Chicken Mansaf (Jordanian Chicken in Jameed Sauce with Rice and Toasted Nuts)

Name: Chicken Mansaf (Jordanian Chicken in Jameed Sauce with Rice and Toasted Nuts)
Prep time: 1 h 5 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Jordanian
Ingredients: 3½ lb (1600 g) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks, patted dry; trim any excess fat; 8 cups (1900 ml) water, cold; 1 large (about 9 oz) (250 g) yellow onion, peeled and quartered; 1 stick (3 inches) (5 g) cinnamon stick; 2 leaves (1 g) dried bay leaves; 4 pods (1 g) green cardamom pods, lightly cracked open; 1 tsp (3 g) whole allspice berries; 1½ tsp (9 g) kosher salt; 7 oz (200 g) hard jameed balls (dried fermented yogurt), broken into pieces with a hammer if very hard; 4 cups (950 ml) water for soaking jameed, lukewarm; 2 cups (370 g) basmati or long-grain white rice, rinsed in several changes of water until the water runs nearly clear, then drained well; 2 tbsp (30 g) ghee or unsalted butter; 1 tsp (3 g) ground turmeric; ¾ tsp (4 g) kosher salt; 4 large thin sheets (200 g) shrak, markook, or lavash flatbread, torn into rough 4-inch (10 cm) pieces; ½ cup (70 g) pine nuts; ½ cup (70 g) blanched whole almonds, halved lengthwise, or left whole; 2 tbsp (30 g) ghee or unsalted butter; ¼ cup (15 g) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Jordan's celebration dish, made with tender chicken gently braised in a tangy, savory sauce of rehydrated jameed (dried fermented yogurt). It is served over turmeric-gold rice and thin flatbread, then topped with buttery toasted pine nuts and almonds.

Prep: 1 hr 5 min
Cook: 1 hr 15 min
Wait: 12 hr 10 min
Total: 14 hr 30 min
Makes: 1 large platter (6 generous servings) plus extra jameed sauce for serving

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Ingredients

6 servings

For the chicken
3½ lb (1600 g) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks, patted dry; trim any excess fat
8 cups (1900 ml) water, cold
1 large (about 9 oz) (250 g) yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1 stick (3 inches) (5 g) cinnamon stick
2 leaves (1 g) dried bay leaves
4 pods (1 g) green cardamom pods, lightly cracked open
1 tsp (3 g) whole allspice berries
1½ tsp (9 g) kosher salt
For the jameed sauce
7 oz (200 g) hard jameed balls (dried fermented yogurt), broken into pieces with a hammer if very hard
4 cups (950 ml) water for soaking jameed, lukewarm
For the rice
2 cups (370 g) basmati or long-grain white rice, rinsed in several changes of water until the water runs nearly clear, then drained well
2 tbsp (30 g) ghee or unsalted butter
1 tsp (3 g) ground turmeric
¾ tsp (4 g) kosher salt
To assemble and serve
4 large thin sheets (200 g) shrak, markook, or lavash flatbread, torn into rough 4-inch (10 cm) pieces
½ cup (70 g) pine nuts
½ cup (70 g) blanched whole almonds, halved lengthwise, or left whole
2 tbsp (30 g) ghee or unsalted butter
¼ cup (15 g) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Equipment (9)

Large 6–8 quart (6–8 L) pot or Dutch oven with lid
Medium 3-quart (3 L) saucepan with tight-fitting lid
Blender (high-speed or standard)
Fine-mesh sieve
Large bowl or container for soaking (at least 2 quarts / 2 L)
Small skillet, 8-inch (20 cm)
Large serving platter or tray, about 16 inches (40 cm)
Instant-read thermometer
Slotted spoon and ladle

Steps

Before you start

Hard jameed must soak 12–24 hours before cooking, so start the night before. If you use jameed paste or liquid jameed, follow the package for rehydrating and skip to step 2.
Jameed is naturally very salty and tangy. Do not add salt to the sauce, and taste it before you season anything else.
Jameed sauce can split if boiled hard or left unstirred. Plan to keep the heat low and stay near the stove during step 5.
Look for jameed at Middle Eastern grocers. Shrak or markook bread is traditional, but thin lavash works well.

1
Soak the jameed
- Put the 200 g jameed in a large bowl.
- If the balls are rock hard, wrap them in a clean towel and crack them into 4–5 pieces with a hammer or heavy pan.
- Rinse the pieces briefly under cool water to remove surface dust.
- Return them to the bowl and pour over the 4 cups (950 ml) lukewarm water.
- Cover and leave at room temperature for 12–24 hours, stirring once or twice if you are nearby.
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Ready when: The jameed is fully soft: a piece squashes easily between your fingers with no hard core, and the water looks cloudy and white.
Tip: If a firm core remains after 12 hours, keep soaking. Underhydrated jameed makes a gritty sauce.
2
Blend and strain jameed
- Pour the soaked jameed and all its soaking water into a blender, working in two batches if needed.
- Blend on high for 2–3 minutes until completely smooth and creamy, with no visible lumps.
- Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into your large 6–8 quart pot, pressing the solids with a spoon.
- Discard any lumps left in the sieve.
- You should have about 1 liter (4 cups) of thick, pourable, pale sauce.
- Leave it off the heat for now.
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Ready when: The mixture is silky and pours like heavy cream, with nothing gritty left in the sieve except a spoonful of fibrous bits.
Tip: Taste a tiny spoonful. It should be sharply tangy and quite salty. That's normal, and the broth and rice will balance it.
3
Poach the chicken
- In a second large pot, combine the chicken, 8 cups (1.9 L) cold water, quartered onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cracked cardamom pods, allspice, and 1½ tsp salt.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, about 8 minutes.
- Skim off the grey foam with a spoon.
- Reduce to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and cook 30–35 minutes.
- Check that the thickest thigh reaches at least 175°F (80°C) on an instant-read thermometer, the juices run clear, and the meat feels tender when pierced.
- Lift the chicken onto a plate with a slotted spoon and cover loosely.
- Strain the broth through a sieve and discard the solids.
- You need about 5½ cups (1.3 L) of broth for the rice, the sauce, and moistening the bread.
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Ready when: Chicken reaches 175°F (80°C) at the thickest part of the thigh and the meat pulls easily from the bone.
Tip: Keep the simmer gentle, with only small bubbles. A hard boil makes the chicken stringy and the broth cloudy.
4
Cook the rice
- Melt 2 tbsp ghee in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the drained rice and turmeric and stir for 1 minute until the grains are coated, glossy, and golden.
- Pour in 3 cups (710 ml) of the hot strained chicken broth and add ¾ tsp salt.
- Bring to a boil, give one stir, then cover tightly and turn the heat to low.
- Cook 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Remove from the heat and rest, still covered, for 10 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork.
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Ready when: The liquid is fully absorbed, small steam holes show on the surface, and the grains are tender, separate, and evenly yellow.
Tip: Don't stir the rice after the lid goes on, or it will turn gummy.
5
Braise chicken in jameed
- Add 2 cups (475 ml) of the hot chicken broth to the strained jameed in the large pot.
- Set over medium-low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon in the same direction, for 8–10 minutes, until the sauce is steaming and warm all the way through.
- Lower the heat to low.
- Nestle the chicken into the sauce and simmer very gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
- Stir every few minutes and keep the sauce below a boil.
- Tiny bubbles at the edge are fine.
- The jameed sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon and tastes tangy, rich, and savory.
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Ready when: Sauce lightly coats a spoon, is smooth, with no curdled specks, and the chicken is hot throughout (at least 165°F / 74°C).
Tip: Jameed sauce splits if it boils hard or sits unstirred. If it begins to look grainy, remove it from the heat and whisk or stir in a splash of warm broth.
6
Toast the nuts
- While the chicken braises, melt 2 tbsp ghee in an 8-inch (20 cm) skillet over medium heat.
- Add the almonds and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until just beginning to turn light golden.
- Add the pine nuts and cook 1–2 minutes more, stirring constantly, until both nuts are deep golden and smell nutty.
- Tip the nuts and ghee into a small bowl immediately to stop the cooking.
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Ready when: Nuts are evenly golden brown and fragrant. Pine nuts look glossy.
Tip: Pine nuts go from golden to burnt in seconds, so watch them closely and remove them from the hot pan right away.
7
Prepare the bread
- Tear the flatbread into rough 4-inch (10 cm) pieces.
- Spread them over the bottom of a large serving platter in an overlapping layer.
- Ladle about ½ cup (120 ml) of the warm chicken broth over the bread so it is lightly moistened but not soggy.
- Let it sit 2 minutes to soften.
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Ready when: The bread is supple and slightly damp, with no dry crisp edges and no puddles of broth.
Tip: Use a light hand with the broth. The bread will soak up sauce from the rice and chicken too.
8
Assemble and serve
- Ladle about 1 cup (240 ml) of the jameed sauce over the bread.
- Mound the rice on top in an even, generous layer.
- Arrange the chicken pieces over the rice.
- Spoon the toasted nuts and their ghee over the chicken and rice, and scatter with parsley if using.
- Pour the remaining hot jameed sauce into a bowl or small pitcher and bring it to the table so everyone can spoon extra over their portion.
- Serve immediately while everything is hot.
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Ready when: Platter is layered with bread, golden rice, chicken, and glistening nuts, and the sauce is steaming hot.
Tip: Reheat any leftover sauce over low heat, stirring constantly, never at a boil.

Good to know

Tips

Do not stop stirring while first warming the jameed sauce. Constant motion keeps it smooth and prevents splitting.
Keep the sauce below a full boil at all times. Jameed sauce that boils can become grainy.
Save leftover broth for soups or cooking rice. It is lightly seasoned and freezes well.
Serve the sauce at the table for spooning over each plate. This is the signature way to eat mansaf.

Make ahead

"Soak and blend the jameed up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it in a covered container. Poach the chicken and strain the broth a day ahead, then refrigerate separately. On the day, reheat the jameed sauce gently over low heat with constant stirring, add the chicken, and cook the rice and nuts fresh."

Storage & reheating

"Room temperature: no more than 2 hours. Refrigerator: store chicken, rice, and jameed sauce separately in airtight containers for up to 3 days. Freezer: freeze chicken in sauce for up to 2 months (the texture of the sauce may be slightly grainy). Rice freezes for up to 1 month. Reheat sauce and chicken in a pot over low heat, stirring often, until steaming hot and the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C). Reheat rice, covered, with a splash of water in the microwave or in a covered pan."

Substitutions

hard jameed balls (dried fermented yogurt) → Quick yogurt sauce: whisk 4 cups (1 kg) full-fat plain yogurt with 1 egg white and 1 tbsp cornstarch, then heat gently while stirring with 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Milder and less tangy than true jameed. It's not authentic, but works if you can't find jameed. Never let it boil.
basmati or long-grain white rice → Egyptian, calrose, or other medium-grain rice. Traditional and slightly stickier. Use the same amount, but reduce the broth to 2¾ cups (650 ml).
ghee or unsalted butter → Unsalted butter. Use the same amount. The flavor is slightly less nutty.
shrak, markook, or lavash flatbread → Thin pita or flour tortillas. Tear into pieces and use the same way. The texture is a bit heavier than shrak.