Galayet Bandora
From Jordan, Galayet Bandora is a well-known vegan dish.
About Galayet Bandora
From Jordan, Galayet Bandora is a well-known vegan dish. Key ingredients include garlic, onions, tomatoes and peppers.
🏛️ History & Culture
Galayet Bandora, meaning "fried tomatoes" in Arabic, is a rustic Levantine dish deeply rooted in Jordanian home cooking. Its origins are not precisely documented, but it emerged from the region's agricultural tradition of using ripe, seasonal tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil—ingredients that have defined Mediterranean peasant cuisine for centuries. The dish is particularly associated with Jordan and Palestine, where it is often served for breakfast or as a simple side, reflecting a resourceful approach to fresh produce.
Regional variations exist across the Levant, with some cooks adding hot peppers or onions to intensify flavor, while others keep it minimal with just tomatoes and garlic. In Jordan, it is a beloved comfort food, typically eaten with fresh or fried bread to soak up the savory, tangy sauce. Its cultural significance lies in its accessibility and simplicity, embodying the hospitality and frugality of rural Jordanian kitchens, where a few humble ingredients are transformed into a satisfying, vegan meal shared among family and friends.
🍳 How to make Galayet Bandora
AI-assisted, not kitchen-testedGalayet Bandora (Jordanian Tomato and Pepper Stew)
A beloved Levantine vegan dish from Jordan, Galayet Bandora (or 'Galayet Banadoura') features ripe tomatoes, sweet peppers, and loads of garlic simmered down into a thick, rustic stew traditionally scooped up with warm flatbread.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Recipe ingredients
- 700 g (1 lb 9 oz) ripe tomatoes, firm but ripe; cored and grated on the large holes of a box grater, peel and seeds discarded
- 300 g (10½ oz) green bell peppers (or a mix of green and mildly hot peppers), small, Levantine-style peppers preferred; sliced into thin rings or strips
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 8 cloves fresh garlic, crushed or finely minced; traditionally a generous amount is used
- 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil, good-quality extra virgin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- sweet paprika, ½
- ground cumin, ½
- Aleppo pepper, ½, optional, for gentle warmth
- 1 tsp fine salt, or to taste
- black pepper, ¼, freshly ground
- 1 tbsp tomato paste, optional, for deeper color and body
- warm flatbread, to serve, such as shrak, markook, or pita, for scooping
Steps
- 1 Prepare the tomatoes: bring a small pot of water to a boil. Score a shallow 'X' in the base of each tomato, blanch for 30 seconds, then transfer to ice water for 1 minute. Slip off the skins, cut in half, and grate the flesh on the large holes of a box grater; discard the cores and seeds. (If you prefer, simply finely chop ripe tomatoes and briefly pulse them.) You should end up with roughly 600 g (about 2½ cups) of grated tomato pulp.
- 2 Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring often, for 5–6 minutes until softened and translucent but not browned.
- 3 Add the crushed garlic and the optional tomato paste. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant and the paste has darkened slightly.
- 4 Stir in the ground coriander, paprika, cumin, Aleppo pepper (if using), salt, and black pepper. Toast the spices for about 30 seconds until aromatic.
- 5 Pour in the grated tomatoes and add the sliced peppers. Stir well to combine, bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- 6 Simmer uncovered for 18–22 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are completely tender and the sauce has thickened to a jammy, stew-like consistency that mounds on a spoon. The liquid should reduce significantly and the oil may begin to glisten at the edges — this is the traditional finished texture.
- 7 Taste and adjust salt. If the stew tastes sharp, simmer 3–5 minutes longer to cook off acidity.
- 8 Remove from the heat, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes so the flavors settle and the peppers absorb the tomato.
- 9 Serve warm in a shallow bowl with a generous side of warm flatbread for scooping. Traditionally eaten communally, straight from the pan, often alongside olives, sliced cucumber, and fresh mint tea.
Report an issue with this recipe
Recipes from travellers
No one has shared their own Galayet Bandora recipe yet. Yours would be the first.
Share how you make Galayet Bandora
You'll need to be signed in with Google or Facebook so your name can appear on it. Recipes go through an automatic food-safety check before they publish.
Sign in to share your recipe
✅ Before you go to Jordan
Round out your trip — most travellers book these alongside their trip.
You might also like
Mansaf
Lamb cooked in fermented yoghurt over rice and flatbread.
Maqluba
Layered rice and meat pot flipped upside down to serve.
Bazin
Firm barley dough dome served with a spiced sauce.
Ndiwo
From Zambia, Ndiwo is a well-known vegetable dish.
Travel guides for Jordan
All travel guides →Planning a trip where Galayet Bandora is on the menu? These guides cover Jordan and beyond.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience with Galayet Bandora.
Write a review
Sign in to verify you're a real person, then share your thoughts on Galayet Bandora.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to say something about Galayet Bandora.