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Food in Jordan

A large plate of Mezes (Metzes) in Petra, Jordan.

Food is considered to be one of the cornerstones in the Jordanian culture, for Jordanians always find a great pleasure in sitting around a table whether at home or at a restaurant and enjoy a good meal together. The modern Jordanian Cuisine was influenced by many ancient civilizations like the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman. And it affected and was affected by many modern cultures like the Turkish, Lebanese and Syrian, that is why there are plenty of restaurants that offer a wide range of oriental and western food in Jordan, for it is a multicultural country where multicultural food is found.The Jordanian food, as all oriental food, relies mainly on the preparation rather than the diversification of ingredients. That is the reason why many of the dishes this cuisine offers are made of the same ingredients yet taste very different.

Traditional Food

The Jordanian cuisine is characterized by the various types of dishes it offers, from pastries and snacks to main dishes, not mentioning the mouth watering sweets and the famous Arabic coffee for which Jordanians are well-known.

Dishes

The traditional main dish for Jordan is called Mansaf which is made of 3 main ingredients; lamb meat, rice and yoghurt. There are also many other traditional dishes, almost all dishes contains rice and white or red meat as basic ingredients such as Oozi which includes carrots and beans in addition to meat and rice and another dish called Maqluba which includes vegetables, meat and rice.

Appetizers

As for appetizers, the most popular one is called Hummus which is made of Chick peas boiled and blended with tahini paste, garlic and Falafel which are balls of fried chickpea flour and Middle Eastern spice.

Sandwiches

Most common sandwiches in Jordan are Shawerma which is herbed and spiced chicken or meat chopped into small pieces and wrapped in bread. And “Ara’yes” and that is spice mincemeat-filled oven-baked flat bread sandwiches.

Restaurants

Amman, the capital of Jordan, is known for its tremendous number of restaurants; 5 stars restaurants, street restaurants, western and oriental food restaurants. Downtown Amman is the place to find traditional restaurants and food like pastries, main dishes or street food. Tourists usually head downtown to try the Jordanian traditional dishes as the oldest restaurants in Jordan are located downtown the capital. Modern dining places exist all around Jordan, offering a wide variety of cuisines and dishes. Healthy food like organic and gluten-free is also very easy to find in Jordan, as many restaurants and grocery stores offer that option.