Mansaf: a Jordanian Delicacy

One of the main and popular dish that you wouldn't want to miss when you visit Jordan is the "Mansaf".  This is considered the national dish of the country. Using native raised goat or lamb that grazed the greens of Jordan, the meat is gamey and is cooked with yogurt.  This is traditionally known as a Bedouin dish with the meat and yogurt readily available to them and the rice and bread were later additions to the dish. Oral tradition has it that the Moab king  rebelled against the Israel's food law and deliberately cooked the milk or the yogurt with the same animal that produced it. (Exodus 23:19; Exodus 24:26; Deuteronomy 14:21). Moab is presently known as Karak in Jordan.

This delicious dish is prepared by boiling the meat with yogurt and seasoned with ghee herbs called Hwajet el Samneh. After that, it is served on a large aluminum platter firstly with a layer of thin bread and then a layer of rice and  after that, it is topped with the meat and garnished with almond or pine nuts and parsley. The rich yogurt soup will be offered later to be poured over the rice, according to your preferred amount. It is traditionally eaten as a community meal where a group of 4-8 person (depending on how big the platter) come around the food.

The next day after a wedding. the bride's family would come to visit the newly weds. This is called "Sabahiya". The groom's family would prepare a feast of "Mansaf" for the guests. The bride's family would bring "Kinafa".  In the village, family means the closest clan and neighbors!

Good manners dictates that  one get the meat and rice closest to them and working towards the center, not sideways, so they won't cross over their seat mates' portion. Also never lick your fingers! Jordanians artistically forms the rice into a ball using their fingers and pop it into the mouth. Lately, the women section have spoons available for the new generation. Lost art, indeed.
 

So we were honored with this special platter of  Mansaf with goat head!

As the one married to an Arab, I have acquired the taste for the bland, sour, fresh yogurt. I used to dislike the gamey smell of the goaties but hey, after I saw the kind of lifestyle they have (i.e. grazing the grass/hay early morning on the hillside or roadside and another round of exercise and eating in the afternoon), I am convinced that they are healthy animals. Really, I have craved for mansaf more than my husband. Surely, this delicacy is something worth trying.