Jordanian Mansaf with Slow-Braised Lamb, Jameed Yogurt Sauce and Toasted Almonds

Soak the jameed (if using traditional): break the hard jameed into walnut-sized pieces and soak in 1 litre of warm water overnight (or 8 hours), changing the water once. Drain and blend with 750ml fresh warm water until silky.

Ingredients

• For the lamb (serves 6):
• 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) bone-in lamb shoulder or shanks, cut into large pieces
• 2 large yellow onions, halved
• 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 2 dried Omani black limes (loomi), pierced with a skewer
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• Fine sea salt to taste
• For the jameed yogurt sauce:
• 300g (10 oz) dried jameed (fermented sheep yogurt) — substitute 800g thick Greek yogurt + 100g labneh + 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp samneh (Bedouin clarified butter) — substitute ghee
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• For the rice:
• 400g (2 cups) basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes and drained
• 2 tbsp samneh or ghee
• 1 tsp turmeric
• Pinch saffron threads
• 750ml (3 cups) reserved lamb broth
• For finishing:
• 60g (1/2 cup) almonds, blanched and pan-toasted in samneh until golden
• 30g (1/4 cup) pine nuts, toasted
• 4 sheets large soft markook or shrak flatbread
• Large bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Optional: 2 tbsp dried pomegranate seeds for garnish

Instructions

1. Soak the jameed (if using traditional): break the hard jameed into walnut-sized pieces and soak in 1 litre of warm water overnight (or 8 hours), changing the water once. Drain and blend with 750ml fresh warm water until silky.
2. Braise the lamb: place lamb pieces in a heavy pot, cover with 2.5 litres cold water, bring to a hard boil and skim the grey foam for 5 minutes. Add the onions, cardamom, dried lime, cinnamon, bay, peppercorns and turmeric. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook uncovered 2 to 2.5 hours, until the meat is tender enough to slide from the bone. Season with salt only in the last 20 minutes.
3. Lift the lamb gently from the broth and keep warm under foil. Strain the broth through a fine sieve — reserve 1.5 litres for the sauce and rice.
4. Cook the rice: in a separate pot, melt 2 tbsp samneh over medium heat. Toss the drained basmati in the fat for 2 minutes with the turmeric and saffron until each grain is glossy. Add 750ml of the strained lamb broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 14 minutes. Rest off the heat 10 minutes, then fluff.
5. Make the jameed sauce: pour the blended jameed (or the Greek-yogurt substitute) into a heavy saucepan. Whisk in 2 ladles of warm lamb broth and 1 lightly beaten egg yolk (essential — it prevents the yogurt from splitting). Set over the lowest heat and stir constantly in one direction with a wooden spoon for 15-20 minutes until the sauce thickens to a silky cream. Do not stop stirring — yogurt sauces split if shocked. Add the samneh, turmeric and white pepper at the end.
6. Slide the lamb pieces gently into the simmering jameed sauce and warm through for 5 minutes, basting with the ivory liquid.
7. Assemble the mansaf platter: lay the soft markook bread flat across a large round serving tray. Spoon a layer of jameed sauce over the bread so it softens slightly. Mound the saffron-turmeric rice on top in a dome. Arrange the lamb pieces over the rice. Ladle generous spoonfuls of the remaining jameed sauce over the meat so it cascades down the sides.
8. Shower the platter with toasted almonds, pine nuts, fresh parsley and (optionally) ruby pomegranate seeds. Serve the remaining jameed sauce in a copper bowl alongside for spooning over.
9. Eat the Bedouin way: gather guests around the platter, use your right hand only, roll a small ball of rice and lamb with your fingers, dip into the jameed sauce, and pop it into your mouth. Conversation, sweet tea and stories are mandatory accompaniments.
10. Mansaf is the undisputed national dish of Jordan — a 2,000-year-old Bedouin tradition recognised by UNESCO in 2022 as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The dish originated with the nomadic tribes of the Jordanian badia (desert), who preserved sheep's milk into hard, sun-dried jameed disks that could survive long caravan journeys to be rehydrated when a slaughtered lamb required a sauce. Mansaf is served at every Jordanian wedding, funeral, Eid, and tribal reconciliation (sulha) — refusing a plate is considered a serious social slight. The full ceremonial mansaf is eaten communally from a single large copper platter (sidr), standing around the tray, eating only with the right hand. King Abdullah II is said to keep a personal mansaf chef. Today the dish anchors menus from Amman's high-end Sufra restaurant to roadside Bedouin tents along the King's Highway, and is the food Jordanians abroad miss most fiercely.