Date Night at Hashem's

Thursday nights are date nights. My husband and I go out and sample Amman's night life. This really is a treat after 10 months where we were able to count our nights out as a couple sans baby on one hand. Having a baby is an absolute blessing and joy, and so is date night.

Last Thursday we went to Hashem Restaurant. It is the oldest restaurant in Amman, and rumour has it, the most popular. They also claim they invented the felafel. Hubby is a bit sceptical about that, but I have no reason not to believe. Photos of Hashem felafel cooking action above. It's located in a little alley in Downtown Amman (the old part of the city), with plastic tables and chairs in two tiled rooms that spill into the alley itself. It's a very simple affair. There are no menus, no plates or cutlery, no napkins. The waiters (mostly Egyptians) just lay down a couple of pieces of A4 sized butchers paper on the table, and ask you what you want. You don't go to Hashem's for the decor, but there is ambience by the bucketload.

And damn tasty food. Although there's not really much to choose from, so we just ordered everything they had to offer, which was felafels, pita, hommus, fuul (fava bean paste), sliced tomato, raw onion and mint tea (with extra mint, served, oddly, with the onion). There's already chilli and salt and a jug of water on the table. And that's it. As they say, simple things are often the best, and it was definitely very very tasty. And very very cheap. The whole meal came to 4 Jordanian Dinars, or $5.25 in Aussie dollars.

With bellies full and date night adventure in our hearts, we set off to explore more of the Downtown area. We didn't make it very far before a portly middle aged gentleman in a stained blue business shirt, surrounded by young men and a hookah pipe (known here as a nargileh) called out to us as we walked by "Can I ask you just one question - are you from Argentina?"

We soon found ourselves seated amongst the men, drinking Arabic coffee and talking, it turned out, to one of the esteemed owners of Hashem's Restaurant, Ibrahim "Adonis" Hashem. Apparently, the Greeks gave him the name Adonis due to his Love God antics when he visited the Greek Islands. Despite his portly stature and stained shirt, I believed him. Adonis told us many stories. Some about Hashem, and how the King has eaten there three times, and one time, he announced he would pay for the whole restaurant, and Ibrahim Adonis says he never saw so many people eat so fast or so much. He said he has 82 staff, mostly Egyptian, and he pays them 11 JD a day. He also owns a diving business at Aquaba. He told us he is very rich and pointed to his car, which was very big and shiny. He has two divorces under his belt, but the great tragedy of his life is that his German girlfriend of 12 years was killed in a bomb blast in Jerusalem seven years ago. He said he is still crazy for her and would not be able to sleep that night, due to the memory of her loss haunting him. Ibrahim explained that many of the same family owned the businesses surrounding Hashem's, including the mending and alterations place we were sitting outside. We met the owner of that shop too, David (the man in black at the back), as well as their nephews and apprentices. By the end of the conversation and coffee, Ibrahim Adonis Hashem declared us part of his family and invited us to his place for a home cooked meal, of "Upside Down", called Magloba in Arabic, which I had never heard of, but now know it is a traditional Jordanian dish of lamb, rice and vegetables. We had tried mansaf, which is similar ingredients, but cooked in a completely different way. (Out of curiosity, I found the recipe online, and included it below.) Hubby and I had no doubt that Adonis was absolutely genuine, as we continue to discover, this warm reception is the Jordanian way. With a promise to return to Hashem one day soon and organise our visit to our new family's home, we decided to end date night with a visit to Rainbow street, which is the cultural hub of the Downtown area.

Rainbow street has many fantastic restuarants, cafes, theatres and galleries. We tried to get into a club that had live music - a guy on a guitar belting out arabic tunes (and plenty of alcohol and nargileh being consumed by locals, mind you) - but it was full to the brim so we went to an artist's cafe, equipped with water colours, paint brushes and paper for its patrons. We shared a ball of incredibly rich chocolate goodness, and I practiced my arabic with a Date Night sentiment in watercolour.

Magloba: Upside-Down

Ingredients

Salt & salt water

Olive oil

1 medium Eggplant and 2 medium carrots (peeled and sliced)

1 ½ pounds Lamb (traditional choice) or Beef cubed

½ cup finely chopped Onion

1 to 2 cloves garlic (minced)

Pepper ground, allspice ground, nutmeg, dash of cinnamon, ½ to 1 teaspoon saffron

2 cups long-grain rice

¼ to ½ teaspoon turmeric

2 fresh tomatoes (cut in wedges)

2 lemons (cut in wedges)

Sprigs of parsley

¼ cup toasted almonds.

Directions

Cover with salt water 1 medium Eggplant, sliced, and soak for 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

In a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, add and fry: sliced Eggplant and 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced. Remove and set aside.

In same oil, brown: 1 ½ pounds Lamb (traditional choice) or Beef, cubed ½ cup finely chopped Onion, 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced.

Add: 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground all spice, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, dash of cinnamon, 1 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until meat is tender, about 30 minutes for Lamb, and 45 to 60 minutes for Beef.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, boil 3 cups water. Remove from heat and add: 2 cups long-grain rice, ½ to 1 teaspoon saffron or ¼ to ½ teaspoon turmeric. Cover and soak for 10 minutes. Drain and set rice aside. When meat is tender, drain and reserve broth.

Place browned vegetables over meat in saucepan. Arrange Eggplant and carrot slices attractively. Top with soaked rice, carefully leveling it.

Add enough water to reserved broth to make 3 cups. Slowly pour over rice. DO NOT STIR! Return to heat, bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand, covered, 15 more minutes.

Invert saucepan on a large attractive platter, at least 2 to 3 inches in diameter larger than the saucepan. Let stand 10 minutes more while preparing: 2 fresh tomatoes, cut in wedges, 2 lemons, cut in wedges, and sprigs of parsley.

Carefully remove pan so rice does not lose shape of pan. Sprinkle with ¼ cup toasted almonds. Lay tomato and lemon wedges and parsley sprigs around edges of the platter. Pass a bowl of plain yogurt to spoon over top. Squeeze lemon over Magloba to taste. Serve with pita bread and sliced cucumbers in olive oil and vinegar.