 Qalayet bandora cooked over a campfire in Wadi Mukheiris, near the Jordanian coast of the Dead Sea. | |||||||
| Type | Main dish Meze Side | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course | Breakfast Lunch Dinner | ||||||
| Place of origin | Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan | ||||||
| Region or state | Levant | ||||||
| Associated cuisine | Levantine | ||||||
| Serving temperature | Hot | ||||||
| Main ingredients | Tomatoes Onions and or Garlic Olive oil | ||||||
| Ingredients generally used | Salt, Hot peppers | ||||||
| Variations | Qalayet bandora bi lahma Shakshuka | ||||||
| 165 kcal (691 kJ)[1] | |||||||
| |||||||
Qalayet bandora (Arabic: قلاية بندورة أو مسقة بندورة, transl. "pan of tomatoes")[2] is a simple Jordanian dish of tomatoes, onions, hot peppers (usually serranos or jalapenos), olive oil, and salt. It is popular across the Levant, but especially in Jordan and Palestine on account of its easy preparation and healthy ingredients. To make the dish, the olive oil is heated in a large frying pan. The onions and peppers are diced and the tomatoes are cubed and optionally peeled. The onions are then added and cooked until translucent, at which point the rest of the ingredients are added and the mixture is sautéed until it is thick but not dry. Qalayet bandora is usually eaten with warm pita bread, which is used to scoop it up, though qalayet bandora can also be served over rice and eaten with utensils. When served in a restaurant or at a formal event, it is often garnished with toasted pine nuts.[3]
Many varieties of the dish exist, including with meat (ground beef or beef or lamb stew meat), fried eggs, or garlic.[4]
It is believed to originate in the Ghor al-Safi and Ghor al Mazraa,[5] the rural regions surrounding the Dead Sea that make up the "breadbasket" of Jordan.[6] The hot climate in these regions of the Jordan Valley is ideal for growing tomatoes.[6][7]
Because it is an easy one-pot meal, qalayet bandora is often eaten while camping or backpacking.[8]
