Mansaf – lamb cooked in a fermented yoghurt sauce, served with rice or bulgar, and garnished with almonds – is a traditional dish throughout the Arab world, but it’s especially popular in Jordan.  I tried it for the first time on a recent visit to Amman.  It’s typically served on special occasions – for example to welcome an honored guest or at weddings or birthday feasts – and usually eaten from a communal platter.

Jordanians typically eat mansaf without using cutlery.  The rice, meat, and sauce are molded by hand (always the right hand!) into small balls.  I was told that it’s frowned upon to blow on the food no matter how hot it is!  Jordanians, the most courteous and hospitable of people in my experience, allowed me to use a spoon.   If you’ve never been to Jordan, there are hundred reasons to do so and mansaf is one of them.