Walking through the ancient city streets
of Jordan allows
travellers to bask in the illustrious scenery of the country, all while enjoying the multitude of sensational
smells of the country’s gourmet cuisine. Just about everywhere you visit, there is delicious food waiting to
be found, from the vendors serving up savoury Mediterranean gyros on warm, soft pita bread, to the local
citizens carrying pots filled with flavourful stewed meats and aromatic rice.
Although travellers tend
to be captivated by Jordan’s exquisite surface, filled with historical attractions such as the Dead Sea and
Petra, the Middle Eastern country feeds more than just the soul — it also offers an array of traditional
Jordanian cuisine to satisfy anyone’s tastebuds.
“I think most people don’t
realize how good the food is. They don’t have the expectation of it. They are expecting to go and see Petra
or Jerash, or the Dead Sea, but they’re not expecting the food,” says Malia Asfour, director for Jordan
Tourism Board North America. “They come back and go, ‘Oh my gosh, the food is so delicious.’ When you eat
local, you get the traditional tastes... That’s what the tourists like; it’s the authenticity of the
cuisine.”
Asfour, who frequently
travels between the United States and Jordan, has noticed a true admiration for authentic Jordanian cuisine
among the country’s visitors.
A Jordanian favourite is
mansaf,
a meal
which is also the country’s national dish. When made traditionally, mansaf contains lamb, flatbread (known as
shrak)
and is
garnished with a dried yogurt sauce and pine nuts, served over rice.
“When you walk into
someone’s home, that is what they have, this kind of meal... Most of the time, it is put on a round table and
people gather around and you eat it using your right hand,” explains Asfour, who emphasizes the significance
of ancient cultural customs in Jordan.
Comparable to
mansaf,
other
lunch and dinner meals would include stews with meat and vegetables served on top of rice. Another popular
dish in Jordan is makloubeh, an upside-down dish that includes rice layered with baked or fried eggplant or
cauliflower, topped with a layer of chicken or lamb.
However, to traditionally
begin these meals, a mezze is often served. The appetizer-style menu includes a variety of smaller dishes
including sauces and dips and is similar to tapas, with traditional Middle Eastern foods served such as
tabbouleh, a salad made with finely chopped herbs, onions and tomatoes.
Although
mansaf
and
mezze are popular dishes throughout Jordan, there are some dishes that tend to be more popular in specific
regions of the country. According to Asfour, sayadieh is a popular meal in the southern part of
Jordan. The dish contains fried fish seasoned with spices and served with rice and sauce. In the country’s
northern region, the chicken dish muskhan is well-known. The chicken is seasoned with Arabic spices and served with sautéed
onions and olive oil. It is then placed on top of bread and baked, then layered with more chicken and
garnished with sauce.
As for beverages, coffee
and tea have a strong presence in Jordan’s food culture. Arabic coffee, which involves an extended process of
pounding, roasting and brewing of coffee beans, is infused with spices such as cardamom and is often served
in Jordanian homes to its guests. Arabic coffee is made in a dallah, a long-spouted, metal coffee pot, and the
coffee is served in small round cups that, unlike Westernized coffee cups, have no
handles.
“Coffee is very much a
symbol of hospitality,” says Asfour, adding that coffee welcomes guests into one’s home. Tea is also a very
popular beverage in Jordanian homes, readily available and often served after a
meal.
Alcoholic beverages,
including beer and wine, have an increasing presence in Jordan, with Jordanian wine becoming one of the
country’s leading exports.
“There are some Jordanian
wines that have won some awards at some of the French festivals, which has been really awesome,” Asfour
says.
With the country’s growing
viticulture, she recently participated in a Jordanian wine tasting at Zumot Fine
Wines.
“It was incredible; it was
my first time. I think I tried at least 15 or 16 different types of wine. Each wine has a story of where it
is located in Jordan and why it grows there, how it grows there and what’s around it,” she explains. “It’s
really quite incredible... There is definitely a new interest in wine in the
country.”
And the interest in Jordan
doesn’t stop at wine. With its distinctive culture and cuisine, Jordan’s universal appeal satisfies all five
of our senses.
Warm
Welcome
When travelling to Jordan,
visitors can expect to be welcomed to the country with open arms by its local
citizens.
That’s all part of Bedouin
culture, one of Jordan’s most well-known groups of people that Asfour says is known for its
hospitality.
“They’re very friendly,
very hospitable people that will give you the shirts off their backs,” she says. “Sometimes, I’m just blown
away because I live here [in the U.S.], and I go back there and I’m just blown away with the hospitality...
They are very interested in learning about you, your culture, your country and your ways. They’re very
interested in teaching you about their ways.”
Whether you’re invited
into an establishment or someone’s home, Asfour says that the country’s cuisine has often been a symbol to
welcome guests.
“When you walk into
someone’s door, immediately they are going to start serving you food. First you’re going to get your coffee
and tea, and they’re going to start pulling things out of their house to feed you,” she says. “The
hospitality and the cuisine are very tied into each other. I think that’s what’s so awesome about it. I don’t
think you can separate the two.”
Although the cuisines
found in Arab countries such as Jordan, Syria and Lebanon tend to parallel each other, Jordan continues to
stand out for its tourism, as it is heavily populated by tourists throughout the year who visit for vacations
and honeymoons, as well as to see the real-life “fountain of youth,” the Dead Sea.
“Jordan itself has been a
stabilizing force within the region,” says Asfour. “I think that Jordan kind of stands out as the Switzerland
of the Middle East. A calm, serene and beautiful country in a noisy neighbourhood and that has been very
consistent throughout the years.”
Eat in
Jordan
Some of the country's best
restaurants to visit
To enjoy traditional
Jordanian cuisine, Jordan Tourism Board North America’s director, Malia Asfour, recommends a visit to one of
these restaurants.
Amman:
Fakhr El-Din Restaurant —
Expect some of the best mezze dishes and barbecue that Jordan has to offer.
Hashem — Asfour recommends
a visit to this famous downtown dive for “the best hummus in the world.”
Habibah — At this sweets
specialty shop, enjoy kanafeh, a famous Middle Eastern sweet dessert made of shredded phyllo and cheese,
covered in syrup.
Kan Zaman — Very popular
among tourists, this artisanal restaurant offers traditional foods such as stews with rice and vegetables,
and stuffed squash or eggplant.
Petra/Wadi
Musa:
The Petra Kitchen — For a truly unique restaurant experience, visit The Petra Kitchen
and be immersed in the hospitality, culture and food of Jordan. Visitors can learn how to cook the
traditional way as they prepare the food with local Jordanian people. •
Photo Courtesy: Jordan Tourism
Board
