Jordanian cuisine is a traditional style of food preparation originating from Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 that has developed from centuries of social and political change with roots as far back as 2000 B.C.

There is a wide variety in the Jordanian

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 style of cooking. The authentic Jordanian cuisine can range from baking

Baking

Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...

, sautéing

Sautéing

Sautéing is a method of cooking food, that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Ingredients are usually cut into pieces or thinly sliced to facilitate fast cooking. The primary mode of heat transfer during sautéing is conduction between the pan and the food being...

 and grilling

Grilling

Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...

 to stuffing of vegetables (grape leaves, eggplants, etc.), meat, and poultry. Also common in the Jordanian style of cooking is roasting

Roasting

Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization or Maillard browning of the surface of the food, which is considered by some as a flavor enhancement. Roasting uses more indirect, diffused heat , and is...

, and/or preparing foods with special sauces.

As one of the biggest producer of olive

Olive

The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

 in the world, olive oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

 is the main cooking oil in Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

. Herbs, garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

, onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

, tomato sauce and lemon

Lemon

The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...

 are typical flavours found in the Jordanian cuisine

Jordanian cuisine

Jordanian cuisine is a traditional style of food preparation originating from Jordan that has developed from centuries of social and political change with roots as far back as 2000 B.C.There is a wide variety in the Jordanian style of cooking...

. The recipes to the meals of the cuisines of Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 can vary from being extremely hot and spicy to being mild.

The most common and popular of the appetizers is hummous, which is a puree of chick peas blended with Tahini

Tahini

Tahini or sesame paste , is a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. North African, Greek and West Asian tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds. The Arabic word tahin simply means flour.Tahini is a major component of hummus and...

, lemon, and garlic. Fool Moudames is another well-known appetizer. A workers meal, today it has made its way to the tables of the upper class. A successful mezze must of course have koubba maqliya, labaneh baba ghanoush

Baba ghanoush

Baba ghanoush, baba ganush, baba ghannouj or baba ghannoug is a Levantine dish of aubergine mashed and mixed with virgin olive oil and various seasonings. A popular preparation method is for the eggplant to be baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a...

, tabouleh, olive

Olive

The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

 and pickles

Pickles

Pickles may refer to:* A pickled cucumber, the food most commonly referred to as a pickle in the U.S. and Canada* A pickled onion, the food most commonly referred to as a pickle in the UK* Other vegetables that have been pickled...

.

The most distinctive Jordanian dish is Mansaf

Mansaf

Mansaf is a traditional Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or groats. It is the national dish of Jordan.-Preparation:...

, and it's the national dish of Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, thus Mansaf

Mansaf

Mansaf is a traditional Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or groats. It is the national dish of Jordan.-Preparation:...

 on the menu is the greatest symbol in Jordanian culture for generosity.

Although simple fresh fruits are often served towards the end of a Jordanian meal, there is also dessert, such as the Baklava's, Hareeseh and Knafeh.

In the Jordanian cuisine, drinking Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

 and tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 flavored with na'na

MiNT

MiNT is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST and its successors. Together with the free system components fVDI , XaAES , and TeraDesk , MiNT provides a free TOS compatible replacement OS that is capable of multitasking.MiNT was originally released by Eric Smith as...

 or meramiyyeh is more or less like a ritual.

Food culture and traditions in Jordan

Within Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, mealtime is not merely a biological function, but, rather, a time of celebration. Food is a very important aspect within the Jordanian culture. In the villages, meals are a community event with the immediate and extended family present. In addition, food is commonly used by Jordanians to express their hospitality and generosity. Jordanians by nature are very hospital people and, often, it is presented within minutes of a person's invitation to a local house.

It is with pride that Jordanians serve family, friends, and guests in their homes; no matter how modest their means. A 'Jordanian invitation' means that you are expected to bring nothing and eat everything. And the rich Jordanian food coupled with the famous Jordanian hospitality creates an atmosphere of festivities each time a meal is served.

Most of the celebrations in Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 are exceptionally diverse in nature and quite festive at the same time. Each celebration is marked with the dishes from the cuisine of Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 to be spread out and served to the guests. There are many traditional small gatherings in Jordan too; even in those gatherings a lot of meals from the cuisine are served. Customs such as weddings, birth of a child, funerals, birthdays and specific religious and national ceremonies such as ramadan

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...

 and Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

's independence day all call for a grandeur of the traditional Jordanian cuisine to be served to the guests.

Main Jordanian Dishes

• Mansaf
  Mansaf
  Mansaf is a traditional Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or groats. It is the national dish of Jordan.-Preparation:...
  
  : The national dish of Jordan and the most distinctive Jordanian dish. Mansaf is a traditional Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt called Jameed
  Jameed
  Jameed is hard dry laban made from goats' milk. Milk is kept in a fine woven cheesecloth to make a thick yogurt. Salt is added daily to thicken the yogurt even more and the outside of the yogurt filled cheesecloth is rinsed with water to allow any remaining whey to seep through...
  
   and served with rice or bulgur.
• Saniyat Dajaj: Chicken baked with potatoes, tomatoes, and onions. What makes this dish really special is the aromatic combination of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, allspice and cardamom.
• Maglouba: Also known as “upside-down chicken”, magloubeh is a casserole comprised of layers of rice, vegetables and meat. It’s cooked in one direction and served in the other.
• Kofta b'tahini: Spiced, ground meat baked in a sea of tahini, topped with thinly sliced potatoes and pine nuts and served with rice.
• Kofta b'bandoora: Spiced, ground meat baked in tomato sauce and served with rice.
• Stuffed Baby Lamb: Stuffed Baby Lamb is 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.
• Hash w Nash: Kebab and Shish taouk.
• Athan Al-Shayeb: Meaning 'the ears of the old gray-haired man'. Is a pasta or jiaozi dish that has been described as a kind of local variation on ravioli. After being stuffed with ground beef and spices, thin wheat dough parcels are cooked in Jameed and served hot in this sauce. Another name for this dish is Shishbarak.
• Zarb: Bedouin barbecue. Meat and vegetables cooked in a large underground pit.
• Galayet Bandora: Tomatoes sauteed and stewed with garlic, olive oil, salt, and topped with pine nuts, it can be served by rice but most Jordanians prefer it with bread.
• Burghul Ahmar: Bulgur cooked in tomato sauce and served with poultry.
• Burghul Bzeit: Bulgur cooked in olive oil and served with poultry.
• Freekeh: 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 is cooked.
• Fasoulya Khadra: Green beans cooked in tomato sauce and served with rice.
• Fasoulya Beyda: White beans cooked in tomoato sauce and served with rice.
• Kousa Mahshi: Rice and minced meat stuffed in zucchinis. Usually served with chicken and Dawali.
• Dawali: Grape leaves filled with herbed, minced vegetables, meat and rice cooked with olive oil.
• Malfuf: Rice and minced meat rolled in cabbage leaves.
• Mujaddara: Lentil and rice casserole, garnished with roasted onions.
• Bamia: Okra cooked with tomato sauce and onions, served with rice and lamb.
• Maftul: Large couscous like balls, garbanzo beans and chicken pieces cooked in chicken broth.
• Fatteh: Stack of khubz bread, topped by strained yogurt, steamed chickpeas and olive oil that are crushed and mixed together.

Jordanian Meze

By far the most dominant style of eating in Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, mezze is the small plate, salad, appetizer, community style eating, aided by dipping, chunking and otherwise scooping with bread. Mezze plates are typically rolled out before larger main dishes.

In a typical Jordanian mezze, you might find any combination of the following dishes:

• Hummus: Chick peas boiled and blended to perfect smoothness with tahini paste, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and perhaps topped with a little parsley.
• Falafel: Delightful little balls of fried chickpea flour and the best of Middle Eastern spice. dipped in every mezze specially the hummus. The Jordanian falafel balls tend to come in smaller sizes and more flavored.
• Foul maddamis: Crushed fava beans served with a variety of toppings such as olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, chili pepper, sumac and more.
• Manaqish: Flatbread dough usually topped with olive oil and za’atar blend. Other varieties may include cheese or ground meat and in this case it's called Sfiha.
• Warag Aynab (Dawali): Grape leaves filled with herbed, minced vegetables, meat and rice.
• Kubbeh: Herbed, minced meat covered in a crust of bulgur
  Bulgur
  Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...
  
   (crushed wheat), then fried. Shaped like an American football.
• Kubbeh Nayyeh: A minced meat and bulgur mixture similar to ordinary kubbeh, but the meat is served raw. Rich and exceptionally delicious when eaten with a garlic yogurt sauce.
• Kubbeh blabaniyyeh: A minced meat and bulgur mixture similar to ordinary kubbeh, but boiled in the famous Jordanian Jameed
  Jameed
  Jameed is hard dry laban made from goats' milk. Milk is kept in a fine woven cheesecloth to make a thick yogurt. Salt is added daily to thicken the yogurt even more and the outside of the yogurt filled cheesecloth is rinsed with water to allow any remaining whey to seep through...
  
  .
• Labaneh Jarashyyeh: Literally 'labaneh form Jerash
  Jerash
  Jerash, the Gerasa of Antiquity, is the capital and largest city of Jerash Governorate , which is situated in the north of Jordan, north of the capital Amman towards Syria...
  
  . Creamy yogurt, so thick you can spread it on your flat bread and make a sandwich. Becomes rather addictive, especially with za’atar and olive oil in the morning for breakfast.
• Moutabal: Roasted, pureed potato or eggplant with garlic.
• Bagdonsyyeh: Parsley blended with tahini and lemon juice, usually served with sea food.
• Makdous: Stuffed pickled eggplant, said to increase appetite.
• J’ibna bedhah (Haloumi): Semi-soft white cheese. Not quite as salty, crumbly and dry as feta cheese, but somewhere in the neighborhood.
• Sambusak: Fried dough balls stuffed with meat, pine nuts and onions.
• Za’atar: a mixture of thyme and sesame seeds. You’ll sometimes find oregano, sage, or sumac also mixed in.
• Zetun: Literally olive
  Olive
  The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
  
  .
• Olive oil: Tasty and plentiful, olive oil is one of the cornerstones of Jordanian food. For breakfast, Jordanians dips their flatbread into the olive oil, then into the za’atar.
• Pickled vegetables: 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 to add some tang and tart to the meal.

Jordanian Salads

• Tabouleh: A salad of finely chopped parsley and mint turned with bulgur, tomatoes, onion and seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice. Provides a balance of tartness to all those beans.
• Rocket salad: Rucola (argula, rocket) leaves in Jordan are pretty large, tossed with olive oil and lemon.
• Fattoush: Chopped vegetable salad (e.g., tomatoes, cucumbers, radish, etc.) tossed with pieces of dry or fried flatbread and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and sumac. The crunchiness of the bread is a nice contrast to the soft vegetables.
• Arabic salad: Salad made of tomato, cucumber, onion, mint, olive oils and lemon juices.
• Babba ghanoush: Roasted eggplant, cut into pieces and tossed with tomatoes and onions.
• Olive salad: cut with carrots, green pepper, chili, and olive oil.

Jordanian Sandwiches

• Ara’yes: A word literally meaning bride, ara’yes are spice mincemeat-filled oven-baked flatbread sandwiches. A bit on the greasy side, but solid Jordanian street food that hits the spot.
• Schwarma: Herbed and spiced chicken on a spindle chopped into small pieces and wrapped in flat bread and served with vegetables, tahini and hot sauce.
• Falafel: Bread filled or wraped with falfael, hummus, potato and pickles.
• Mo'ajanat: Pies filled with spinach, za'atar or beef.
• Managish: Taboon bread topped with za'atar and olive oil.
• Sambusak: Fried dough balls stuffed with meat, pine nuts and onions
• Sfiha: Flat bread topped with beef and red peppers.

Jordanian Bread

• Khubz (Pita): Literally, “ordinary” bread. Bread with pockets.
• Shrak: The traditional Jordanian bread thrown to great thinness before being tossed onto a hot iron griddle called Saj that’s shaped like an inverted wok. Also known as markook.
• Taboon: Is a flatbread wrap. It is traditionally baked in a taboon oven and eaten with different fillings.
• Abud: A dense, unleavened Bedouin bread baked directly in a wood fire by burying in ash and covering with hot embers.

Jordanian Beverages

• Shaneeneh: Is a special Jordanian beverage consists of goat milk.
• Arabic coffee (Gahwe Sada): is typically the domain of the Bedouins and consists of ground fire-roasted beans and cardamom drawn thin and served in espresso-sized servings.
• Turkish-style coffee: It is significantly stronger than its Arabic brother. Water is heated in a long-handled metal cup and the grounds (and any sugar) are mixed in as the combination is brewed over a gas flame to bubbling.
• Lime-mint juice: Consists of Lemon and mint.
• Qamar Eddine: Apricot juice. Usually served in Ramadan.
• Tamar hindi: Tamarind juice.
• Sahlab: boiled milk with starch, covered with smashed coconut and cinnamon.
• Tea: Flavored with na'na
  MiNT
  MiNT is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST and its successors. Together with the free system components fVDI , XaAES , and TeraDesk , MiNT provides a free TOS compatible replacement OS that is capable of multitasking.MiNT was originally released by Eric Smith as...
  
   or meramiyyeh