Jordan's national dish — slow-cooked lamb in jameed yogurt sauce, served over bread and rice for large gatherings.
Mansaf is Jordan's national dish, prepared on special occasions and holidays with lamb, jameed (dried yogurt), and rice. A luxurious Ramadan version cooked at suhoor for those who enjoy traditional fare.
Jameed stimulates the appetite and adds a uniquely tangy, salty flavor. One pot feeds 10-12 people and takes 2 hours to prepare. In Palestine and Jordan, you find it on suhoor tables for a full month.
Crumble the jameed and soak it in cold water for 4 hours. Blend with 1 cup of water until dissolved.
In a pot, place the lamb with onion and enough water. Simmer for 60 minutes until fully tender.
Remove the lamb. Strain the jameed and add it to the meat broth. Heat on low for 15 minutes, stirring, until smooth.
Wash the rice and soak for 20 minutes. Boil in the jameed broth for 20 minutes until absorbed. Melt half the ghee and add it.
On a large platter, spread the shrak bread and pour some jameed sauce over it. Arrange the rice on top and place the lamb in the center. Garnish with almonds, pine nuts, and melted ghee.
Serve the mansaf hot with extra jameed sauce on the side.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Mansaf, and how to fix them:
Add 1 cup of water and continue soaking. Dry jameed needs more time.
Add 30 minutes to the boiling.
Add more jameed and cook 10 minutes longer.
Add 1 cup of broth and let it sit 10 minutes.
2 days. Reheat with the jameed sauce.
1 month. Freeze the lamb and jameed sauce separately from the rice.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jameed | Thick sour yogurt | 1:1 | Home-style version. |
| Lamb | Beef | 1:1 | 45 minutes longer cooking time. |
| Shrak bread | Arabic bread | 1:1 | Home-style version. |
| Ingredient | 6 people | 12 people | 18 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamb | 1200 g | 2400 g | 3600 g |
| Jameed | 400 g | 800 g | 1200 g |
| Rice | 400 g | 800 g | 1200 g |
| Broth | 1.2 L | 2.4 L | 3.6 L |
Soak the jameed for a full 4 hours so it dissolves easily. Blend it for a smooth texture. Choose bone-in lamb for richer flavor. Place the bread at the bottom to soak up the jameed sauce.
The EEINA app saves your favorite recipes, calculates them from their real ingredients, and shows your daily numbers toward your goal. Try it free now.
