Traditional Jordanian Mansaf!

Mansaf Recipe! This is the best traditional Jordanian Mansaf recipe out there with tons of tips and tricks that I learned over the years of cooking really good Arabic food at home.

My Mansaf recipe was learned by my Jordanian in-law's with some of my own adjustments to make this Mansaf recipe not only delicious, but also light on your stomach.

If you have ever been to Jordan or the Middle East, chances are you've heard about famous Jordanian Mansaf. If you haven't, then you're in for a super unique eating experience right from your own kitchen!

Do you love Arabic food and want to learn how to make delicious authentic Arabic recipes at home? Make sure to read my complete guide on Cooking Arabic Food at Home!

WHAT IS MANSAF?

Mansaf is a delicious and flavorful Jordanian dish made of a bed of fluffy rice, tender lamb, and topped with iconic yogurt Jameed sauce.

Mansaf is Jordan's national dish, and since my husband is from Jordan, I of course had to learn how to make the best mansaf in the world!

There are 3 main parts to Mansaf, and to be honest, I was nervous to make it for a long time, but after I figured it out, it is one of the easiest Middle Eastern dinner recipes out there. If you're familiar with cooking Middle Eastern food at home, you know a lot of authentic Middle Eastern recipes can be time consuming!

3 main parts to Mansaf:

1. Tender lamb
2. Fluffy rice
3. Jameed sauce

INGREDIENTS IN MANSAF

Mansaf is so simple I really love making it at least every other week. It is my daughter's favorite dish and she just loves drinking the "jameed soup."

This recipe is enough for my family of 4, with a little bit leftover for the next day if someone wants some lunch. If you have a bigger family, or want a big mansaf to serve to guests, simply double my recipe!

Here's all the ingredients you need to make authentic Jordanian Mansaf at home:

• 6 pieces of Lamb (get a young cut that is mostly meat and not a lot of bone, like the shoulder and leg. If you're at an Arabic market simply ask for mansaf lamb)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon Mansaf Spice Blend (can be found at the Arabic market, on line, or by mixing turmeric, cardamom, cumin, all spice, cinnamon, and cloves)
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 6 whole cardamom pods, crush them with a knife to let out more flavor
• 1 ball of jameed (dried yogurt) I HIGHLY recommend getting your hands on dried jameed if you want true authentic mansaf, liquid mansaf will not taste the same!
• 32 ounce plain kefir, a lot of people will use plain yogurt and corn starch, but I find the kefir has a lighter and cleaner taste
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 3 tablespoons ghee, divided. Get the best ghee you can find! This will not only make your mansaf taste better, but it will also feel lighter on your stomach
• A couple pinches Turmeric powder, divided
• Salt to taste for the meat broth

A couple of notes about the ingredients I used in my mansaf recipe, make sure you buy THE best ghee that you can. The ghee I use is one of the best ghee's in the world. Also, try to use organic kefir. A lot of people use yogurt and cornstarch but I found that kefir is a much lighter taste.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST MANSAF RECIPE AT HOME

Mansaf really is so easy! I've broken it down into 3 simple parts:

1. cooking the meat to make the broth
2. cooking the rice with the meat broth
3. and cooking the jameed with the meat broth

Follow my steps exactly, don't take any detours, and you will have the most delicious mansaf recipe that revels even the best mansaf cooks in Jordan.

And yes, some Jordanians cook the meat right in the jameed sauce, but I have found that pressure cooking the mansaf meat first, will save a LOT of time, limit the amount of steps, and leave you with perfect fall off the bone lamb.

The night before you start, make sure to take 1 ball of jameed out of the freezer. Cover it in water to soak and soften overnight.

STEP 1: COOK THE LAMB TO GET MANSAF BROTH

The mansaf meat broth is the base of this entire mansaf recipe that you will use to cook the rice, and lighten your jameed sauce.

These are the ONLY spices you need for your mansaf meat broth (plus salt to the taste you like).

Get started with your lamb pieces. The most common pieces of meat used in Jordanian mansaf are the leg and shoulder pieces, and sometimes shanks. Make sure to use bone in lamb for the best flavor in your meat broth.

I use 6 pieces of lamb in my mansaf. If you like more meat, then there is plenty of jameed and rice in this recipe to accommodate a couple more pieces of lamb.

Also, when getting lamb, you have to ask the butcher for cuts from a lamb that is less than 30 pounds, or the lamb might be more tough and chewy no matter how you cook it.

Wash your lamb under cold water and then add it to an instant pot or pressure cooker along with:

• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1 quartered onion
• 1 tablespoon mansaf spices
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cardamom pods, crushed
• Dash turmeric for yellow color
• 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste

Cover the meat with ~7 cups of water and pressure cook for 20 minutes.

Once your lamb is done cooking, it should feel tender and buttery. I like to leave the meat in the broth to keep it warm while I prepare the rice and jameed.

**taste your broth to make sure it is as salty as you like it, if it is not, stir more salt directly into the broth now**

STEP 2: MAKE THE JAMEED (YOGURT SOUP)

Jameed is broken with a hammer, then soaked in water at room temperature overnight to soften it for blending the next day.

Add the soaked jameed along with its soaking water to your blender.

Add 32 ounce plain kefir to your blender.

Blend on high speed for about 5 minutes, it's loud but this will ensure that you have silky smooth jameed sauce, and not any sandy gritty taste to it.

Once you're done blending the jameed with the kefir, strain it through a fine mesh strainer into a large pot.

Sprinkle a little bit of turmeric across the jameed for more yellow color, and add 1 tablespoon ghee.

Some people like very thick, also known as heavy mansaf jameed. But most people prefer medium or light jameed on their mansaf. I use about 2 cups of broth. Scoop some of the meat broth from your pressure cooker and pour it through the fine mesh strainer into your jameed. Stir in to combine.

Turn the heat on low and stir it frequently. Do not let your mansaf jameed bubble and boil!

STEP 3: MAKE THE RICE

While the meat is kept warm in the pressure cooker, and the jameed is kept over a low heat to stay warm, you can complete your mansaf recipe with the rice!

Rice cooks really fast, so I always make my mansaf rice last and then serve it right away because the house will smell like mansaf and we're hungry!

Grab your favorite rice cooking pot and add 1 tablespoon ghee to the bottom. Heat the pan over medium high heat.

Next, add 1 cup of washed basmati rice and 1 cup of washed jasmine rice. I like to use a combination of these two rice's for more of a fluffy mansaf rice that will still stick together if you want to eat it the traditional way with your hands.

Add a sprinkle of turmeric powder across the top for the iconic yellow mansaf rice color.

Finally add 4 cups of strained broth. You can hold your fine mesh strainer right over my rice pot and scoop the meat broth right into it by the cup.

Stir the rice once, cover with a tight fitting lid, and turn the heat to high. As soon as the rice starts to bubble, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook about 10-15 minutes, or just until the rice has absorbed all the water.

Turn off the heat, and with the lid on, let the rice rest about 10 minutes to get the perfect rice texture.

How to serve Mansaf, the Jordanian way!

And that is it! You have just made authentic Jordanian mansaf right at home! The final touch is serving it with toasted nuts, of course. And as most Jordanian meals are traditionally eaten family style, grab your large serving platter and get prepared to dig in!

To serve mansaf the traditional jordanian way you will need:

• A large serving platter
• Shrak bread
• Toasted almonds and/ or toasted pine nuts
• Pickles
• Fresh cut vegetables, like radish, green onion, and lettuce

To assemble mansaf, rip bite sized pieces of shrak bread and line the bottom of your serving tray with the pieces of bread. Take a scoop of jameed soup and drizzle it over top to wet the bread.

Next, stir your rice to fluff it up and scoop it over the bread. Take another scoop of jameed soup and drizzle it over top of the rice.

Finally, arrange your cooked meat over top of the rice and spoon a bit of jameed over top of the meat for an authentic presentation.

Top with toasted nuts fresh chopped parsley, and dig in!

Love making Arabic Food at Home? Try some of these mouth watering authentic Middle Eastern recipes!

• Saniya Jaj (Arabic Baked Chicken)
• Shorbat Adas
• Galayet Bandora
• Fasolia with Lebanese Rice
• Chicken Kabsa
• Maqluba
• Musakhan
• Ouzi with Chicken
• Ouzi Lamb
• Dwali (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
• Sfiha
• Arabic Yellow Rice
• Jaj Mahshi (Stuffed Chicken)
• Persian Pomegranate Chicken

And no Arabic meal is complete without Arabic tea afterwards, make sure to try out my Authentic Jordanian Bedouin Tea Recipe!

If you try my Authentic Jordanian Mansaf Recipe, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!