Jordan

Cultural Crossroad

The Kingdom of Jordan’s historical sites tell the story of great empires and tribes. With its location and culture, Jordan’s culinary feats are also mighty and proud. It is a delicious immersion of Bedouin flavors and Leventine tastes. Jordan’s food will put you in a crossroads: to eat or to eat some more? What direction will you choose?

For Muna Rifai, wife of HE Ali Hassan Al-Kayed, Jordan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the answer is to eat good food. Being a mother to one girl and two boys, she’s always on the lookout for healthy food. Good thing, Jordanian dishes are rich in nutrition and flavors.

MANSAF

Mansaf is a traditional Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or bulgur. It is a popular dish eaten throughout the Levant. It is the national dish of Jordan.

SERVINGS

10

TIME METHOD

1-2 HOURS BOIL

Ingredients Preparation

DIFFICULTY

HARD

cup yogurt cups lamb meat tablespoon cardamom powder tablespoon pepper teaspoon salt pinch saffron cups rice cup butter 1 2 ½ ½ 1 1 4-6 ⅔

Heat 2 tablespoon of butter in the big pot over medium to high heat. Place the lamb with chopped onions and cook for about 5 to 10 min until brown.

Add the cardamom, salt, pepper, and cinnamon to the water let it simmer for half an hour.

While the lamb is cooking skin the yogurt until cooked and boil well.

Cook the rice after it’s soaked for 2 min in warm water add saffron.

Add the yogurt over the shrew of lamb boil for a while.

KANAFEH

Kanafeh is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with thin noodle-like pastry, or alternatively fine semolina dough, soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup, and typically layered with cheese, or with other ingredients such as clotted cream or nuts.

SERVINGS TIME

10 1 HOUR

METHOD DIFFICULTY

BAKED EASY

Ingredients

cup shredded noodles pastry cup ghee or melted butter cup mozzarella cheese cup sugar cup pistachio, to decorate Rose water to taste 1 ⅓ ⅔ 2 ½ 1 1

Preparation

Mix the ghee butter with shredded pastry by hand to make sure it is well distributed.

Slice the cheese or grate it.

Heat the butter then spread it with pastry on top of the cheese in a large pan.

Add a layer of cheese and butter, cover it with shredded noodles pastry.

Bake it in the oven until the cheese melts and the crust of the pastry becomes brown.

Add sugar syrup on top.

Top with pistachios for decoration.

Slice into squares and enjoy eating.