MANSAF (منسف)

Mansaf (منسف) is a traditional Bedouin dish, well known as the national dish of Jordan. It is usually made from lamb, or sometimes chicken, with a fermented yogurt sauce, served over rice. Mansaf is mainly a celebratory dish, for weddings, holidays, or guests. But there are some families, mostly residing in villages, who eat mansaf weekly -- on Fridays, the typical "family day" here in Jordan.


















(Mansaf made with lamb. You see those white "meat looking" pieces.....while they are pure balls of fat.)

An interesting fact about mansaf, is that it is eating by hand. For proper Mansaf etiquette, one should only use their right hand when eating. No utensils here folks! The goal is to form a ball of the rice -- again remember WITH YOUR HANDS. This is where it gets a tad messy. And the hardcore mansaf eaters...stand up, roll up their sleeves, place their left hand behind their back, and dig in!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pk2XkiOhL0 -- How to eat mansaf (funny cartoon in Arabic).

Honestly once people figure out that you are a foreigner, they automatically ask you "OMG have you had mansaf? Do you like mansaf? Come over to my house and eat mansaf!"And being vegetarian I put off eating this dish for quite sometime. Always politely turning down the invitation, but Jordanian Night at MENAXLDS was the perfect opportunity to go for it. I think I felt more comfortable because I was sitting at a table full of other vegetarians, ha. So I just ate the rice and yogurt sauce, but stayed away from the lamb and fist size chunks of fat (yuck!!!). I admit it was delicious though.















(Here I am eating the mansaf with my hands.)

Mansaf number two, was definitely more traditional. Michael's friend David was visiting from the USA, so we went to one of his student's home in Asarih -- a village just outside of Irbid, for some good home-cooked food. This time, we sat on the floor in a circle, surrounding the mansaf.

David is a vegetarian as well, and although he is a pescitarian he had decided that he would try chicken mansaf. Now I have never really been one to crave meat since turning veg almost 4 years ago, but for some reason I really wanted to go for it. Maybe it was the pressure of being the only one not eating it, maybe it was the smell, but I really think it was the culture here. I think every Jordanian would be disappointed if I left the country without ever having mansaf.























(David and Michael, enjoying the good eats!)

So long story short, Trisha ate two pieces of chicken! First time that I intentionally ate meat in four years. And I know what you are all wondering....YES I liked it! But, no I am not back to the omnivore diet, I'm still a vegetarian. It was a one time thing. I have lightened up a bit on the vegetarianism. In the states I wouldn't eat something that has been cooked with meat, but here in Jordan sometimes it's just unavoidable.



















(Chicken mansaf, a little blurry, but you get the idea.)

After Mansaf, I got to go with the mother of our host and his sisters into the kitchen, while the rest of the guests (all men) jealously remained behind in the sitting room. It was nice. I helped them clean up a bit and got to chat with them in Arabic. Made me mad though that the women kindly prepared the meal for us, then sat in the kitchen while we ate, then cleaned up after us, and never ate themselves. Score one for gender inequality.

Moral of the story, everyone should try mansaf. It's really tasty, rich, and an unbelievably filling meal. Seriously, you won't be hungry for a whole day after eating it.