Jordan What To Eat
Food is a very important part of Arab culture and used to express hospitality and generosity. Jordanian people are usually proud to host you at home no matter how modest their means. A Jordanian invitation means that you are expected to bring nothing and eat everything.
At home, all dishes, main course and appetisers are served together, but in restaurants the savoury appetisers, known as mezze or muqabalat, are brought out first; then, if you are still hungry, you will be asked to order your meat or fish. A meal usually ends with seasonal fruit.
Jordan's national dish par excellence is mansaf, big chunks of stewed lamb in a white yoghurt-based sauce served with rice. If your hosts happen to be of Palestinian origin they are more likely to serve mussakhan, chicken quarters baked and served on pieces of flat soft bread covered with chopped onions, pine-nuts and plenty of samak; or maqhloubeh ("upside-down"), made of rice mixed with chunks of chicken, lamb or fish and vegetables moulded and turned upside down to serve.
You will find a wide variety of cheap, delicious Middle Eastern fast food is sold at street stalls and restaurants. They include:Shawaramah: thin cuts of beef, lamb or chicken cooked on a spit and stuffed into pitta bread with tahina and pickles.
Felafel: small deep-fried balls of dried white broad beans crushed and mixed with chopped onions, garlic, parsley and spices. It is often served as a sandwich, inside hot pitta bread with tahina and salad, but can be eaten on its own.
Ma'ajanat: savoury stuffed pastries such as fattayer, sambusak and also manaeesh (flat bread with powdered oregano and sesame seeds), or sfeeha, a flat dough spread with spicy minced meat.
Most restaurants and hotel bars in Amman and outside serve alcohol except during Ramadan, when alcohol sales and drinking are banned. Jordanians can be seen drinking in many central locations in Amman. Jordan has its own beer, Amstel, brewed locally under licence. Wine is imported from the "Holy Land", Tunisia, Cyprus and France. The best Palestinian wines are the Domaine de Latroun wines, and especially the Sauvignons and Pinots, as well as Caregnano. Alcohol can be purchased at many grocers and supermarkets.