Mansaf is a wonderfully delicious and distinctive tasting Jordanian dish. This hearty meal consists of bread, rice, meat and a special rich and tangy yogurt sauce.
Rice and meat dishes are very popular in the Middle East like mandi, kabsa and maqluba.
Mansaf is the national dish of Jordan and a meal you would expect to experience if you were to ever visit. However, it is also very popular throughout the Middle East and Levant region. It is a celebratory meal that is served at many family gatherings. Today I will show you how you can make this authentic dish at home.
The meat, traditionally lamb, is cooked in a yogurt sauce. This utterly unforgettable sauce is called Jameed. Jameed is a critical ingredient in making Mansaf. Jameed is a fermented milk product made from sheep or goat milk. It has a very distinctive taste and smell. In Jordan, Jameed is fermented, salted and strained and then rolled into balls. The balls are dried and hardened. This is how Jordanians would preserve the milk without refrigeration, until they wanted to use it.
In the US, we have Jameed liquid (also known as soup starter). Here the Jameed balls are crushed into a liquid, blended with oil until it becomes a smooth ready to use rich yogurt sauce.
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❓Why This Recipe Works
Many of the items are easily obtained and using liquid Jameed makes Mansaf as authentic as possible here in the US. Although there are a few steps, making it is actually pretty easy to do and can be eaten any time; no need to wait for a celebration. With the tips I provide here, you will be able to make Mansaf at home and have it come out fork tender and flavorful as it is in Jordan.
📝 Recipe Ingredients
📋 Ingredient Notes
- The traditional meat to use is lamb but you can use beef as well.
- If you do not have or can't get the Jameed you can use a mixture of Greek yogurt and buttermilk or just Greek yogurt to make the sauce.
- Jameed usually comes in dry hard balls, but the one we have here in the US is the liquid starter.
- Short grain rice is the tradition to use in this Jordanian dish, but if you do not have it, use any rice you have.
- I used 4-5 uncooked tortillas in place of the Shrak bread. Cook the tortillas by quickly pan frying them for about 30-seconds in a non-stick pan on your stove top. Traditional Shrak bread is only cooked on one side, to create a doughy texture on one side. You may prefer the same.
🥣 Equipment and Products
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- Large Pot or Dutch oven.
- Liquid Jameed or soup starter.
🥄 Recipe Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Fill a deep pot with water and bring to a boil. Add meat and wait for the water to boil again.
- Let the meat boil with water for 5 minutes then take the meat pieces out and dump the water.
- In the same pot melt 2 tablespoons of ghee then add onions.
- Sauté for a couple of minutes then add the spices.
- Add the meat cubes and brown for about 5 minutes.
- Cover with hot water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until done. This will probably take about 75 minutes.
- In a pot melt ghee and then add rice. Stir rice until the rice grains are covered with ghee. Mix in turmeric and salt, then pour in water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until done.
- When the meat is done start making the Jameed sauce. In a bowl add yogurt and sprinkle with cornstarch. Mix the cornstarch in using a whisk. Pour in the liquid Jameed (soup starter) and whisk well.
- Then mix in about 1 1/2 cups of the meat broth.
- In a pot over medium heat melt ghee, then sauté garlic for just 30 seconds. Pour in the Jameed mixture whisking everything well and bring to a boil.
- Add in cooked meat. Taste and season to your liking. Let everything cook together for about 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Right before serving assemble the dish. In a big platter arrange the bread.
- Ladle some of the Jameed sauce on top.
- Spread the rice over the bread.
- Place lamb meat on top of the rice. Ladle some more Jameed sauce over and sprinkle top with toasted almonds and chopped parsley.
💡 Recipe Expert Tips
- Some people like to cook the meat halfway through then finish it off in the Jameed, others prefer to cook it in the Jameed from the start. I find it is easier to cook the lamb then let it boil in the Jameed sauce later.
- Adding garlic to the Jameed is a step I learned from a fried but it is not traditional.
- Some like to tear the bread into pieces before placing them on the serving plate.
- You can use toasted pine nuts as well.
- Serve extra Jameed sauce on the side.
💬 Recipe FAQs
If you really want to experience Mansaf authentically, then put away your knife and spoon and roll up your sleeves. Jordan Mansaf is traditionally eaten with your right hand while the left hand is behind your back. This is so you don't get confused as to what hand you are suppose to be using. There is actually an art to tearing off a piece of meat, rolling it in the Jameed sauce and rice and creating a ball. Carefully drop it into your mouth without your hands or fingers touching your mouth. It is perfectly acceptable to use a spoon, but give it a go the Jordanian way and see how you do!
Shrak bread is very similar to tortilla bread, however it is much larger in size as it is tradition in Jordan Mansaf to be placed on a large communal serving platter. It is also thinner than tortilla bread, almost translucent. Shrak bread needs to be made homemade and tortillas are a good replacement, if you wish to skip that step when making Mansaf.
🍽️ Serve With
Mansaf is served on a large platter with Shrak bread on the bottom to soak up the rich tasting Jameed yogurt sauce soon to be poured on top. After assembling Mansaf, be sure to save any extra Jameed sauce for dipping.
📣 More Recipes From the Blog
- Mandi is the kind of rice dish you will eat when you visit a Yemeni grandmother. A one dish baked rice and chicken recipe that you need to try.
- My mom's recipe for chicken and yellow rice is one that shows up frequently on our dinner table.
- Kabsa is another flavorful rice dish that I grew up eating in Saudi Arabia.
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Mansaf
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lamb meat preferably bone-in meat
- 2 Tablespoons ghee
- 1 each onion cut into chunks or sliced
- 1 each cinnamon stick
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorn
For the rice:
- 2 Tablespoons ghee
- 2 cups short grain rice
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- salt to taste
- 2½ to 2 ⅔ cups water
For the Jameed sauce:
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons ghee
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 packet liquid Jameed
For Garnishing:
- 1/2 cup toasted almonds
- 1/2 bunch parsley chopped
Instructions
- Fill a deep pot with water and bring to a boil. Add meat and wait for the water to boil again.
- Let the meat boil with water for 5 minutes, then take the meat pieces out and dump the water.
- In the same pot melt 2 tablespoons of ghee and then add onions and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Add the spices, meat cubes and brown for about 5 minutes.
- Cover with hot water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until done. This will probably take about 75 minutes.
Meanwhile make the rice:
- In a pot melt ghee and then add the rice. Stir rice until the rice grains are covered with ghee.
- Mix in turmeric and salt and then pour in water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until done.
Make the Jameed sauce:
- When the meat is done start making the Jameed sauce.
- In a bowl add yogurt and spring with cornstarch. Mix the cornstarch in using a whisk.
- Pour in the liquid Jameed (soup starter) and whisk well. Then mix in about 1 1/2 cups of the meat broth.
- In a pot over medium heat melt ghee and then sauté the garlic for just 30 seconds.
- Pour the Jameed mixture whisking everything well and bring to a boil.
- Add in the the cooked meat. Taste and season to your liking.
- Let everything cook together for about 10 minutes over medium heat.
To assemble the dish:
- Right before serving assemble your dish.
- On a big platter arrange the bread and then ladle some of the Jameed sauce on top.
- Spread the rice over bread and place the lamb meat on top.
- Ladle more sauce over and sprinkle the top with toasted almonds and chopped parsley.
Notes
- The traditional meat to use is lamb, but you can use beef as well.
- If you do not have or can't get the Jameed, you can use a mixture of greek yogurt and buttermilk or just greek yogurt to make the sauce.
- Jameed usually comes in dry hard balls, but the one we have here in the US is the liquid starter.
- Short grain rice is traditional to use in the Jordanian Mansaf, but if you do not have it, use any rice you have.
- Some people like to cook the meat halfway through then finish it off in the Jameed, others prefer to cook it in the Jameed from the start. I find it is easier to cook the lamb then let it boil in the Jameed sauce later.
- Adding garlic to the Jameed is a step I learned from a fried but it is not traditional.
- I used 4-5 uncooked tortillas in place of the Shrak bread. Cook the tortillas by quickly pan frying them for about 30-seconds in a non-stick frying pan on your stove top. Traditional Shrak bread is only cooked on one side, to create a doughy texture on one side. You may prefer the same.
- Some like to tear the bread into pieces before placing them on the serving plate.
- You can also use toasted pine nuts for garnish as well.
I've never had this dish -- looks terrific. Really gotta try this -- thanks.