The chopped raw potato and cauliflower are put in first, then a small layer of uncooked rice. Next, eggplant is fried separately and put on top of the uncooked rice. After these vegetables, the chicken goes on top, with the rest of the uncooked rice on top of that. The last step is to pour chicken broth over the whole mixture. Then you simmer the dish until ready to eat. At the very end, it is meant to be served on a large plate, and the pot is meant to be turned upside-down onto the plate and slapped so that the final conclusion is a beautiful savory stack of vegetables, meat and rice. You can decide how successful I was in this regard by looking at my photos on this piece!
Food is connected to the local environment in many ways here in Jordan. Socially, food is meant to show you care for another person's wellbeing. This is shown by the saying in Jordan that once you eat with one another, you can do no harm to one another. Of course, since Jordan is currently experiencing a drought, food here has political implications, as trade becomes even more important under these more difficult circumstances. However, with the lockdown and quarantine due to COVID-19, there has been a lot of room for local farmers to gain an advantage in Jordan, recently.
