Although “Mansaf” is primarily known to be a Jordanian recipe, it is prepared in different Arabic countries with versatile versions. And while the traditional Jordanian Mansaf is prepared with lamb cooked in fermented yogurt and served on a large plate over flat bread with either rice or bulgur, the Lebanese Mansaf is a rice based dish that is cooked either with beef, chicken or lamb and served with nuts on top. Mansaf is a mandatory dish to celebrate happiness in almost every traditional Lebanese occasion especially weddings.
In some Lebanese villages, the tradition of “Raddet El Ejer” – the bride’s first visit to her parents after getting married – is still practiced until today. On this very special occasion, a big feast based on Mansaf is offered by the bride’s parents to her in-laws the day she visits her parents for the first time, usually 1 week after the wedding night.
Mansaf is also served as a main dish on other occasions such as funerals.
Total Servings: 5
Preparation time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
1 Kg of long grain rice
1 kg of ground beef
½ tsp. of seven spices
2 bay laurel leaves
1 medium onion, cut into 3 big pieces
1 big onion, cubed
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp. of Mansaf spices (including fenugreek, turmeric, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon)
1 Tbsp. of salt
1 tsp of yellow turmeric
2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil
7 cups of chicken broth
½ Kg of raw cashews
1 kg of chicken breasts
Preparation steps:
- Wash the chicken breasts and dry with paper towels
- In a large pot, cover the chicken breasts with water and boil until foam is formed. Remove the foam with a spoon and then add seven spices, laurel leaves and onion pieces
- Cook until the chicken is cooked and tender then cut the chicken into thin elongated pieces of 5-10 cm in length and leave aside
- Wash the rice thoroughly and soak in water for 1 hour
- In a cooker, heat part of the vegetable oil and cook the ground beef until tender. Add the remaining vegetable oil, the chopped onions and garlic
- Add the rice to the fried mixture and the Mansaf spices and cover with chicken broth
- Cover with the lid and let the rice boil slowly over low flame for 20 minutes
- Fry the cashews in a small amount of vegetable oil
- Pour the cooked rice into a flat plate and top with the cooked chicken breast pieces and the fried cashews
- Serve with hot with yogurt or the Lebanese mixed vegetable salad (fattoush)