The Food and Produce of Jordan

Massive carrot and radish pyramids sold along the freeways in Jordan in December  

I have written before about my dear friends Hadeel and Ammar, originally of Palestinian origin but now living in Jordan. It is they who taught me how to make khiar mahshi and tabouleh. Hadeel was also my translator for the Arabic food I learned from the women in Al Yamamas compound during the first, email iteration of what has grown to become the Foodies Channel blog. Although we had delightful times together in Saudi Arabia, it was when we were privileged enough to visit them in Jordan that so much of the region's food and produce - and the recipes emanating from such produce - became so much more explicable to me. 

One of the great wonders of Jordan is, of course, the River Jordan. Immortalised in song, it is sad that the flow is greatly reduced due to human impact and damming of the river.Here we are at the River Jordan - more specifically, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, which was all the more special since I was pregnant with my daughter Bethany at the time:

At the River Jordan

Not only is the River Jordan dramatically reduced in size by the damming, but it is also drastically affecting the levels of the Dead Sea itself It is for this reason alone that I now refuse ever to utilise any beauty product that lists ingredients derived from the Dead Sea. It was, in fact, shocking to see docks that were built on the Dead Sea now standing high and dry; the waters have receded more than 30 metres over the past 50 years - or, put it another way, the Dead Sea has shrunk by one-third. Nonetheless, it is a great tourist attraction and it is hoped that between Jordan and Israel, some means of managing it as a unique and wonderful resource will occur.

Dead Sea

However, the impact of a river on a desert region was wonderful to behold - and it makes you realise, anew, how fundamental rivers are to our souls and to our agriculture, everywhere:

Irrigated agricultural land

In particular, on our way to Petra from the Dead Sea, taking the long route of going over the mountains, I found this sight to be absolutely fabulous - you can see the green resulting from irrigation thanks to a nearby river towards the middle of the photo entirely surrounded by dry mountains:

Spot the green 

It certainly was fascinating to see such agricultural production in such an arid, mountainous region of the land:

Amidst the arid mountains, there are cultivated slopes 

Everywhere we looked, we saw herds of goats, and then flocks of sheep - even foraging in the area of a fantastic ruined fort we had come out of our way to view. We had chosen to skirt the Dead Sea, climb the mountains and then take off towards the mountain pass that encapsulates Petra, but went out of our way to visit a Crusader era forts. 

Crusader-era fort surrounded by foraging goats

There we found two Bedouin woman tending some goats right by the castle. They very obligingly posed for photos with me, and then Conall, though Faran declined the honour. As our driver took a call on his mobile from a friend, he was talking to a friend called Nabeel; one of the woman called out to him - "Say hi! to Nabeel for me! He's a good friend of mine," and then they laughed.

Bedouin women tending the goats

The Bedouin women tend to the goats and sheep and the men to the camels. I must admit that seeing all the black goats and the white sheep scattered about made a whole lot of more sense of why there'd be a parable about the goats and the sheep - they are so different when put together, though you'd think years of living in close proximity to each other may have effected some changes. 

Yes, we did make it to Petra, and I even got up so early one morning I made it to The Treasury before a single other tourist had stirrred -

The Treasury, Petra, Jordan

What we found absolutely delightful, however, when we visited them in Jordan, was the food of the region. That said, they only took us to Lebanese restaurants, since they said that Lebanese food is "the best".

Lebanese restaurant in Amman, Jordan

Of course, no culinary visit to Jordan would be considered of any worth unless you visit the olive-oil producing factories. First, the olives are macerated:

Macerating the fresh olive crop 

And then cold-pressed to extract the delightfully bitter, green oil:

Liquid green gold: fresh, bitter olive oil

Of course, Ammar also insisted that we go and partake of the 'best' shawarmas in Amman, and the extent of their popularity can be gauged by the size of the meat placed onto the rotating spit:

Giant shawarma 

The herbs I learnt to use from Hadeel include red sumac and za'atar, as well as how to dry mint out and then crumble it into yoghurt, for instance, and use it in various dishes; we also learnt to appreciate the use of fresh mint in hot, sweet, black tea, a particular favourite of Ammar's. After having spent time in the country, I had a fresh appreciation of all the vegetables they grow, and began to have some inkling of an understanding as to why they chose to stuff and then cook so many vegetables with a mixture of rice and meat (including cucumbers)- it makes sense in that context.

Back in South Africa, I do greatly miss the fact that, once a year, we were gifted with a large 5 litre tin of fresh olive oil, sumac and za-atar from Hadeel and Ammar, who would send it courtesy of a friend who would drive a pantechnicon truck full of fresh produce from Jordan to Saudi Arabia bi-weekly. The delightfully astringent, zesty sumac is a real treat on a salad, and the za'atar delightful on bread.

Hadeel and Ammar at the Roman Ruins in Jerash , Jordan 

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, not only for reasons culinary - but the more travel bits I will leave for another post, on another blog. However, let me leave you with at least one recipe, that of Ammar's favourite, mint tea:

Recipe for Mint Tea

• Make black tea the normal way, but before you pour it, put three to seven fresh mint leaves in each cup. Add sugar cubes to taste. 
• Alternatively, for a more aesthetic effect (and to impress your visitors) you can place a carefully selected sprig of mint in a glass tea-pot, pour over a tiny amount of boiling water, throw the water out, then add tea bag/s and fill with boiling water. Let it steep. Take out tea-bag(s) before serving. 

Tea is usually served in a small glass ‘mugs’ lacking handles, and the tea-pot is often also glass. Black tea blocks the absorption of iron into the body, but Ammar assures us that mint leaves have the same effect as adding milk, so the Arabs never have tea simply black, but either with milk or mint.