Jordan's most popular cuisine
Jordanian food is easily one of the most variable, containing different types of dishes, and in the preparation, a lot of olive oil is used. For reasons that are quite clear, given the factors above, because Jordan is one of the major producers of olive oil in the world. This culture of cooking embraces several methods of cooking fry, grill, bake, stuff, among others and different components chicken, meat, rice, fish, among others. The recipes of Jordanian food are also distinguished by the rich spices and herbs with which the food is made, giving it an outstanding taste and quality.
Regarding the Jordanian food culture, it is believed that mansaf is one of the oldest dishes ever. This meal which was declared to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural legacy of Humanity in 2022 is part of the intangible cultural heritage of the people of Jordan. Food practices for which This reflects the national culture of the country. Mansaf is the national dish of Jordan and is served throughout the year and on all social events wherever one is in the country.
An essential component of Mansaf which is served with the rice and lamb is called Jameed which is a ball of dried yogurt and also used in various traditional Jordanian meals. The balls of Jameed do not spoil easily hence can be kept for long periods of time and the town located in southern Jordan called Karak is famous for Jameed production. If we head to the north of Jordan, Makmoura is considered one of the most famous old popular dishes there, which is frequently prepared during the olive oil seasons, as Makmoura depends entirely on municipal olive oil.
The dish is layers of dough prepared with olive oil, sesame and nigella, and between these layers, a layer of onions cooked in olive oil is spread with olive oil and sumac, and chicken pieces are also added between the layers, all layers are covered with a large layer of dough and placed in the oven for two hours until the chicken is cooked and the dough is baked, forming a golden, crispy and delicious top layer.
If we head to the center, the Rashouf dish is considered one of the very popular popular dishes, especially in the winter season, and consists of chickpeas, lentils and boiled grits, then adding jamid milk and loofah (a wild herb used in more than one popular dish), and after the ingredients are cooked, slices of baladi bread are cut in a plate and Rashouf soup is added to them and onion slices fried in olive oil or municipal ghee are placed on them.
If we reach our journey in the Jordanian heritage cuisine to the south, one of the most famous popular dishes there is what is known as Majalla, a dish consisting of baladi bread similar to tabun bread, to which sour mares' milk and local ghee are added and garnished with nuts.