KO EN JordanianMain course⏱ 190 minEdit history

Mansaf (Jordanian Lamb in Fermented Yogurt Sauce)

Name: Mansaf (Jordanian Lamb in Fermented Yogurt Sauce)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Jordanian
Ingredients: 1.5 kg Lamb; 1 Onion; 1 piece Cinnamon stick; 4 pods Cardamom; 2 Bay leaves; 1 tsp Black peppercorns; 3 tbsp Ghee; Salt; 400 g Jameed; Plain + Greek yogurt; 1.5 L Water; 2 tbsp Cornstarch; 600 g Rice; 0.5 tsp Turmeric; 2 sheets Shrak (markook) bread; 100 g Almonds; 50 g Pine nuts; Parsley

Jordan's national dish: lamb simmered in a white sauce made from jameed — dried fermented sheep's-milk yogurt — and served over flatbread and rice on one large platter. Never boiling the sauce and stirring it in one direction is what makes or breaks it, and the pale meat is correct.

Ingredients

8servings

Lamb · bone-in shoulder or leg, in large pieces1.5 kg
Onion · whole, for the stock1
Cinnamon stick1 piece
Cardamom4 pods
Bay leaves2
Black peppercorns1 tsp
Ghee3 tbsp
Salt · the sauce only at the very end
Jameed sauce (the identity of the dish)
Jameed · dried fermented sheep's-milk yogurt, from a Middle Eastern grocer400 g
Plain + Greek yogurt · for jameed: 1 kg plain plus 300 g Greek; sheep's-milk yogurt is closer
Water1.5 L
Cornstarch · slurried in water — insurance against splitting2 tbsp
Rice and base
Rice · rinsed600 g
Turmeric · optional; the yellow in the photo0.5 tsp
Shrak (markook) bread · thin flatbread; lavash or tortilla substitutes2 sheets
To finish
Almonds · flaked or whole100 g
Pine nuts50 g
Parsley · chopped

Steps

Break up the jameed and soak it in 1.5 L of water overnight (4 hours in warm water). Blend smooth and pass it through a sieve to catch any lumps. Using yogurt instead: whisk both yogurts smooth with 500 ml water and the cornstarch slurry. (The soak isn't counted in the times below.)
Cover the lamb with cold water, bring to a boil and skim. Add the whole onion, cinnamon, cardamom, bay and peppercorns and simmer 1½–2 hours, until the meat gives way from the bone. Lift out the meat and strain the stock.
⏲ 120 min
Pour the jameed liquid into a wide pot over medium-low heat and stir constantly, in one direction, with a wooden spoon. Add the cornstarch slurry and give it about 20 minutes to thicken slightly. Never let it boil — only steam. This is exactly where mansaf fails.
⏲ 20 min
Once the sauce is smooth, add the boiled lamb and hold it at the barest simmer 20–30 minutes so the meat takes the sauce. Salt now — added earlier, the yogurt splits more readily.
⏲ 30 min
Cook the rice: fry it briefly in ghee, add strained lamb stock at 1.5 times the rice volume with the turmeric, cover and cook on the lowest heat 18 minutes. Rest 10.
⏲ 30 min
Toast the almonds and pine nuts in ghee until golden. They catch fast, so lift them out as soon as the colour turns.
⏲ 5 min
Line a large platter with the flatbread and ladle sauce over to soak it. Spread the rice on top and arrange the lamb over that.
⏲ 5 min
Spoon more sauce over and scatter the toasted nuts and parsley. Serve the remaining sauce in bowls so everyone can add their own.

Tips & Variations

Variations

Chicken mansaf: Chicken instead of lamb cuts the simmer to 40 minutes and lightens the whole thing. The jameed sauce is unchanged.
Yogurt instead of jameed: Thicken plain yogurt with Greek yogurt and add a little lemon. Less of the fermented tang, but the texture holds up.
With bulgur: Some areas use coarse bulgur in place of rice.
Without bread: You can lay the rice straight on the platter. Though plenty of people will tell you the sauce-soaked bread is the best part.
A sharper sauce: More jameed gives a tangier, thicker sauce. Every Jordanian household sets this differently.

Tips

Don't boil the sauce, and stir in one direction only. A yogurt-based sauce splits into curds if it boils or if you change stirring direction. Barely steaming, wooden spoon, one direction, 20 minutes. Two tablespoons of cornstarch is reliable insurance.
Salt at the end. Salted early, the proteins tighten and split more easily.
Jameed is what makes it mansaf. Dried fermented sheep's-milk yogurt, sharply sour and salty, and that acidity is what carries very rich lamb. Middle Eastern grocers sell it as rock-hard balls. Yogurt substitutes work, but know it's a different flavour.
The meat is not browned. Mansaf lamb is boiled only, so it looks pale — exactly as in the photo. Browned, it isn't this dish.
Cook the rice in the stock. Throwing away two hours of lamb broth and using water is throwing away half the dish.
Nuts last. Added early they go soft in the sauce.
Jordan's national dish, and the emblem of Bedouin hospitality — traditionally one big platter, eaten with the right hand by everyone around it.

✏️ Improve this recipe

edits: 0 ·Edit history