Lamb Mansef
6 servings
200 minutes
Mansef is a fragrant and rich dish with deep historical roots. It combines tender meat infused with spices, velvety milk sauce, and airy rice. The flavor of mansef unfolds with a rich palette of spices—from warm cardamom to spicy cloves—creating a harmony of spices and creamy tenderness. Traditionally served on a large platter adorned with lavash, greens, and crunchy nuts, it adds textural complexity and a festive appearance. Historically, mansef is considered a symbol of hospitality and is used in festive feasts to bring people together at one table. It is not just food; it is a cultural heritage that can warm the heart and provide pleasure in every bite.
1
To prepare Mensef with lamb, start with cooking the meat as this step takes the most time. You will need lamb on the bone, onion, garlic, 5 cardamom pods, bay leaf, cinnamon, clove, peppercorns, and salt to taste.
- Bone-in lamb: 2 kg
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Cardamom: 7 pieces
- Bay leaf: 3 pieces
- Cloves: 5 piece
- Black peppercorns: 1 teaspoon
- Salt: 1 tablespoon
2
We trim excess fat from the lamb, wash it thoroughly under running water. We place it in a large pot and cover it with water.
- Water: 3 glasss
3
Bring the water to a boil, remove the foam. Ideally drain the water, rinse the meat, and cover with fresh water.
4
Then we add onion, garlic, and other spices, seasoning with salt to taste.
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Cardamom: 7 pieces
- Bay leaf: 3 pieces
- Cloves: 5 piece
- Salt: 1 tablespoon
5
We cook the lamb for 1.5–2 hours until fully cooked.
6
We take the meat out of the pot and remove it from the bone.
7
Then we prepare the rice. For this, we take any rice, not basmati, water, 2 cardamom pods, and salt to taste.
- Long-grain rice: 2 glasss
- Water: 3 glasss
- Cardamom: 7 pieces
- Salt: 1 tablespoon
8
Wash the rice thoroughly until the water is clear. Add water and let it sit for 30 minutes.
9
After 30 minutes, drain the water, pour the rice into the pot, and add clean water. Add salt and cardamom.
10
First, we cook the rice over medium heat until the liquid evaporates, then we reduce the heat to minimum, cover the pot with a lid, and let the rice simmer for another 10-15 minutes. We turn off the heat and set the cooked rice aside.
11
Now we proceed to the most important part of the dish preparation — making the milk sauce. For this, we will take thick yogurt (if there is no yogurt, use 25-30% sour cream), kefir, 80 ml of water, turmeric, and salt to taste.
- Plain (natural) yoghurt: 200 ml
- Kefir: 200 ml
- Water: 3 glasss
- Turmeric: 1 teaspoon
- Salt: 1 tablespoon
12
We combine yogurt and kefir, mixing thoroughly until smooth.
13
Place the pot on medium heat and bring to a boil, continuously stirring the liquid. The yogurt must not curdle and should remain homogeneous. Slightly reduce the heat and let the yogurt simmer for 15 minutes, continuing to stir.
14
Dissolve turmeric in water, you can add a Maggi cube. Or replace the water with low-fat broth.
15
After 15 minutes, add diluted turmeric to the sauce, mix thoroughly, and cook for another 5 minutes. At this stage, stir the sauce but not as vigorously. Salt the sauce to taste.
- Turmeric: 1 teaspoon
- Salt: 1 tablespoon
16
Then add pieces of cooked lamb and boil everything together for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Bone-in lamb: 2 kg
17
To prepare mansef, we chop the greens and roast almonds or peanuts.
18
When everything is ready, we start assembling the dish. We place a thin lavash on a large plate or tray. On top, we sprinkle rice.
19
Generously sprinkle with greens and arrange pieces of lamb.
20
Pour the remaining sauce generously over the rice and sprinkle with nuts.