Mansaf is Jordan’s national dish and the ultimate expression of hospitality and tradition. This rich and comforting meal features tender lamb cooked in a tangy jameed yogurt sauce, served over aromatic yellow rice and topped with toasted almonds or pine nuts. It’s a centerpiece of Jordanian cuisine—perfect for special occasions. This recipe will guide you through every step!

Cooked lamb shoulder pieces in a white sauce on top of yellow rice that is placed on top of a thin piece of markook on a blue patterned plate. It is garnished with chopped parsley and whole blanched toasted almonds with a beige rimmed bowl of white sauce at the side and a small beige bowl of toasted almonds with a spoon on a dark green tablecloth.

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My Thoughts on Mansaf

Here’s the thing: I love lamb. But growing up, I never loved mansaf. To be fair, I had only tried it at restaurants. And every time I did, I disliked the slightly fermented flavour of jameed along with a strong gaminess from the lamb.

This recipe though? I loved it. And I had the realization that a homemade mansaf trumps any from a restaurant! Mainly because I can buy high quality lamb that tastes fresh, and cook it my way.

The lamb starts out the same way it is cooked in other lamb recipes like Iraqi Quzi and maqluba: boiled or pressure cooked with whole spices until fall apart. The next stage involves the jameed sauce.

Cooking lamb in yogurt is not strange! Syrians do it in plain yogurt (unfermented) to make shakriyeh. But the distinguishing feature for mansaf is the use of fermented yogurt called jameed.

This recipe has finally changed my opinion of mansaf. I had a generous portion myself and shared the rest of it with my Italian neighbour who texted me glowing reviews. That means it’s ready to share with you!

Mansaf: The Process.

First – grab your ingredients! A few notes:

  • Jameed: I prefer using liquid jameed instead of the solid one. But check out the recipe card notes for how to substitute solid jameed in this recipe.
  • Rice: mansaf is never made with basmati rice. It’s always made with medium grain rice.
  • Markook Bread: This is used as the first layer when assembling the dish. If you don’t have it, you can skip it.
Ingredient shot with a green plate with lamb piences, a small plate with whole spices, a small plate with turmeric and salt, a small white bowl with chopped parsley, a small green bowl with cornstarch, a blue box of liquid jameed, markook bread in clear packaging, a glass bowl with medium grain rice and a small white bowl of blanched and toasted almonds on a marble background.

The first step is to cook the lamb until tender.

Lamb shoulder pieces being browned in a steel pot with black tipped tongs.
Sear the lamb on both sides to brown it.
Lightly browned lamb shoulder in a steel pot with bay leaves, a cinnamon stick, black peppercorns and whole cardamom pods.
Add whole spices – this is crucial!
Lightly browned lamb shoulder in a steel pot with bay leaves, a cinnamon stick, black peppercorns, whole cardamom pods and water.
Add water and cook for 1.5-2 hours or pressure cook for 40 minutes.
Cooked lamb shoulder being held over a steel pot with lamb and broth by tongs.
It’s ready when it is tender and falls apart.

The lamb broth is used for the rice as well as the jameed sauce. Measure out around 5-6 cups of the broth. If you don’t have enough – just add water.

A grey pot with yellow rice and a wooden spoon.
Toast the rice with oil or ghee and some turmeric.
A grey pot with yellow rice, water and a wooden spoon.
Cook the rice in the reserved lamb broth.
A glass blender jug with white bubbly liquid over a marble background.
Blend the liquid jameed with cornstarch and the reserved lamb broth.
A beige pot with pink handles, browned and cooked lamb should pieces being placed inside a white liquid with silver tongs and a wooden spoon inside.
Cook the lamb with the jameed sauce for a few minutes to infuse the flavours.

The assembly process is the most fun part of making mansaf!

A blue and white patterned plate with thin pieces of markook bread on top with white liquid being spooned on top with a metal spoon on a marble background.
Start by laying down the markook bread and ladling jameed over it.
A blue and white patterned plate with thin pieces of markook bread and yellow rice on top.
Add the rice on top.
A blue and white patterned plate with thin pieces of markook bread and yellow rice. Cooked lamb pieces in white sauce and toasted blanched almonds are on top, on a marble background.
Add the lamb and more of the jameed sauce, then the almonds.

Serve it hot! This is the perfect dish to make if you’re hosting people – it feeds a crowd. You may need a nap afterwards too. I serve it with green onions, radish, arugula and parsley for some freshness.

Cooked lamb shoulder pieces in a white sauce on top of yellow rice that is placed on top of a thin piece of markook on a blue patterned plate. It is garnished with chopped parsley and whole blanched toasted almonds with a beige rimmed bowl of white sauce at the side on a dark green tablecloth.

Other Lamb Recipes You Will Enjoy

Lamb shank with broth, pieces of carrot and wedges of potato on a white blue rimmed plate with a green glass of water a small white plate with fresh thyme, a sage green tea towel on a mottled green background with a wooden ended knife and a metal fork at the side.

Oven Braised Lamb Shanks (Fall Apart)
5 from 4 ratings
two large cooked lamb shanks in yogurt sauce placed in a small dish, along with a plate of cut up radish and green onions, and a small plate of toasted pine nuts

Syrian Shakriyeh (Lamb & Yogurt Stew)
5 from 3 ratings
A platter of Quzi-style cooked lamb shanks served over yellow rice with raisins, herbs, and nuts, accompanied by bowls of yogurt, tomato stew, chopped herbs, cutlery, and salt shakers nearby.

Quzi (Authentic Iraqi Lamb over Rice)
5 from 23 ratings
Lamb kabsa served on a white platter with a silver spoon, surrounded by glasses of water and bowls of yogurt.

Fragrant Lamb Kabsa (Restaurant Style)
5 from 25 ratings

If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!

Cooked lamb shoulder pieces in a white sauce on top of yellow rice that is placed on top of a thin piece of markook on a blue patterned plate. It is garnished with chopped parsley and whole blanched toasted almonds with a beige rimmed bowl of white sauce at the side and a small beige bowl of toasted almonds with a spoon on a dark green tablecloth.
5 from 2 ratings

Jordanian Mansaf (Lamb with Jameed)

Yield: 8 Servings
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total: 3 hours
Author: Amina Al-Saigh
Mansaf is a traditional Jordanian dish made with tender lamb, served with a tangy jameed yogurt sauce over rice and flatbread. It's a festive meal often enjoyed on special occasions, bringing people together to celebrate with its rich flavors.
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Ingredients
 

For the Lamb

  • 1½-2 kilogram bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into medium sized pieces
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
  • water to cover lamb
  • 10 cardamom pods
  • 5 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

For the Rice

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 cups medium gran rice (Egyptian rice), washed and soaked for 30 minutes (see notes)
  • 3 cups prepared lamb stock, or water (see notes)

For the Jameed

  • 500 grams liquid jameed, see notes
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups prepared lamb stock

For Serving

  • 2 large pieces of thin bread like markook
  • ½ cup blanched almonds, toasted in olive oil to golden brown
  • ½ cup parsley, chopped

Instructions
 

For the Lamb

  • In a large bowl sprinkle the lamb pieces with the 1½ teaspoons salt. In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once hot, sear the lamb pieces for 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly golden. Cover the lamb with water and add the cardamom pods, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and black peppercorn. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on medium heat for 1 ½ hours until tender. Alternatively, you can also sear the lamb in the instant pot and pressure cook for 40 minutes.
  • Once cooked, strain the broth from the lamb and set aside. You need 3 cups of the lamb stock for cooking the rice, and at least 2-3 cups for the jameed sauce. If you don't have enough, you can add water to it until you reach 5 cups.

For the Rice

  • In a medium sized pot, combine the oil or ghee with salt and turmeric, then add the rice and stir to combine. Add the broth. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, lower the heat to low, cover and let cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, fluff the rice with a fork and cover with a towel so the steam is absorbed.

For the Jameed

  • In a large blender, blend the jameed with 2 cups of the broth and the cornstarch until smooth.
  • Transfer the jameed sauce to the pot that the lamb was cooked in and let boil for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add more broth gradually until you have a soupy consistency (if you run out of broth, add water). Add the cooked lamb to the boiling sauce and allow them to cook together for 10 minutes on medium heat. Do not bring to a boil.

For Serving

  • In a large serving platter, start by laying the markook bread, then ladel over some of the jameed sauce from the lamb, followed by the rice. Top the rice with the lamb pieces and more sauce. Garnish with the parsley and almonds. Serve hot!

Notes

  • Rice cooking can differ from one kind to another, so it is really important to follow the instructions on the package to see the ratio of liquid to rice. For most medium grain varieties, I wash it until water runs clear, then soak it for 30 minutes. I cook it with a 1:1 ratio of rice to liquid.
  • When finishing the jameed sauce, taste and add salt accordingly, since the jameed itself is salty.
  • Jameed can be found in liquid and solid form. If only the solid one is available, you have to soak a 200 gram solid ball in water overnight and blend it the next day with 450 ml water to use similarly to the liquid one.
  • If neither the liquid nor the solid jameed is available, you can use this instead as a substitute:
    • 1 cup plain yogurt
    • 1 cup sour cream
    • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon citric acid
Serving: 1Serving, Calories: 551kcal, Carbohydrates: 70g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.001g, Cholesterol: 59mg, Sodium: 1160mg, Potassium: 515mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 74IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 152mg, Iron: 3mg
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