By amberherrle
Welcome back! I've been in Amman for just about a week now and things are going swimmingly. I never truly expected the Arabic spoken here to be so vastly different than what I've learned in class but alas - here I am trying to understand someone asking me if I ate breakfast and I'm responding with "No, I didn't read the newspaper this morning". Arabic is tough.
I thought I could take some time to talk about traditional Jordanian food. Coming to Jordan, all anyone had told me was to prepare myself for shawarma and falafel - totally true. Some of the most famous restaurants in Amman are just shawarma booths on the side of the road. But, there is so much more to Jordanian food than just hummus and falafel.
We'll start with pita - the staple to Jordanian cuisine. In Egypt, pita is so integral to every dish that the word in Egyptian dialect for pita is "life". While the Jordanians don't take up this spoken servitude towards the staple, I haven't had a meal without it. Pita is used as the medium through which you eat everything else - potato salad? Pita. Hummus? Pitta. Ground beef? Pita. In eating all of these dishes you'll tear off a piece of your pita, dish the pita into the central dish (being sure to only take from your side of the dish) and wala - you're eating just like a Jordanian.
Ask any Jordanian what some traditional Jordanian dishes are and you might be in for a long talk about pan Arabism and how traditional Jordanian dishes don't actually exist. But some of the favorites here are:
- Mansaf - mansaf is widely considered the national dish of Jordan. While it may come off as pretty simple, the rice and lamb dish served with hot yogurt is absolutely amazing. A unique blend of flavors hints are Jordan's interesting geographical location - Mediterranean flavors paired with traditionally Arab meats make this dish unlike any other.
- Turkish Coffee. Now, don't get me wrong - I had extremely high expectations of Turkish coffee after hearing about it in my Arabic class for the last three years. Turkish coffee has exceeded all expectations. The fine ground coffee is stirred with hot water then roasted on a stoke until it obtains a rich thickness. The first time a friend ordered this at a coffee shop here, he asked for it with milk and the waiter replied "Ha. This sir, you do not drink with milk", indeed. Turkish coffee is best enjoyed alone or with some sugar added in at the beginning.
- Sahleb - Sahleb is a traditional drink mostly consumed in the winter. This warm milk-like drink has a variety of toasted nuts on the top. I would compare it to warm, frothy oatmeal minus the oats. There isn't a great way to explain the drink but should you get the opportunity to try it - definitely do so. It's out of this world.
Food is a huge part of who I am and for me, food is one of the best ways to connect with a new culture. I hope to continue this on going list of my favorite foods here.