Jordan
Sajiyeh
صاجية
Cubed lamb or chicken seared on a domed saj griddle with onion, tomato, bell pepper and chilli, served in the pan with bread.
western-asia
Jordan
Explore 60 foods connected to Jordan, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
60 foods12 leading categories1 Essentials guides
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Jordan Essentials
11 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from Jordan.
60 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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Egypt
Salep
Салеп
A warm, creamy winter drink made from the powdered tubers of wild orchids, mixed with hot milk, sugar, and topped with cinnamon. Salep has been consumed since Ottoman times and is sold by street vendors during the cold months. The same orchid root powder is a key ingredient in Turkish dondurma ice cream.
Jordan
Samneh Baladiyeh
سمنة بلدية
Sheep's butter clarified and often fermented, sold as a dense yellow fat with a strong, cheesy smell.
Lebanon
Sayadiya
صيادية
White fish fried and laid on rice cooked in a stock darkened with deeply caramelised onion, topped with toasted pine nuts and a tahini sauce.
Jordan
Shaneeneh
شنينة
Goat or sheep yoghurt whisked with cold water and salt, drunk through the summer and served alongside mansaf.
Lebanon
Shish Barak
شش برك
Tiny meat-filled dumplings simmered in a tangy garlic-and-mint yoghurt sauce, a Lebanese comfort dish of Ottoman origin.
Lebanon
Shorbet Ads
شوربة عدس
An Egyptian lentil soup, thick and golden, seasoned with cumin and lemon and often finished with a swirl of oil.
Jordan
Shrak
شراك
Paper-thin unleavened bread stretched over the fists and cooked in seconds on the domed convex saj griddle.
Lebanon
Strained Yoghurt
لبنة
Yoghurt hung in a cloth until the whey drains and it thickens to a soft, tart cheese, spread on a plate and flooded with olive oil.
Lebanon
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
ملفوف محشي
Cabbage leaves rolled tightly around rice, lamb and spices and packed into a pot with garlic, mint and lemon.
Lebanon
Stuffed Courgettes
كوسا محشي
Small courgettes cored with a special corer and filled with rice, lamb and spices, then cooked in yoghurt or tomato.
United Arab Emirates
Stuffed Dates
تمر محشي
Stuffed dates are Emirati sweets filled with nuts or cream cheese; the dates hold a generous filling and can remain moderately sweet.
Lebanon
Stuffed Pickled Aubergines
مكدوس
Baby aubergines salted, stuffed with walnut, garlic and chilli, and packed under olive oil until they soften and sour.
Lebanon
Sumac
سماق
The dried and ground berry of the sumac shrub, deep red-purple and sharply sour, dusted over salads, onions and grilled meat.
Lebanon
Tabbouleh
تبولة
Parsley and bulgur salad with tomatoes, mint, lemon, dominant fresh parsley with fine bulgur and balanced lemon, a popular and refreshing Arabic salad in UAE, traditional and beloved, daily and healthy.
Palestine
Taboon Bread
خبز طابون
Thick, dimpled flatbread baked directly on hot stones in a clay taboon oven, which leaves pits across the surface.
Israel
Tahini
طحينة
A smooth paste of ground sesame seeds, the backbone of hummus, baba ghanoush, moutabal and many Lebanese dips and sauces.
Lebanon
Tahini Halva
حلاوة طحينية
A dense sesame confection made by working tahini with boiled sugar syrup until it sets into a crumbly, fibrous block.
Nablus, Palestine
Tamriyeh
تمرية
Filo dough wrapped around mastic-flavoured semolina pudding, fried until crisp and dusted with powdered sugar and crushed pistachios — a Nablus specialty.
Lebanon
Thyme Flatbread
منقوشة زعتر
Flat dough spread with a paste of dried thyme, sumac, sesame and olive oil and baked on the floor of a hot oven.
Jordan
Warbat
وربات
Squares of layered filo filled with semolina custard or cream, baked and drenched in sugar syrup, then dusted with pistachio.
Lebanon
Yoghurt and Chickpea Layers
فتة
Torn fried flatbread under warm chickpeas, covered with garlicky yoghurt and topped with toasted pine nuts and butter.
Jordan
Zarb
زرب
Bedouin pit barbecue: marinated lamb and chicken with vegetables lowered on racks into a sand-covered underground oven and left for hours.
Lebanon
Za’atar
زعتر
A Levantine blend of dried thyme or oregano, sumac, toasted sesame and salt, used on flatbreads, with labneh and as a table seasoning.