Of food, identity and the generosity of the desert

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Bedouin traditions, Desert, Identity, Jordanian cuisine, Mansaf, Middle Eastern food, Pride

Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are. Maybe.

But could you tell me what you eat so I tell you where you’re from? Not really, not in today’s world. Not when you may be having hash browns for breakfast, tandoori chicken for lunch and tortillas for dinner.    

But Mansaf is a clear statement. The king of Jordanian cuisine, Mansaf is more than food – it is an assertion of identity.

In a country where waves of newcomers have settled at a rate which left the local population culturally rich, dazzled and unsure, Mansaf is certainty and pride. 

It started out in the bedouin community of the Arabian desert. Slowly cooked lamb with rice, almonds and a yoghurt sauce.

Mansaf tastes best when cooked in big quantities. An expression of hospitality in harsh conditions and kindness to strangers. Immensely filling. So filling you’ll hardly be able to walk home (which in the desert wouldn’t have been advisable anyway).  

I suspect that even people who are quite indifferent to its taste feel duty bound to proclaim its superiority to all else. I may secretly like burgers and pasta but I will tell you I like Mansaf so you know who I am.  

As I write this, thousands of families are sitting down to have the most important meal of the week. Friday lunch, ample portions of Mansaf for all, big and small.

Thousands of hands reaching out for the fragrant, heavy mix, from the fancy villas of Western Amman to the desert tents around Wadi Rum. 

I don’t expect I will be seeing a lot of walkers this evening. 

The tyranny of a healthy breakfast

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Breakfast, Dilemma, Healthy, Whinge

So I have spent the last week looking for the ideal breakfast. I can hear you go yeah, big deal, I’ve spent it looking for the ideal job or the ideal partner. Point taken but breakfast is no trifling matter.

Mainly because everywhere you look there’s a fierce expert shouting at you: You self harming fool, this the most important meal of the day! It’s the key to nutrition Nirvana! If you’re not doing it right you might as well jump off a building right now and hope you’ll be all right.

So my all time favourite breakfast used to be toast. Oh, big no no. Caloric bomb, think again.

Then there’s cereals. Which all my life I found a form of torture. One I had lately come to grudgingly accept only to be told that they are in fact bad for you. Cheerio then:)! We part with no regrets.

Have some spinach, says Jamie Oliver. Yeah, right. Cause everybody loves getting out the big pan at sunrise, lighting the fires and then proceeding to spend the best part of an hour cooking up a green paste (no offense to spinach lovers, but I can’t think of anything less appealing at 8 o’clock in the morning. )

Ok you fuss bag, then have an egg white omelette with canola oil and blueberries. Of course I will. And while I’m at it, I’ll also write my resignation letter cause I need three days and two plane tickets to first find out what canola is and then go get the blueberries.

So in desperation I surveyed some people yesterday. What do you eat for breakfast, I begged, hoping for the ultimate truth. Eggs, cheese, zatar, hummus, fried tomatoes they said.

Tasty stuff but labour intensive innit? And how about the calories count, I said? By this point my advisors had left the building having suffered attacks of boredom.

Gotta go now. Breakfast waits for no man.

The eternal beauty of falafel

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Cheap food, falafel, Middle Eastern food, street food, Vegetarian

I fear that my post yesterday didn’t do justice to the all time street genius of all Middle East food: falafel.

It is quick, it is cheap, it is delicious. And it is everywhere.

Falafel is a deep fried ball made from ground chickpeas (I remember the first time I ever had one and couldn’t for the life of me decide what it was).

Believed to have originated in the Coptic community of Egypt as a replacement for meat during Lent, its glorious career as king of versatile street food has since expanded all over the Middle East and beyond.

Guys like my friend in this picture have the special gift.

His hands move at mind blowing speed  as more and more golden-green balls of culinary joy make their way into the world.

Just like these ones, which landed on my table last night and were gratefully chomped away.

(More about that beautiful centre piece- a tahini kofta) in a future post. 

Middle Eastern Mezze – my ultimate top 5

Tags

Arabic food, food, Hummus, Mezze, Middle East, Mutabal, Starters

One of the joys of living in the Middle East is unlimited access to mezze.

Mezze are starters which, in this part of the world, are as as varied and colourful as they are incredibly tasty.

They make your mouth water, your heart leap with joy and any main course pale into insignificance.

And (with considerable difficulty in choosing and no ranking order) here is my top 5:

1. Hummus with meat- nothing beats a place of fresh hummus with juicy pieces of charcoal grilled beef on top. Heaven.

2. Shanklish- aged cheese with finely chopped tomatoes, onion and olive oil. Sharp and delicious.   

3. Mutabal- roasted aubergine salad. Great all time starter.

4. Makdus – pickled baby aubergines, stuffed with walnuts and sun dried peppers. Unreal.

5. Kibbeh – beef meatballs, fried or roasted. Hearty.

There is much more out there, of course.

But these five have a special place in my heart (and have featured so prominently in my menu of late that the 6 of us practically live together in joyous harmony and ignored caloric counts).