Top 7 Cheap Food in Jordan

Top 7 Cheap Food in Jordan 03/10/2018


Local Budget meals in Jordan:

Food is delicious and pretty much everyone who travels to a new country loves trying the place’s local dishes.Most likely, you will already be spending too much money on traveling expense, so you might have a tight budget to spend on food. We listed top 7 cheap food in Jordan that are also mouth watering delicious: 

Falafel & Hummus 

Yes, that's right folks. The cheapest food in our humble opinion is falafel and Hummus! It's widely available all over Jordan and can be a meal you sit down and eat or something you grab in a sandwich on the go.  Now there are many types of restaurants specifically just for falafel & Hummus (which is what we recommend) or some restaurants that sell other items that also include falafel & hummus, but we believe the restaurants specializing just selling falafel and Humus usually has the best recipe and freshest of its kind. In addition we recommend places that are a bit busy to make sure you get the best experience eating falafel, which should be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. There are many nameless falafel & hummus small local restaurants that are extremely delicious in Madaba, Jerash, Ajloun, Amman, and all the rest of Jordan. But we will give you some of the more famous franchises that we are certain won't disappoint any of our visitors. Our top favourite is “Hamada” and then we have “Abu Jbara”, “Al Kalha”, “Falafel House”, and “Hashem Restaurant”.  

If you are planning to dine in then the experience is a bit different than eating a normal sandwich. Some of the restaurants mentioned above bake their own pita bread or Ka’ak  bread in their restaurants and it’s simply the best way to experience a falafel and hummus dish with freshly baked bread. You pick a dip or more than one! Humus (mashed chickpeas), foul (fava beans and spices), Mutabal/ Baba Ghanoush (baked eggplant and tahini) You obviously need falafel! Then the best way to wash it all down is with some delicious tea served with fresh mint leaves. 

Dining out can be done as simple as ordering a sandwich with your choice of bread. Pita bread, Ka’ak, or “French” bread, whichever appeals to you! Some delicious hummus will be spread on the bread, few falafels squished on top, and some tahini salad/pickles added to complete the heavenly sandwich. You can ask for “Shata” to be added at the end ONLY if you can handle extremely spicy hot sauce on top! 

Moajanat (Pastries)

Our second favorite which can be a nice breakfast or a great snack is moajanat! Also a popular food in Jordan and found literally all over towns and cities.  There isn't really any popular franchises we can recommend as all the best ones are by small local nameless businesses. Moajant is a wide variety of items baked inside a dough or dough with a delicious topping. Our favorite is a mix of goat cheese and thyme. There is a variety of options available in most places such as spinach, cheese, goat cheese, potato, mixed vegetables, hot dog, and chicken or meat!! 

Shawarma

Thinking of this delicious sandwich is honestly making my mouth water! Shawarma is best served wrapped in Shrak bread with some garlicky mayo and pickles. Depending on the restaurant you will have your choice of chicken or beef shawarma. There are popular places that serve shawarma in Amman, but we once again believe that many of the best Shawarma places are not the big names restaurants, but rather the small local restaurants that honestly sell the most delicious sandwiches in Amman. The most unique franchise, however, would be the Saj Shawarma. Their shawarma stick rotates on top of charcoals giving it the Arabic name "Saj". Spiced chicken breast grilled to perfection.

Mixed Grills

While this dish is one of the most expensive we have on the list we simply couldn’t exclude such a delicious experience. Mixed grill dish in most restaurants consists of lamb chops, skinless boneless chicken pieces (Shish Taouk), kebab, and a whole grilled tomato and onions still with their skins on! The price will vary based on the type of restaurants you are eating at. Some upscale restaurants will offer a mixed grill dish but it will be way more expensive than local townie eateries. The difference in price sometimes depends on the type of lamb used. Jordanian Homegrown lamb meat known in Jordan as “Baladi” would be more expensive than imported Romanian/Brazilian/Australian.

Mansaf, Mandi / Ouzee, and Musakhan

Mansaf is the most traditional dish in Jordan. It’s a dish every Jordanian town from the north to the south claim they make the best Mansaf dish in all of Jordan. It’s a dish many people are very proud of cooking and something served in all types of Jordanian occasions from weddings to funerals. This can be found in many restaurants sold as a meal with either lamb or chicken choices, both are wonderful depending on your taste. Mandi and Ouzee are also popular rice dishes served with chicken. There are different recipes used by restaurants, but you cannot go wrong with the deliciously spiced rice served with a piece of grilled chicken. Musakhan is chicken with Arabian saj bread and lots of onions covered with an Arabian spice called “Soomak”, simply deliciousness in every bite and you really need to get your hands in there and dig in to truly have the Muskhan experience!     

Appetizers (Mezza)/(Hawaderr)

Most restaurants are pretty standard in the type of appetizers served in Jordan. The salads choices can be an interesting pick of Tahini Salad, Tabbouleh, and Locally grown Jarjeer (Arugula) salad. If you are in the northern parts of Amman then we suggest seeing if the restaurant has a salad with local pomegranate molasses. Then the most favorite choice of many people and a necessity found on most Jordanian dining tables during Ramadan would be the samosas! Sambosa in Arabic is offered widely across restaurants in Jordan as an appetizer usually sold per piece. The top choice would be with a cheese filling, but the meat and vegetable can be extremely great too. Hummus!!! Yes, Hummus can be great appetizers, especially if the restaurant can offer ground lamb meat with some local olive oil and pines on top, or some shawarma chicken meat on top of the hummus is also an insanely delicious mix that any food lover should taste! Chicken liver with onions is also a popular delicious appetizer to order in many restaurants across Jordan.  Our last appetizer recommendation would be Wark Enab, a very unique dish that consists of rice rolled up in grape leaves and cooked. You need to try wark enab at least once to truly say you have experienced Arabian food.

Kunafa and Other Desserts

Kunafa is a sweet that has never failed to disappoint. Crunchy on top with a sweet cheesy bottom, it’s literally heaven in every bite. Many places specialize in the Kunafa with the most popular located in the heart of downtown (Al Balad) Amman would be Habibeh ,but there are also many other places available all over Jordan specializing in this delicious dessert such as Nejmeh, Arafat Kunfa, Nafeeseh, and  Al Sahel Al Akhdar. While Kunafa is the most delicious and popular dessert and a must try for any person visiting Jordan, there are many other choices available in the dessert restaurants mentioned.  The must dry especially if you are visiting during summer time is Arabian ice-cream (Boza Arabieh), which is a delicious ice-cream with lots of pistachios

Have you tried any local Jordanian food? Do you have suggestions to add to our list, then make sure to drop us a line! 




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