Mansaf: A National Dish
Mansaf is a traditional Jordanian dish made of camel or lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or bulgur. It is the national dish of Jordan and it is also common in Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. The name of the dish comes from the term “large tray” or “large dish”. Though mansaf is frequently referred to as Jordan’s “national dish”, anthropologist Joseph Andoni Massad states that mansaf is not a truly “traditional” dish, but is rather a more recent dish which was developed during the Hashemite-Mandatory era of the early 20th century, and then promulgated as a “national” dish following independence. Massad notes that the current form of mansaf differs from the independence-era and Mandate-era recipes, but is portrayed by the state as a dish that is both national and a Bedouin tradition, despite it also historically being a dish of the peasants and Bedouins of the neighboring regions of Palestine and Syria.
Due to the harsh weather in Jordan and surrounding areas, the Bedouins were always on the move in search of water and shelter to protect themselves. Their nomadic tendencies allowed them to spread their traditions and food to new cultures and regions. Their primary meal to eat while traveling was known as Thereed. The desert possibilities limited what the dish contained and what was available for use. The arrival of agricultural activities, influence of new cultures with new products, and cooking techniques led to an evolution of the Bedouins food tradition. Overtime Thereed evolved to what we now know as Mansaf.
Mansaf is associated with a traditional Jordanian culture based on an agro-pastoral lifestyle in which meat and yogurt are readily available. Mansaf is served on special occasions such as weddings, births and graduations, or to honor a guest, and on major holidays such as Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha, and Jordan’s Independence Day. Today’s celebrations date back to Bedouin traditions and have evolved to meet today’s culture. Serving Mansaf is usually done by the host of the special occasion. The host offers this dish to the guests as a symbol of hospitality, appreciation, and respect. The meat served is an indicator of the status of the guest. Goat meat is for the most respected and valued guests, followed by lamb and chicken. The animal’s head can be served on the platter, which is shared with the most important guests first as it is a symbol of respect and hospitality. Mansaf is served on a large platter: first, the women put a layer of flatbread on the plate, then layer on the rice and meat, finally, the host will pour part of the sauce over the whole platter. The dish can be garnished with peanuts, almonds, and parsley if available.
Traditionally Mansaf is eaten together, however men and women typically have their own platter. It is traditional to use the right hand to eat because it is thought that using your hand gives the food a cleaner, more accurate taste than cutlery can. Traditionally the three main local ingredients used to prepare Mansaf are wheat, goat milk, and lamb meat. Imported rice often nowadays is thought to be the fourth ingredient. The preparation of Mansaf is traditionally a social gathering - every family member has his or her task: the men slaughter the lamb while the women make a type of flatbread called Shark. The women are also in charge of making the Jameed broth. The Jameed is rehydrated and is a fermented dried yogurt-like product. The lamb is for several hours in the Jameed broth until tender.
The cities of Al Karak, As-Salt, and Hebron and surrounding countrysides are known to make the best Mansaf in Jordan and West Bank. Other variants of the dish also exist -these include fish mansaf, found in the south around the port city of Aqaba. A more common urban version exists using non-dried yogurt and is called shakreyyeh. It is sometimes cooked with poultry instead of lamb and is more common in the northern part of Jordan.
THE RECIPE:
The hardest ingredient to find in the US is the thing that defines Mansaf -the laban jameed. Laban in Arabic is the word for yogurt, and jameed means hard, and that is exactly what it is, hard yogurt. The jameed is dried goat’s milk yogurt- it is preserved with salt, shaped into balls and dried. Once dry, the jameed is rehydrated into a broth using water. As this can be hard to make and find, there are a few packaged brands in the US to choose from: Ziyad and Kasih both make one.
In a large pot over medium high heat, add two pounds of chopped leg of lamb into boiling water. While the lamb is cooking, add whole cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and bay leaves to the water. Cook slowly until the lamb is cooked and tender. Make the rice; reconstitute the jameed by breaking it into pieces and soaking it in water, then add to a food processor with water to make into a thick paste. Next, drain the meat from the broth using a sieve and reserve the liquid. Mix the jameed paste with the broth and stir until you have a creamy white sauce.
Next start to prepare the dish- gather your large serving tray, tear the shrak bread into roughly 2 inch squares and layer the bottom of the tray with it. Start to ladle some of the laban sauce over the bread allowing it to soak up. Make a mound of rice over the shrak, then add cooked lamb to top of the rice and continue to ladle more sauce. Make sure to cover the whole mansaf with sauce, leaving some aside to add to people’s plates as they wish. The mansaf can be topped with fried pine nuts, slivered almonds, or both.