Mansaf

Jordan | Prep: 30 min | Cook: 2 hr 30 min | Total: 3 hr | Serves: 8

About Mansaf

Mansaf is the national dish of Jordan and the centerpiece of Jordanian hospitality. Whole pieces of lamb are slow-cooked in jameed — a fermented, dried yogurt made from goat or sheep milk — until the meat is fall-apart tender and the broth turns a rich, tangy gold. Served over a bed of flatbread and saffron rice, drenched in the jameed broth and topped with toasted almonds and pine nuts, mansaf is eaten communally from a single enormous platter. No Bedouin celebration, wedding, or significant occasion is complete without it.

Ingredients

For the lamb:

• 1.5 kg bone-in lamb shoulder or leg, cut into large pieces

• 1 large onion quartered, 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cardamom pods

• 1 tsp turmeric, salt to taste

For the jameed broth:

• 300g jameed (dried fermented yogurt) OR substitute: 600g full-fat Greek yogurt + 2 tbsp tamarind paste + 1 tsp sour cream

• 2 cups reserved lamb broth, 1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water

For the rice:

• 3 cups basmati rice, 4 tbsp ghee, 1 tsp turmeric, large pinch of saffron dissolved in 3 tbsp warm water

For serving:

• 4 large sheets flatbread (markook or lavash)

• 100g blanched almonds toasted in ghee, 50g pine nuts toasted in ghee

• Fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Cook the Lamb: Place lamb in a large pot with onion, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric, and salt. Cover with cold water. Simmer for 1.5–2 hours until the lamb is completely tender. Remove lamb pieces and reserve all the broth.

2. Prepare the Jameed Broth: Blend jameed with 2 cups reserved lamb broth. Heat gently, stirring constantly. When it reaches a simmer, stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt. (For the yogurt substitute: whisk all ingredients together, heat gently with lamb broth, stabilize with cornstarch, and never let it boil vigorously.)

3. Cook the Rice: Heat ghee in a pot. Add drained rice and stir to coat. Add enough reserved lamb broth to cook the rice. Add turmeric and saffron water. Cook on low heat, covered, for 18 minutes. Rest covered for 10 minutes.

4. Add Lamb to Jameed: Place lamb pieces into the jameed broth and warm through for 10 minutes.

5. Assemble the Platter: Layer flatbread on a large serving platter. Pile the cooked rice over the bread. Place lamb pieces on top. Ladle the jameed broth generously over everything until the bread is saturated and the rice is glistening.

6. Garnish and Serve: Scatter toasted almonds and pine nuts over the top. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve additional jameed broth in a bowl on the side.

Cooking Tips

• Jameed: Available at Jordanian and Middle Eastern grocery stores. The flavour is intensely tangy and deeply savoury.

• Stabilizing the Yogurt: Stir constantly over gentle heat and stabilize with cornstarch to prevent splitting. Never add cold yogurt to boiling liquid.

• Eating Communally: The traditional experience of mansaf is inseparable from the way it is eaten — standing, from a shared platter, using the right hand.

Nutrition Facts (per serving, based on 8 servings)

• Calories: ~640 kcal

• Total Fat: 30g

• Saturated Fat: 12g

• Cholesterol: 120mg

• Sodium: 620mg

• Total Carbohydrates: 58g

• Dietary Fiber: 3g

• Sugars: 4g

• Protein: 38g