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General
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CUISINE
Arab cuisine is one of the most elaborated and sophisticated
in the world. Food is also an important part of the culture and
is used to express hospitality and generosity. Jordanians are
exceptionally hospitable. Do not be surprised if you are invited
to share a meal in someone's home… when Jordanians invite you,
they mean it!
The local cuisine includes a dizzying savory variety of appetizers,
called “mezzeh”, aromatic breads, wonderful sweets soaked in
honey, pistachios and others, and “mansaf”, Jordan's traditional
dish of lam, yogurt sauce and rice.
Mezzeh
- Appetizers and Snack Foods |
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. |
The
Main Course |
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.
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Desserts |
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. |
Hot
Beverages |
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". |
Take-Away Food
There are plenty of delicious snacks to be found
in restaurants and street stalls. Try these:
- Shawarma: Also
known as "sandweech", Shawarma is thinly sliced beef, lamb
or chicken cut from a vertical spit and served in flat pita
bread with a tahina sauce.
- Falafel: Small
deep-fried balls of paste made with chick peas, onions, parsley
and spices; it is usually served wrapped in pita bread with
tahina and salad.
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