Jordan is a country located in the Middle East, and its cuisine is an amalgamation of various influences, including those from the Middle East, Mediterranean, and African regions. Jordanian food is known for its use of herbs and spices such as cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and saffron.
Dishes often feature chickpeas, lentils, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, olives and various types of rice. Traditional dishes also feature flatbreads such as pita bread or manaeesh.
Mansaf is one of the most popular dishes in Jordan. It consists of boiled lamb served over either rice or bulgur wheat with a yogurt-based sauce.
The dish originates from the Bedouin culture and is typically served during special occasions such as weddings or religious holidays like Eid al-Fitr. Another popular dish is Fattet Hummus, a layered dish with chickpeas and tahini sauce at its base topped with fried pita bread pieces and yogurt sauce.
Kebab Halabi is a traditional grilled meat dish popular in Jordan. It consists of cubes of grilled beef or lamb marinated in lemon juice and herbs such as oregano and thyme before being served over flatbreads with onions and tomatoes. Falafel, which are deep-fried balls made from chickpeas mixed with herbs and spices are also very popular in Jordan.
Muhammara, which is a red pepper dip made from roasted red peppers mixed with walnuts, garlic cloves and pomegranate molasses is also common in Jordanian cuisine. Makdous, which are baby eggplants stuffed with walnuts, garlic cloves and olive oil is another popular dish.
In conclusion, Jordan’s famous food can be summed up by its use of traditional flavors such as cumin, cardamom, cinnamon nutmeg; the use of legumes such as chickpeas; dishes featuring grilled meats like kebab halabi; dips like muhammara; stuffed vegetables like makdous; falafel; flatbreads like pita bread or manaeesh; as well as rice based dishes like mansaf.