Mazzeh:

A traditionally large assortment of appetizers, or snack foods, that are usually consumed before the main course. Mazzeh can at times also act as the main course.

Hommus with tahineh:

Cooked chickpeas ground into a paste and served with tahineh (a sesame seed-paste), garlic, and lemon. Hommus is usually eaten with bread.

Baba ghanouj:

A dip made from mashed eggplant and tahineh. Like hommus, it is eaten with bread.

Fool:

A dip made from fava beans, garlic, and lemon. Also eaten with bread.

Kubbeh:

Deep-fried balls made of a mixture of meat and cracked wheat stuffed with meat and onions.

Falafel:

Deep-fried balls of chickpeas paste with spices. It is served with Arabic bread with varying combinations of pickles, tomatoes, hommus, salad, and yogurt. Falafel is inexpensive and is usually sold by vendors on street corners.

Shawirmah:

Sandwiches that consist of either lamb or chicken shaved from large, roasted slabs, served in a piece of bread, along with some combination of yogurt, pickles, tomatoes, hommus, or salad. Shawirmah sandwiches are also relatively cheap in Jordan.

Khubez:

The staple food for Jordanians is bread, known as "khubez." It is eaten with every meal and comprises the largest part of the typical Jordanian diet. There is a variety of tastes and textures, depending on how the bread is baked, but most is round and flat.

Ka'ik:

A round ring of bread covered with sesame seeds.

Manaqeesh:

A tasty snack of hot bread moistened with olive oil and covered with thyme.

Mansaf:

The national dish of Jordan is the Bedouin specialty called "Mansaf" – lamb seasoned with aromatic herbs, sometimes lightly spiced, cooked in dried yogurt, and served on a large platter with huge quantities of rice, sprinkled with almonds, pine kernels, and other nuts. Feasting on Mansaf is taken seriously, and hours are spent in its preparations. This extravagant cuisine is served primarily on special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries, as it possesses an important symbolic function within social gatherings.

Kebabs:

Spicy minced lamb pressed onto skewers and grilled over charcoal.

Jaaj mashwee:

Roasted chicken accompanied by bread, salad, and hommus.

Fasooliyeh:

A tomato-based bean stew, usually served with rice.

Bazelleh:

A tomato based pea stew, usually served with rice.

Batatas:

Potato stew.

Mlukhiyyeh:

A kind of spinach stew cooked with chicken or beef pieces and served with rice.

Mahshi:

Vegetables stuffed with rice and meat.

Waraq dawaalee:

Steamed grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat.

Halwyat:

Sweets

Baqlaweh:

Well-known layered flaky pastry, filled with nuts and drenched in honey.

Kanafi:

Shredded wheat over goat cheese baked in syrup.

Mushabbak:

A lacework-shaped pastry covered in honey.

Zalabiyyeh:

Pastries dipped in rosewater.

Halawat al-jibneh:

A soft pastry filled with cream cheese and topped with syrup and ice cream.

Mahlabiyyeh:

Milk pudding.

Booza:

Ice cream.

Qahweh:

"Coffee" (as well as tea) is of great social significance in Jordan. It is used as a symbol of hospitality and good will. It is therefore recommended that, when offered coffee by your host, to always accept as a gesture of your mutual good faith and gratitude. "Arabic coffee" is bitter, very strong, and is heavily flavored with cardamom. It is served in very small quantities. "Turkish coffee," on the other hand, can be quite sweet. It is thick, potent, and served in small cups.

Shai:

"Tea" is served in small glasses, and is incredibly sweet unless you ask for medium amounts of sugar.

Wassat sukar:

Medium sugar.

Bidoon sukar:

Without sugar.

Nargileh:

Water pipe from which flavored tobacco is smoked. Widely known as a "hubbly-bubbly".