Khahadjyari - the Taste of Rhanukhan

Khahadjyari is a popular Rhanukhani dish consisting of cooked smoked haddock, salmon, squid, hard-boiled eggs, boiled rice, peas, sultanas, crushed almonds, parsley, ground spices (traditionally cinnamon, coriander seeds, dill seeds, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg), and cream.

The dish can be eaten hot or cold. Other fish or meat can be used, such as tuna or pork, though these are not traditional.

A plate of Khahadjyari - the national dish of Rhanukhan.

History
Khahadjyari is thought to have originated with the ancient Pretakhoni rice-and-bean or rice-and-lentil dish named Canchar, with its introduction into Rhanukhan traced back to the time that their empire expanded into the Holodlhessi Lowlands. Historian, Professor Henrietta Blancmange cites Gaius Sallet (c. 1340AU) mentioning a dish of mung beans boiled with rice called Khanjri and also cites a reference to a lentil-based dish, Cinchdi, from the "Lyver Cyvi" (compiled c. 1190AU). In Kambrajhan (the former heartlands of the old Pretakhoni Empire), where Cinchdi remains popular, the lentil and rice dish is usually served with a spiced yoghurt that can be mixed with the Cinchdi. Cinchdi is usually not prepared with fish in Kambrajhan, although fish is sometimes eaten alongside Cinchdi in coastal villages where seafood is plentiful. According to Professor Blancmange, while fish is considered a key element of modern Rhanukhani Khahadjyari, the use of the term for "mess of re-cooked fish ... is inaccurate".

Dominus Matthias III (r. 1662-1717AU) was fond of Khahadjyari and was doubtless responsible for its popularity spreading beyond its birthplace in the eastern provinces of the Holodlhessi Lowlands into the rest of Rhanukhan, particularly the newly acquired provinces of Elamadh, when it was served at his wedding to the Elamadhite Princess Melissa (thereafter Domina Melissa I) in 1676AU.

The dish in its modern form was listed as early as 1590AU in the recipe book of Stephana Malacolite of Bhanakha. The Rhanukhani Historic Trust's book, "The Rhanukhani Kitchen" by Christopher Truncheon notes the Malacolite recipe and other old examples. By the 19th century, Khahadjyari had become an iconic dish all across Rhanukhan, strongly associated with the country and its people around the world, and it remains so to this day.