In Awe with Jordanian Cuisine: The “Must-Trys”.

cre: In Awe with Jordanian Cuisine: The “Must-Trys”.

Jordanian food is the best I have eaten in my life. Growing up around Mediterranean cuisine, I realized that Jordanian cuisine was a perfect match for my taste buds. Although Jordanian cuisine is very different from the Greek and Italian cuisine I grew up with, it had very similar elements and also very different.

Right now in Arabic we have just completed our Jordanian catering unit so what better time to tell you and show you what to try when you get here. Not only is there a plethora of absolutely amazing restaurants, but if you choose to live with a host family, they will introduce you to the must-sees of Jordanian cuisine. There are so many foods that there’s no way for me to have enough time or space to explain them all, but I’m going to name a few of my favorites and what I would consider them to be. Jordan’s “must-sees”.

My first taste of Jordan was through Falafel. I have eaten falafel in the US and Ireland and let me tell you it doesn’t even touch the falafel here. It melts in your mouth, has the perfect crunch, and pairs so well with tahini or hummus. Unfortunately I don’t have a photo as I just wanted to eat it hot and fresh, but I recommend the following places for the falafel:

• Al-Quds on Rainbow Street (they only have falafel sandwiches with hummus and veg)
• Hachem (located in the city center, wasat al balad)
• Abu Omar, also near Rainbow Street (my favorite !!!)
• Hamada

Next on the list of INCREDIBLE cuisine, mansaf. This is probably considered one of the most famous Jordanian dishes and is known for its yogurt sauce which will literally put you to sleep. Every time we’ve eaten it, everyone ends up taking a nap for about 2 hours and then waking up to have coffee and other sweets (helowiat). It consists of rice, chicken, or lamb (lamb is my favorite) and is topped with yogurt sauce and pine nuts. This is one of my absolute favorite dishes. The best I had was made by my family, but the second best was at Al Quds located in the city center (not the one on Rainbow Street, there are two of them).

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The next food is given, hummus. I will never go back to Sabra again. As soon as I get home, I’ll be doing mine. The hummus here is like delicious chickpea clay. Pretty much every restaurant has the most fantastic hummus, so here I don’t have one that I would say is the best. However, Hashem is known for its hummus, low prices, and history. Below is a photo of downtown Hashem hummus.

One of the most underrated elements of Jordan is its fresh juice. There are so many stores that make amazing and fresh combos and even turn them into slushies and smoothies. My favorite place is called The Pomegranate House (bait alraman). I had a mango strawberry slush and it was so delicious and refreshing they let you mix so many flavors and you can even get juice, each drink is only 1JOD here!

Another staple drink is Turkish coffee. I would consider myself a coffee connoisseur, but it took a while for me to get used to the flavor. They add cardamom to it and sometimes it can be SO strong which is why it is usually served in small cups. I usually stick with black tea with basil and honey (merremia) or nescafe, but it’s worth a try and it’s definitely an experience. Coffee and tea are served virtually after every meal along with sweets and everyone will be socializing and spending time talking. Below is a photo of the delicious Turkish coffee and juice I received from Jafra cafe in Rainbow Street, a nice little place with great juice and great food.

I have mentioned falafel before, so it is also very important to mention what is often eaten with falafel. In my experience, there is often bread, olives, tomato, fou (substance similar to a paste of beans and vegetables), fatteh (like hummus with pine nuts and bread) , eggs, zatar (the most delicious spice EVER!), olive oil, peppers, carrots, etc. One morning my host parents surprised us with this for breakfast and it is by far my favorite breakfast here.

The last salty item I will mention with a photo is shawarma. I go to the “Best Shawarma in the World” restaurant on Rainbow Street and so far it’s my favorite, but I know there are so many other places. However, don’t forget to eat shawarma in hot places because mayonnaise can go wrong and make you SO sick. I know a lot of people who have been sick for several days because of this. The schwarma I received came with cayenne fries, vegetables, coleslaw and chicken salad, garlic mayonnaise, pickles, vegetables and cheese. You can also add a pomegranate sauce to it.

Some of my other favorite salty foods that I ate too quickly to take pictures are:

• Mulukhiyah: With chicken, rice and spicy lemon garlic sauce and olive oil
• Maqluba: An inverted rice dish with chicken, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes and sometimes even cauliflower
• Kifta: baked meat with tomatoes on it

When it comes to desserts and sweets, my two favorites and what seem to be the most popular in the evenings here are either bahlawa (which you may know as baklava), kanafeh, or booza (ice cream). !)

Baklava is pretty well known so I’ll skip that, but once you have kanafeh you never go back. Kanafeh is a delicious sweet cheese dessert topped with a crispy dough, sweet sugar syrup and nuts, it melts in your mouth and is crispy at the same time. I have had it about 5 times here and would recommend it with ice cream. there is an amazing ice cream shop downtown called Bekdash where they show you how they churn and mix their ice cream into a stringy, mushy texture, and they do a song of their churning with you! Below I have included ice cream from bekdash and kanafeh from Jerusalem, but in Amman I highly recommend Habiba (one of the best and oldest kanafeh shops).

I could really go on and on about food. It is one of the most amazing parts of Jordan because there is so much to try and explore. Much of the social interaction and bonding here and around the world is through the food and honestly, there’s no better way to experience the culture!

Enjoy your lunch! SaHtiin (bon appétit!)

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