Lonely Planet Middle East (Country Guide) by Ham Anthony; Bainbridge James; Soriano Cesar; Walker Jenny; Thomas Amelia; Wlodarski Rafael

Author:Ham, Anthony; Bainbridge, James; Soriano, Cesar; Walker, Jenny; Thomas, Amelia; Wlodarski, Rafael
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Published: 2010-09-23T05:00:00+00:00

FOOD & DRINK

While not as famous as the cuisine in Egypt or Turkey, Jordan nonetheless has a distinctive culinary tradition, largely thanks to the Bedouin influence.

The Bedouin speciality is mensaf, delicious spit-roasted lamb that is basted with spices until it takes on a yellow appearance. It is served on a platter of rice and pine nuts, flavoured with the cooking fat, and often centrally garnished with the head of the lamb. Honoured guests are served the eyes (which have a slightly almond flavour); less honoured guests are offered the tongue (a rich-flavoured, succulent meat). The dish is served with a sauce of yogurt, combined with the cooking fat. In Wadi Rum you might be lucky enough to be offered a Bedouin barbecue from the zarb, a pit oven buried in the desert sand.

Another Jordanian favourite is maqlubbeh (sometimes called ‘upside down') – steamed rice pressed into a pudding basin, topped with meat, eggplant, tomato and pine nuts.

Dessert here, as in many parts of the Middle East, may be kunafa or muhalabiyya (a milk custard containing pistachio nuts).

The universal drink of choice is sweet black tea (coffee comes a close second); most social exchanges, including haggling over a kilim, are punctuated with copious glasses of it that are usually too hot to handle. Other options include yansoon (aniseed herbal tea) and zaatar (thyme-

flavoured tea).

Bottled mineral water (1.5L bottle JD1) is widely available, as are the usual soft drinks, Amstel beer and locally produced wines.

Street eats – felafel, shwarma, fuul, roast chicken and hummus – are widely available. In mid-range restaurants, the most common way for a group to eat is to order mezze – a variety of small starters followed by several mains to be shared by all present.

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