Every child in the diaspora has a dish from the homeland that connects
them to home, not the home that they grew up in or the home they have grown to
know, but the home they wish to return to someday. These dishes connect them to
their tongues where words may fail them sometimes, and for me, that dish has
always been Cha’acheel. اضافة اعلان
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One afternoon, we were invited to an elderly family member’s house who
put a warm pot on the floor with a few plates, and an assortment of arugula,
radishes, onions, and pickles. As we sat down, she looked at my mom horrified,
thinking that her American-born children could never possibly think about
, to which my mom replied to her surprise, “They eat everything,
don’t worry.”
Little did that family member know that my grandma from my mom’s side,
who was born and raised in Aleppo, Syria, would become the gatekeeper of this
dish. It is commonly eaten in the north, with an ingredient that can only be
foraged at certain times of the year. Late January and February are Loof
season, and Loof is the main ingredient in Cha’acheel, a northern winter dish.
It is dangerous on its own and eaten raw, but when cooked and put in water, it
makes for an amazing ingredient to be added to the dish. It is sour, claimed to
have anti-cancer properties, and is vegetarian. It is also one of the dishes
that has dumplings.
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So here is where it gets embarrassing. I claim this to be my favorite
dish, and up until last week, I hadn’t had it for 20 years.
A phone call to a friend, Nico Dingemans, who is putting Jordan on the
gastronomical map, and a light nudge to my husband, ventured us to . If
you are going to tackle a dish from the north of Jordan, we could not think of
any better way to eat it, and our journey would begin, from the earth to the
dinner table. As far as why Umm Qais, was named one of the best tourist
villages by (UNWTO), located at the tripoint of Palestine, Syria, and Jordan when
overlook and see Bilad Al Sham.
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Viewpoint from the mountains of Umm Qais: Bilad al-Sham in sight.
Poisonous when
eaten raw, delicious when cooked
Our first stop was with Ahmad Alomari, a native hiker, and botanist who
took us to the mountains of , his birthplace and also the starting
point of the Jordan Trail he helped to map.
a native hiker, and botanist who also took us to the mountains of Umm
Qais. This unique region shares a distinct micro-climate with a
basalt-limestone terroir that allows for perennials and edible flowers to bloom
in wintertime. The bright green leaf of Loof (poisonous when eaten raw but
medicinal when cooked in a particular way) is the illustrious key ingredient in
a northern dish called Cha’acheel.
For Alomari, foraging is not just a hobby, but a way of life. He added,
“I think of my ancestors many years ago who used to come to this land, and have
to figure out for their own if these plants were poisonous or not.”
Ahmad Alomari picking loof, which grows in the middle of rocks.
Touching the plants with your hand and feeling the dirt was just so
special, a reminder of the land that belongs to us and we belong to it. As
Alomari started taking us through our ascent, he noted “Loof only grows in
between rocks.”
In the middle of the two-week season, we were quick to collect fresh
Loof in a mesh bag and head back to to prepare Cha’acheel with
Rufaida; Umm Muhammad, one of the villagers who gives local cooking classes
organized by Baraka Destinations.
Nico Dingemans from Farm to Fork in Jordan enjoying the fresh oxygen and view.
Locals still
come to the mountains to forage for food
As Alomari also showed us the different items we could forage for in during this season, we also came up with Swiss chard, mallow, mustard
greens, and a type of fennel that cannot be eaten, but the flowers resemble a
small item that looks like cauliflower that he says is perfect to add to eggs.
Alomari added, with a sense of pride “Locals still come to these mountains for
forage, in fact, a lot of the items you see now are way less than the beginning
of the season,” as he held up his pliers, he also emphasizes, “I try to
advocate for the right way to cut the plants so they can continue to
regenerate.”
Ahmad Alomari showing us how to properly identify loof.
Loof: A hero
ingredient in slow tourism
In Dingeman’s upcoming book ‘in Jordan, he adds “Loof
(Arum Palaestinum) is one of the 24 hero ingredients that tells the culinary
story of Jordan in the context of Bilad Al Sham. Native to the Levant, Loof is
also inscribed in the Ark of Taste as one of the 11 Palestinian products by
the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. The Ark of Taste collects
small-scale quality products that belong to the cultures, history, and
traditions of our planet.”
For Dingemans, an expat living in Jordan, was his first
encounter with Traditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine, he added: “This is
mother nature’s medicine cabinet in the mountains where shepherds, herbalists,
and foragers roamed the northern lands of the Jordan Valley for centuries, in
the heart of the Fertile Crescent.”
After working up an appetite and soaking in every moment we could get of
fresh oxygen, and caked up muddy shoes, we headed to Umm Muhammad’s house. A
local whose journey led her from Syria, to her second family in Umm Qais. She
currently provides cooking classes organized by Baraka Destinations, who were
so gracious in providing us with the perfect host for the evening.
Cha’acheel prep: While the Jameed is boiling, we start getting ready to make our dumplings for the Cha’acheel with the star ingredient: Loof.
Umm Muhammad truly embodies so much of what Jordanian hospitality
entails, that if your stomach is not full, they need to feed you more.
For her, food has the power to bring people together. As we worked in
the kitchen together, putting together the Cha’acheel dumplings into the pot of
already boiling jameed, I asked Umm Muhammad, what makes this dish so special?
She added, “Cha’acheel is one of those dishes that cannot be modified, its
ingredients remain exactly as they are, and it cannot be played with, no matter
how many of our dishes may get modified, Cha’acheel is special in that exactly
how the recipe is written, is exactly how it gets made, and all ingredients
must be in the dish to make it.”
Umm Muhammad explaining how Cha’acheel is made while boiling the jameed.
Starting with its broth made of jameed, it boils, and your hands cannot
leave the pot, constantly stirring to ensure it does not separate, so then put
together the main ingredients of Cha’acheel, which are the dumplings that get
added to the boiling pot—a mix of whole wheat flour, eggs, onions, and of
course, Loof.
Umm Muhammad adds “I sauté the Loof, and add it with onions to bring out
its flavor with some olive oil.”
Passed down
from one generation to the next
As far as how she learned the dish, very similar to myself, her mother
passed down the recipe who got it from her grandmother, and so on, she added
that in her village in Syria Cha’acheel is often made.
The dumplings are in, Cha’acheel is almost ready.
Food is only
savored in the company you keep
As we sat down at the table enjoying and savoring this dish, so brothy,
sour, and warm, she added “Many pregnant women like this dish, when are you and
your husband, planning on having kids.” A forever reminder that our food, so
rich in culture, history, and many plants, is only eaten and savored when you
are in the company of the ones you love.
Umm Muhammad, who has had the privilege of sharing her dishes near and
far with people from all over the world, at her humble home, also shares in
excitement that one of the best days of her life is when she got to share her
dishes with HRH Crown Prince Hussein.
Food is
political
As our food goes through a whirlwind of colonization, of changes, as our
region faces instability, I am forever reminded that food, in it acts alone,
even the power of sitting at a table and learning from where our dishes hail,
is political. This food has the power to transcend every notion, provide a
historical past, and a hopeful future, and for a child that lived in the
diaspora, who so often, felt so far from home, connect us back to our land.
Every meal is spent with good company.
A special
thanks to from Farm to Fork in Jordan for contributing to this
article about Loof.
Jordan News