Erre a főételre jellemző a fokhagyma.

Because Hungarian marks grammatical relationships with case endings.

Here, főétel means main dish, and -re is the case ending attached to it, giving főételre.

The demonstrative ez = this also has to match the case of the noun, so it becomes erre.

So the pattern is:

• ez a főétel = this main dish
• erre a főételre = to/for this main dish, or in this sentence, of this main dish

This matching is very common in Hungarian:

• ebben a házban = in this house
• arra a székre = onto that chair
• ennél az asztalnál = at this table

So erre a főételre is not two separate endings by accident; both the demonstrative and the noun take the same case.

The ending -ra/-re is the sublative case. Its basic spatial meaning is onto / on(to):

• az asztalra = onto the table
• a falra = onto the wall

But Hungarian cases are also used in many idiomatic and abstract ways. With jellemző, Hungarian often uses valamire jellemző = characteristic of something / typical of something.

So in this sentence, erre a főételre jellemző means:

• characteristic of this main dish
• typical of this main dish

It is not really about physical motion here. It is just the case that this adjective normally takes.

Because ez and az are irregular when they take case endings.

So instead of simply adding the ending mechanically, Hungarian changes the form:

• ez → ezt, ebben, erre, ettől
• az → azt, abban, arra, attól

That is why you get:

• erre a főételre = to/for this main dish not ezre a főételre

This is something learners usually just memorize through common patterns.

Hungarian often leaves out van = is in the present tense, third person singular, when the predicate is a noun, adjective, or similar descriptive expression.

So:

• A leves forró. = The soup is hot.
• Ő orvos. = He is a doctor.
• A fokhagyma jellemző erre a főételre. = Garlic is characteristic of this main dish.

In your sentence, there is no spoken or written van, but the meaning still includes is.

So the structure is effectively:

• Erre a főételre jellemző a fokhagyma.
• literally: For this main dish characteristic the garlic
• natural English: Garlic is characteristic of this main dish.

No. In this sentence, jellemző functions as an adjective, meaning characteristic, typical, or descriptive of.

So:

• jellemző valamire = characteristic of something

In this sentence it is the predicate adjective:

• Erre a főételre jellemző a fokhagyma.
• Garlic is characteristic of this main dish.

Related forms are:

• jellem = character, trait
• jellemez = to characterize
• jellemző = characteristic / typical

So although it is related to a verb, here it is not a conjugated verb.

Because Hungarian often uses the definite article with nouns in a generic sense, especially when talking about something as a general category.

So a fokhagyma here means something like:

• garlic, as an ingredient
• garlic in general

This is very normal in Hungarian. Compare:

• A kutya hűséges állat. = The dog is a faithful animal. / Dogs are faithful animals.
• A fokhagyma egészséges. = Garlic is healthy.

English often drops the article in these general statements, but Hungarian frequently keeps it.

Hungarian word order is strongly influenced by topic and emphasis, not just by fixed subject-verb-object order.

Putting Erre a főételre first makes it the topic, something like:

• As for this main dish...
• When it comes to this main dish...

Then the rest says what is true about it:

• ...garlic is characteristic of it.

So this word order is natural if the speaker wants to frame the sentence around this dish.

A different order is also possible, for example:

• A fokhagyma jellemző erre a főételre.

That version puts garlic first and feels more like Garlic is characteristic of this main dish with garlic as the starting point.

So the original sentence is not just about grammar; it also reflects what the speaker chooses as the starting point of the message.

Not exactly. It usually means a bit more than that.

Erre a főételre jellemző a fokhagyma suggests that garlic is:

• a typical ingredient
• a noticeable flavor
• a characteristic feature of the dish

So it is stronger and more descriptive than simply saying the dish has garlic in it.

For example:

• Van benne fokhagyma. = It has garlic in it.
• Fokhagymás. = It is garlicky / made with garlic.
• Jellemző rá a fokhagyma. = Garlic is characteristic of it.

So the sentence implies that garlic is part of what defines the dish, not just an incidental ingredient.