Mansaf is best dish you have to eat in Jordan

 If you ask any Jordanian national “Which traditional dish, foreigners must try when they visit Jordan?” the automatic answer would be immediately Mansaf.

What is the Mansaf?

Mansaf is the national dish of Jordan, which is served on a large platter with a thin flatbread, Mansaf consists of rice, topped with lamb meat and a fermented yoghurt sauce called Jameed.

A Brief History on Mansaf

• First prepared by the Bedouins of Jordan with lesser-known ingredients, what used to be called Mansaf was camel or lamb meat pieces cooked with meat broth or ghee and at the side famous bread known as “Shark or Markook” bread was usually served with the dish.
• Rice was not introduced into the dish until the late 1920s, and jameed, sour fermented yoghurt, is a recent development.
• The name of the dish comes from the term “large tray” or “large dish”.

What is Jameed?

Jameed is a Jordanian fermented dairy product that is made by drying salted and thickened yoghurt obtained from ewe’s or goat’s milk.

The production of this dairy product is typically carried out in the village areas of cities such as Al-Karak, Madaba and As-Salt.

How to Eat Mansaf

The traditional dish is served on special occasions such as weddings, births and graduations, or to honor a guest and on major holidays such as Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha, and Jordan’s Independence Day.

It is traditionally eaten collectively from a large platter in the Bedouin and rural style, where people surround the platter with the left hand behind their back and they use the right hand to eat instead of spoons.

Scoop up some rice, nuts, and meat into the palm of your hand.

Then, begin to squeeze the mixture to form a ball.

To eat it up, roll your thumb underneath the ball and flick it into your mouth like you’re flipping a coin. No part of your hand should touch your mouth.