city to offer authentic Armenian cuisine. Straightforward and down-home. Grilled food are the primary dishes on the menu as they are the Armenian specialty.
Dwin prepares lule kebab
Lamb meat is popular in Armenia. It is used for many dishes - also for grilled kebab. Berliner Wahagn Ovasapian serves it with traditional Armenian bread, lavash, in his restaurant, Dwin.
Image: Lena Ganssmann
Focusing on the essentials
"Our menu is not very long. We try to concentrate on the essentials. And Armenians always say they haven't had a long of time to establish a national cuisine because we have always been occupied or were in conflict or whatever, so the easiest thing was to throw meat on the grill!" - Waghagn Ovasapian
Image: Lena Ganssmann
Moving between cultures
Wahagn Ovasapian loves it when guests come by and relinquish all responsibility. When he can just put together a meal for them. And what about vegetarian guests? He finds something for them, too, "Even if 95 percent of Armenians don't understand why someone wouldn't eat meat, there is now at least an Armenian word for 'vegetarian,'" says Wahagn Ovasapian with a chuckle.
Image: Lena Ganssmann
Dwin - short, poignant, straightforward
Wahagn Ovasapian has deliberately avoided traditional Armenian decorations for the interior design of the restaurant. It is unpretentious, but cozy. However, the name, Dwin, alludes to the connection with Armenia, as it was the name of a provincial capital that no longer exists. But it is also not necessarily recognizable as Armenian – you may be surprised what its origins are.
Image: Lena Ganssmann
The fat content must be right
"We use two different types of meat for the dish Lule Kebab. If we were to only use one type of meat, such as beef, then the consistency wouldn't be the way we'd like. It would be too hard. And if we were to only use lamb, the meat would fall apart on the grill due to its tender consistency." - Wahagn Ovasapian
Image: Lena Ganssmann
Traditional ground meat kebab
Wahagn Ovasapian serves lavash along with the popular grilled kebab at his restaurant, Dwin. Lavash is served everywhere in Armenia and is very easy to make. It was orginally baked on the the hot stones of a clay oven as flatbread. Armenian cuisine is one of the oldest in Asia and the oldest in Transcaucasia - which composes the countries south of the main chain of the Caucasus Mountains.
Image: Lena Ganssmann
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Lule kebab (Grilled beef kebab)
Serves 4
Ingredients:
800 g ground meat (250 g ground lamb, 550 g ground beef)
1/2 onion
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Finely grate onion and pour off onion juice. Combine meat, onions, and spices, mix, and knead into a mass. Tip: The meat should contain a fair amount of fat, as it helps the meat to adhere to the skewer and stops it from crumbling.
Distribute meat evenly onto skewers. If no metal skewers are available, you can also use wooden skewers, for example bamboo. The wider the skewer, the easier it will be to grill the kebabs.
Grill kebabs evenly from both sides and serve wth lavash, a traditional flatbread.
Rice also makes a very good side dish.
Editor's note: Unfortunately after nearly 30 years, DWIN had to close it's doors by now.
