منسف‎ Mansaf

For lunch today, I was blessed with the chance to eat the national dish of Jordan called منسف‎ pronounced "mansaf". Here is a description that I stole from a Jordanian cuisine website:

"The national dish of Jordan is Mansaf: lamb seasoned with aromatic herbs, sometimes lightly spiced, cooked in yoghurt, and served with huge quantities of rice. Feasting on Mansaf is taken seriously, and hours are spent in its preparations.

Mansaf is cooked in jameed (the Arabic word for dried yoghurt), which is then mixed with water in a tray to produce a creamy sauce. This is poured into a large stewing pot with chunks of lamb meat. The pot is put over an open fire. As the stew begins to warm, it is stirred to prevent the yoghurt from separating.
Large trays are covered with the doughy flat Arabic bread and dampened with yoghurt. On top of this, a layer of rice is heaped. The meat is then piled on top. Almonds, pine-kernels and other nuts may be sprinkled over the dish, which is then ready for serving."

The traditional way to eat the dish is to eat standing up, use only one hand, then roll the mansaf with your hand into a ball. Then pop it into your mouth, and eat it all in one bite! Traditionally, only the men eat in this manner, but they insisted that we try the messy way. It was absolutely delicious! But as you can imagine, I was full after six balls because the jameed is so heavy.

As you can see, we have made Jordanian friends! Laurel, one of my friends on the program, has a connection through a family friend, and she was able to introduce to a group of locals. They are some of the friendliest and most hospitable people that I have ever met. They are eager to show us different parts of Amman, and I truly love spending time with them. They speak almost perfect English, so there is no language barrier whatsoever. However, they are more than happy to help us learn the local dialect and let us practice our Arabic with them. Tomorrow, they are driving us to the Dead Sea...ن شاء اللهI I will not get too sunburnt!