In the old area of Amman, you will find the Webdeh neighborhood, where the houses are authentic, old and beautiful, the streets are very narrow, the shops are scattered and small with half of the items stacked around the entrance to attract any passenger walking by. Surrounded by the most beautiful mosques and churches in the city, Webdeh is the perfect place to stroll and hang out for the day or night. The people are very warm and friendly, the shops are diverse between cafes, grocery, old restaurants and galleries. It is where you go looking for treasures, outstanding shops, random conversations and it certainly leaves a very cozy and comfortable impression on you.

Down the street of Luzmila Hospital you will find on your right hand side a very old house with lots of greenery coming out of it and an exquisite signage that reads “Bei Sitti”. Beit Sitti stands for “My grandmother’s house” and as you walk up the old stairs you will see a beautiful big orange tree on your right side and many pink flower trees on your left before you reach an old brown door that takes you into the authentic house.

This house is literally the house of a woman who used to be a grandmother of a Jordanian family before she passed away “الله يرحمها”. The house is very authentic with beautiful floor tiles, black and white photographs, traditional decorations and a true beautiful authentic feel. The family decided to keep their grandmother’s house alive and help spread her love for cooking and teaching to the people around, and therefore transformed her house to a kitchen to teach arabic cooking classes that ends in an unforgettable dinning experience in Jabal Al Webdeh.

On an evening organized by WAY “Welfare Association for Youth” (a group of enthusiastic people with passion to help the development of the Palestinian society and are organizers to several activities throughout the year to help raise awareness about Palestinian identity, culture and history along with improving the standard of their living.) I joined thee group to a delicious night at Beit Sitti to learn how to make the tradition Palestinian dish Musakhan and dessert Knafeh.

Musakhan is taboon bread soaked in oil and filled with cooked onions, sumac spice and pine nuts topped with baked chicken garnished with more onion, sumac spice and pine nuts and is eaten with your hands alongside a bowl of yogurt and optional salad.

Knafeh is to die for and is a very well-known dessert along the Middle-East and is originated from Nablus a city that resides in Palestine. It’s ingredients include Nabulsi Cheese, Knafeh pastry “which comes in 3 options: rough, fine or mixed”, syrup and pine nuts. If you have never tried it, then I do advice you ask for the best knafeh maker around you.

After enjoying the essence of learning how to make both Palestinian dishes of Musakhan and Knafeh, I enjoyed a pleasent dinner with great company, great topics, and great food.

Beit Sitti organizes different arabic food menus and can cater to your choice if you reserve in advance, for more inquires and reservations feel free to contact Beit Sitti and join the facebook page of WAY for upcoming events and activities that supports the people in Palestine. Nothing beats a night in a foreign city; learning something new, that includes both great food and a great conversation.

All photographs are taken with my Canon 70D and you can check out my Food section for more Middle-Eastern Food recipes like:  Okra in Olive Oil, Eggplant Fatteh, Freekeh, Hummus, Mansaf, Mulukhieh, and MiddleEastern MeatPie.