Jordanian cuisine

Jordanian cuisine is a type of food from the country of Jordan, sharing many traditions with other foods from the Levantine cuisine area. It includes many tasty dishes made with stuffed vegetables, different kinds of meat such as lamb, beef, and chicken, and rice served as a side or in special one-pot meals like maqloubah. Olive oil is the main cooking oil used, and flavors like herbs, garlic, onion, tomato sauce, and lemon are common in many dishes.

A special mix of spices called za'atar includes sumac, a herb that grows wild in Jordan. Yogurt, especially a dried form called jameed, is a key part of Jordanian food and is used in mansaf, the national dish, which shows Jordanian hospitality. Another famous dish is zarb, popular among Bedouin tribes in places like Petra and Wadi Rum. It is cooked in a special oven called a taboon and includes meat, vegetables, and rice.

A typical Jordanian breakfast: hummus, falafel, salad, pickles and khubz (pita)

Common snacks enjoyed worldwide, like hummus made from chick peas, and falafel, made from ground chickpeas, are everyday treats in Jordan. A meal often starts with a variety of small dishes called mezze, including kibbeh, labaneh, and tabbouleh, served with bread and rice. Popular sweet foods are baklava, knafeh, and halva, along with fresh fruits like watermelons and figs.

Drinks such as Turkish coffee, tea flavored with mint or sage, and Arabic coffee are commonly served, especially during special occasions. While some people enjoy an aniseed-flavored drink called Arak with meals, pork is rarely eaten in Jordan.

History

Jordanian cuisine is part of Levantine cuisine and shares many traits with the foods of Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. It has also been shaped by connections to the cuisine of Turkey and the former Ottoman Empire, as well as influences from groups like Armenians, Circassians, Iraqis, Palestinians, and Syrians who live in Jordan.

Food plays a big role in Jordanian culture. In villages, meals are shared events with families coming together. Jordanians are known for their hospitality, often serving family, friends, and guests with pride, no matter their situation. Celebrations such as weddings, the birth of a child, birthdays, and special days like Ramadan and Jordan’s independence day are marked with special dishes. For example, when a child is born, a pudding called karawiya, flavored with caraway, is often served to guests.

Jordanian culinary

Main dishes

Freekeh with roasted vegetables

Mezze

In Jordan, people love to eat small plates, salads, and appetizers together, sharing them with friends and family. These small dishes, called mezze, are usually placed on the table before the main meal. You might find different kinds of mezze, such as various salads, dips, and other tasty bites, all meant to be enjoyed with bread.

Mujaddara

A typical Jordanian mezze could include many different dishes, but the exact choice can vary.

Salads

Jordanian Sajiyeh

Soups

In Jordan, meals often start with soups. These soups are usually named after the main ingredient they contain, such as vegetables or legumes.

Sandwiches

Makmoura

Bread

Jordanian cuisine uses many kinds of bread. One type is Abud, a dense flatbread baked in a wood fire. Ka'ak is a traditional bread shaped like a leaf or ring and covered with sesame seeds. Karadeesh is made from corn. Khubz, also known as pita, has a pocket inside. Shrak, a very thin bread, is cooked on a special griddle called saj. Taboon bread, also known as laffa, is often stuffed with hummus, falafel, or meat and sold as street food. Hamam is a French-style loaf sometimes called Sammoun, used for sandwiches.

Sweets

Jordan has many sweet treats. Baklava is made with layers of thin pastry filled with nuts and soaked in honey. Halva is a sweet made from sesame flour and milk. Knafeh is a cheese pastry soaked in sugary syrup. Qatayef are sweet dumplings filled with cream and pistachios, often eaten during Ramadan. Warbat is a pastry with thin layers filled with custard, also enjoyed during Ramadan.

Beverages

Jordanians enjoy many drinks. Arabic coffee, made from roasted beans and cardamom, is a favorite, especially among Bedouins. Lime-mint juice is a refreshing mix of lemon and mint. Qamar eddine is apricot juice often served in Ramadan. Sahlab is made from boiled milk with starch, topped with coconut and cinnamon. Shaneeneh is a cold drink made from aged goat milk yogurt. Tamar hindi is a sweet-and-sour Ramadan drink made from tamarind juice. Arabic tea, usually black tea flavored with mint or sage and lots of sugar, is popular, with Alghazaleen and Lipton being the most common brands. Turkish-style coffee is stronger than Arabic coffee, brewed over a flame with water, grounds, and sugar.

Main article: Jordan

Main articles: Ramadan

Name	Description
Al-rashoof (الرشوف)	A winter meal consisting of coarse wheat flour, lentils and yogurt, popular in northern Jordan.
Shishbarak (ششبرك)	Also known as Joshpara. A sort of dumpling or jiaozi dish. After being stuffed with ground beef and spices, thin wheat dough parcels are cooked with jameed then served hot. Another name for this dish is shishbarak.
Bamia (بامية)	Okra cooked with tomato sauce and onions, served with rice and lamb.
Burghul ahmar (البرغل الأحمر)	Bulgur cooked in tomato sauce and served with poultry.
Burghul biz-ziet (برغل بالزيت)	Bulgur cooked in olive oil and served with poultry.
Fasoulya beyda (الفاصوليا البيضاء)	White beans cooked in tomato sauce and served with rice.
Fasoulya khadra (فاصوليا خضراء)	Green beans cooked in tomato sauce and served with rice.
Fatteh (الفتّه )	Stack of khubz (bread), topped by strained yogurt, steamed chickpeas and olive oil that are crushed and mixed together.
Freekeh (فريكة)	Served with poultry or meat. Meat is fried in oil and braised with water, salt, and cinnamon bark. Then dried coriander is stirred in with freekeh and cooked.
Galayet bandora (قلاية بندورة)	Tomatoes sauteed and stewed with onions, olive oil, salt, and hot peppers, it can be served with rice but is more commonly eaten with bread in Jordan.
Haneeth (stuffed baby lamb) (محشوة الضأن الرضيع)	A popular dish in Jordan, which people enjoy as a big and heavy meal. It consists of roasted lamb, stuffed with rice, chopped onions, nuts and raisins.
Kabsa (الكبسة)	Made from a mixture of spices, rice (usually long-grain, mostly basmati), meat and vegetables.
Kebab (كباب)	Roasted or grilled, also known as mashawi. A mixed grill of barbecued meats such as kebab and shish taouk.
Kofta b'bandura (كفتة بالبندورة)	Spiced, ground meat baked in tomato sauce and served with rice.
Kofta b'tahini (كفتة الطحينة)	Spiced, ground meat baked in a sea of tahini, topped with thinly sliced potatoes and pine nuts and served with rice.
Kousa mahshi (كوسا محشي)	Rice and minced meat stuffed in zucchinis. Usually served with chicken and wara' aynab (also called dawali).
Malfuf (ملفوف)	Rice and minced meat rolled in cabbage leaves.
Makmoura (مكمورة)	A meatpie made with chicken and onion filling
Mansaf (المنسف)	The national dish of Jordan and their most distinctive food. Mansaf is a traditional dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt called jameed and served with rice or bulgur.
Mujalaleh	A dish made from dough and clarified butter
Mujaddara (مجدرة)	Lentil and rice casserole, garnished with roasted onions.
Mulukhiyah (ملوخية)	The leaves of Corchorus used as a vegetable.
Musaqa'h (مسقعة)	Various Levantine variations of the Mediterranean dish are cooked in Jordan.
Sajiyeh (صاجية)	A dish made from bell peppers, onions, chilis, and meat fried in olive oil on a saj pan
Waraq Enab (Sarma) (ورق عنب)	Grape leaves filled with herbed, minced vegetables, meat and rice, cooked with olive oil. Sometimes called dawali.
Zarb (زارب)	Bedouin barbecue. Meat and vegetables cooked in a large underground pit.

Name	Description
Arab salad (سلطة عربية)	Combines many different vegetables and spices.
Baba ghanoush (بابا غنوج)	Finely chopped roasted eggplant, olive oil, lemon juice, various seasonings, and tahini..
Baqdonsiyyeh (بقدونسية)	Parsley blended with tahini and lemon juice, usually served with seafood.
Falafel (فلافل)	Balls of fried chickpea flour and Middle Eastern spice. Dipped in every mezze, especially hummus. The Jordanian falafel balls tend to come in smaller sizes.
Fattoush (فتوش)	A salad made from toasted or fried pieces of pita bread combined with mixed greens and other vegetables, such as lettuce, radish and tomato.
Ful medames (فول مدمس)	Crushed fava beans served with a variety of toppings such as olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, chili pepper, sumac and more.
Halloumi (حلوم)	Semi-soft white cheese. Not quite as salty, crumbly and dry as feta cheese, but similar.
Hummus (حمص)	Chick peas boiled and blended to perfect smoothness with tahini paste, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice, and perhaps topped with a little parsley.
Khobbeizeh (خبيزه)	Little mallow cooked with olive oil.
Kibbeh (كبة)	Herbed, minced meat covered in a crust of bulgur (crushed wheat), then fried. Shaped like an American football.
Kibbeh labaniyyeh (كبه لبنيه)	A minced meat and bulgur mixture similar to ordinary kubbeh, but boiled with Jordanian jameed.
Kibbeh nayyeh (كبة نية)	A minced meat and bulgur mixture similar to ordinary kubbeh, but the meat is served raw.
Labaneh Jarashiyyeh (لبنه جرشيه)	Literally "labaneh from Jerash". Creamy yogurt, so thick it can be spread on flat bread to make a sandwich.
Makdous/Maqdous (مكدوس)	Stuffed pickled eggplant, said to increase appetite.
Manakish (مناقيش)	Flatbread dough usually topped with olive oil and za’atar spice blend. Other varieties may include cheese or ground meat and in this case it is called sfiha.
Olive oil (زيت الزيتون)	One of the cornerstones of Jordanian food. For breakfast, Jordanians dip flatbread into the olive oil, then into the za'atar.
Pickled vegetables (خضروات مخللة)	Jordanians enjoy pickled anything—carrots, radishes, cucumbers, cauliflower, and whatever other pickle-worthy vegetables might be around. Just about every mezze features a plate of these.
Samosa (سمبوسك)	Fried dough balls stuffed with meat, pine nuts and onions.
Tabbouleh (تبولة)	Vegetarian dish traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgur and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Some variations add garlic or lettuce, or use couscous instead of bulgur.
Tursu or (Mokhalal) (طرشي)	A certain type of alkhdharat soaked in water and salt in a pot and drawn from the air for the week such as cucumber and cabbage, eggplant flower, carrot, radish, onion, lemon, olives, chili and beans.
Yalanji (يلنجي)	Plate composed of vine leaves stuffed principally with rice.
Za'atar (زعتر)	A mixture of thyme and sesame seeds. Oregano, sage, or sumac can also be mixed in.
Zaitun (زيتون)	Olives.

Name	Description
Arab salad (سلطة عربية)	Salad with tomato, cucumber, onion, mint, olive oil and lemon juice.
Babba ghanoush (بابا غنوج)	Roasted eggplant, cut into pieces and tossed with tomatoes and onions.
Fattoush (فتوش)	Chopped vegetable salad (tomato, cucumber, radish, etc.) tossed with pieces of dry or fried flatbread and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and sumac.
Olive salad (سلطة الزيتون)	Olives cut with carrots, green pepper, chili, dressed with olive oil.
Rocket salad (سلطة جرجير)	Rucola (arugula, rocket) leaves in Jordan are quite large, tossed with olive oil and lemon.
Huweirneh (حويرنة)	Made from sisymbrium officinale (hedge mustard) and yogurt.
Tabbouleh (تبولة)	Finely chopped parsley and mint tossed with bulgur, tomatoes, onion and seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice.

Name	Description
Lentil soup (شوربة عدس)	Served hot. Smashed brown, red or green lentils with chicken or meat broth and several varieties of spices. Other ingredients may include vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, celery, parsley, and onion.
Freekeh soup (شوربة فريكة)	Served hot. Is a soup with Freekeh (green wheat), chicken or meat broth and several varieties of spices.

Name	Description
Ara'yes (العرايس)	Literally meaning "bride", ara’yes are spicy mincemeat-filled oven-baked flatbread sandwiches.
Falafel (فلافل)	Fresh bread filled or wrapped with falafel, hummus, tomato and pickles.
Managish (مناقيش)	Taboon bread topped with za'atar and olive oil.
Mo'ajanat (معجنات)	Pies filled with cheese, spinach, za'atar or beef.
Sambusak (سمبوسك)	Fried dough balls stuffed with cheese or meat with pine nuts and onions.
Sfiha (صفيحة)	Flatbread topped with ground beef and red peppers.
Shawarma (الشاورما)	Herbed and spiced chicken, lamb or beef on a spindle, sliced and then wrapped in flatbread, served with vegetables, tahini and hot sauce.