Jordan Food

I had been looking forward to taking a cooking course in Jordan. I was finally going to have great recipes of traditional dishes to take home and cook for years to come!

"Petra Kitchen" is a professional cooking school set up with everything that is needed to teach, learn, cook and then enjoy the efforts made earlier.

I had personally signed up a few hours after showing up in Wadi Musa and had met the head Chef. A few days later I walked into the place to find out that there were 47 of us (a group of 23 couples traveling in a package tour through the Holy Land and me). It definitely worked to my advantage the fact that the group was there just for fun and the chef took me under his wing and explained step by step each dish.

Jordanian food is made up of Lebanese, Syrian and Egyptian influences, blended with traditional Bedouin. Just like in Syria, one of the most popular things are the Mezze. The word derives from the Arabic "T'Mazza" meaning "to savor in little bites". We also found the usual Hummus, Baba Ghanooj, Tabbouleh and Fattoosh of which I talked about in the blog entry about Syrian food. There is also plenty of Shwarma and Felafels as well as Khobz (Arabic bread) and roasted chicken.

We really did get to enjoy the Bedouin "Mensaf" (Lamb on a bed of rice and pine nuts. The fat from the cooking is poured into the rice. A tangy sauce of cooked yogurt mixed with the fat is served with it..

Jordanians definitely have a sweet tooth and their desserts definitely show it. There are tons of dessert shops where they sit and take care of their cravings! Desserts usually involve some sort of dough (usually filo pastry), tons of honey, syrup or rose water, and many times all of these three combined! "Muhalabiyya" was one of our favorites! (Rice pudding made with rose water).

Although a Muslim country, there are several shops around that are licensed to sell liquor. One of the favorite drinks for locals seem to be Arak (Aniseed drink similar to Turkish Raki or Greek Ouzo). The majority of the people seem to stick to the usual "Shai" (Tea) which they consume extra strong and extra sweet. Steve quickly had to learn to say "Sukkar Galeel" (little sugar) and "Bidoon Sukkar" (no sugar) for me. We very much enjoyed the "Shai ma m'arana" (mint tea), "The Zaatar" (Thyme) and "Marrameeya" (Sage).

You can definitely not go hungry in Jordan!!!

Gaby