Mansaf

Before you start

• jameed, or thick yoghurt in its place — and the sauce must never be left to boil hard
• about 2h30, most of it the pot on its own
• the biggest flat plate in the house

Ingredients

Serves 4 · dimmer marks are storecupboard

• 600glamb shoulder — on the bone, in big pieces
• 340gbasmati rice
• 500gnatural yoghurt — or jameed, soaked soft and worked smooth — the real thing
• 1large flatbreads — shrak or markook; any thin flatbread is close
• 1½ tbspghee
• 30gflaked almonds and pine nuts
• 2 tspcornflour
• 1 tspcardamom
• 1 handfulflat parsley

Method

8 steps

1. boil · 15m

   Lamb covered with cold water, brought up slowly and skimmed properly for the first ten minutes until the grey foam stops rising. Skipped, the sauce stays cloudy and tastes of it.

2. simmer · 1h 45m walk away

   Cardamom in, lid ajar, at the barest tremble until the meat gives at the bone.

3. fold · 5m

   Yoghurt beaten smooth with the cornflour and a splash of cold water, every lump gone before it goes anywhere near heat.

4. simmer · 20m

   Into a wide pan and brought up very slowly, stirred in one direction the whole time, until it thickens and just moves. Let it come to a real boil and it splits into curds and whey, and there is no bringing it back.

5. fold · 4m

   Lamb and a ladle of its broth lifted into the sauce and left to sit together off the heat.

6. boil · 18m walk away

   Rice on in some of the broth with a pinch of cardamom, lid, lowest heat.

7. fry · 3m

   Nuts turned in the ghee until they are evenly gold.

8. finish · 7m

   Bread laid flat over the whole plate and soaked with sauce, rice heaped on it, lamb on top, nuts and parsley over, and the rest of the sauce in a jug to keep pouring as you eat.