Mansaf
recipe by Umm Ramy
Mansaf is a dish made of lamb, cooked in a sauce made of fermented, dried yogurt over layers of rice and bread. It is widely considered the national dish of Jordan. The lamb is cooked in a broth made with jameed (fermented, dried yogurt) that you can get from most local middle eastern markets or if you are lucky, you can get it directly from Al Karak...generally accepted as the mansaf capital of Jordan. It is one of the only perks of having your sister move to Amman!
*The pictures below show enough mansaf for 20-30 people, but the recipe I included is for about 4-6 people.
**If you cannot find jameed in rock form, you can use "liquid jameed," as it is more widely available in the U.S. I have never personally tried this, so I cannot vouch for it, but I've heard it works well.
Ingredients
1 jameed rock (came out to about 2 pounds)
2 pounds large lamb chunks on bone, mixed shoulder and shank pieces
2 cups calrose, short-grain rice, cooked a little sticky
1 bag lavash flatbread, or any similar wrap bread
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
This is the way it comes, dried up in large rocks.
This packaging is from a Jordanian supermarket. We are just using 1 rock. Store remaining jameed in the freezer.
Break up the jameed rock into small chunks and cover with cold water, one to two inches above chunks. Let soak for 24 hours. Every now and then, give it a stir, breaking up any chunks.
Pour mixture into blender, puree until smooth and thick. Strain through coarse sieve.
*Make sure there aren't any really hard pieces remaining before you puree, or you will break your blender.
Meanwhile, start cooking rice.
Also, in a large pot cover meat with cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer about half way, 1/2 hour or so because it will continue to cook when you add it to jameed sauce. Skim any impurities that rise to the top.
In another pot, pour jameed mixture, 2 cups water, and 2 cups lamb broth. My mom dilutes the broth with water so the meat flavor isn't overpowering. Bring to a boil and add parboiled lamb chunks. Simmer on medium-low for another 1/2 hour to 1 hour, until meat is super tender and falling apart. The sauce should be soupy, some like it thicker, some thinner.
When sauce and rice are ready, lay out flatbread all over a serving platter. In the middle east it's called markook, but in local Mediterranean markets the closest thing is Iranian lavash wrap bread. You can use white or wheat, whatever your preference.
Spoon rice in a mound over all of the bread.
Spread rice so it's slightly higher in the center.
Scoop out the cooked lamb and layer it over the rice.
Some people pour the sauce over the whole thing and eat it Bedouin-style, collectively standing around the platter with the left hand behind the back and using the right hand instead of utensils. Since we do not eat it that way, we keep the sauce on a side and ladle it over individual servings.
Sprinkle toasted pine nuts and almonds all over the top.
Pour hot jameed sauce into a serving bowl next to mansaf platter. Some people also keep a bowl or mug on the side of their plates to continuously refresh their rice with warm sauce. It's genius, really.
Serve warm and enjoy!
Mansaf is a dish made of lamb, cooked in a sauce made of fermented, dried yogurt over layers of rice and bread. It is widely considered the national dish of Jordan. The lamb is cooked in a broth made with jameed (fermented, dried yogurt) that you can get from most local middle eastern markets or if you are lucky, you can get it directly from Al Karak...generally accepted as the mansaf capital of Jordan. It is one of the only perks of having your sister move to Amman!
*The pictures below show enough mansaf for 20-30 people, but the recipe I included is for about 4-6 people.
**If you cannot find jameed in rock form, you can use "liquid jameed," as it is more widely available in the U.S. I have never personally tried this, so I cannot vouch for it, but I've heard it works well.
Ingredients
1 jameed rock (came out to about 2 pounds)
2 pounds large lamb chunks on bone, mixed shoulder and shank pieces
2 cups calrose, short-grain rice, cooked a little sticky
1 bag lavash flatbread, or any similar wrap bread
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
This is the way it comes, dried up in large rocks.
This packaging is from a Jordanian supermarket. We are just using 1 rock. Store remaining jameed in the freezer.
Break up the jameed rock into small chunks and cover with cold water, one to two inches above chunks. Let soak for 24 hours. Every now and then, give it a stir, breaking up any chunks.
Pour mixture into blender, puree until smooth and thick. Strain through coarse sieve.*Make sure there aren't any really hard pieces remaining before you puree, or you will break your blender.
Meanwhile, start cooking rice.
Also, in a large pot cover meat with cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer about half way, 1/2 hour or so because it will continue to cook when you add it to jameed sauce. Skim any impurities that rise to the top.
In another pot, pour jameed mixture, 2 cups water, and 2 cups lamb broth. My mom dilutes the broth with water so the meat flavor isn't overpowering. Bring to a boil and add parboiled lamb chunks. Simmer on medium-low for another 1/2 hour to 1 hour, until meat is super tender and falling apart. The sauce should be soupy, some like it thicker, some thinner.
When sauce and rice are ready, lay out flatbread all over a serving platter. In the middle east it's called markook, but in local Mediterranean markets the closest thing is Iranian lavash wrap bread. You can use white or wheat, whatever your preference.
Spoon rice in a mound over all of the bread.
Spread rice so it's slightly higher in the center.
Scoop out the cooked lamb and layer it over the rice.
Some people pour the sauce over the whole thing and eat it Bedouin-style, collectively standing around the platter with the left hand behind the back and using the right hand instead of utensils. Since we do not eat it that way, we keep the sauce on a side and ladle it over individual servings.
Sprinkle toasted pine nuts and almonds all over the top.
Pour hot jameed sauce into a serving bowl next to mansaf platter. Some people also keep a bowl or mug on the side of their plates to continuously refresh their rice with warm sauce. It's genius, really.
Serve warm and enjoy!
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