Jordanian Royal Rice (أرز منسف)
This regal, buttery rice preparation from Jordan is a traditional counterpart to Jordanian 'mansaf' or any lavish Arabic feast.
This rice dish is often served with a famous Jordanian lamb dish, ‘mansaf’, along with lashings of jameed yoghurt sauce and bread (shrak). Made with the meat’s cooking juices/stock, this rice style boasts a rich, meaty taste. What’s more, the rice is fried in a generous amount of turmeric butter, adding a regal golden reflex to the pot. Traditionally, a lot of Jordanians use a short-grain rice, which is often labelled as ‘Egyptian-style’ on the packet. You’ll find it in most Arabic/Middle-Eastern supermarkets, but you could just use long grain rice if it’s a camel trek. A ‘mansaf’ rice, though often made especially for mansaf, is delicious on its own, but excellent when showered with toasted almonds or strewn with threads of vermicelli - the latter being a Lebanese fashion of serving rice. Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (serves 2-4x)
200g short-grain Arabic/Egyptian-style rice (or long grain rice)
25g butter/ghee
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
400ml lamb/beef/chicken stock
To serve: 2-3 tablespoons toasted almonds/pine nuts, chopped parsley
WALKTHROUGH
First, let’s wash and soak the rice. Place the 200g of short grain rice (or long grain) into a mixing bowl. Wash the rice under tepid water, fluttering it with your fingers, and changing the water at least 4-5 times. Allow the rice to sit in a bowl of water for at least 20 minutes, or up to 8 hours.
Drain the rice in a sieve. Take care not to agitate it too much, as this can fracture the rice grains and create stickiness later. Set this aside to drain well.
Place a saucepan onto medium heat. Add 25g of butter/ghee and allow it to melt. Once melted, add the drained, washed rice. Stir the rice occasionally, allowing it to fry and toast in the butter until aromatic and nutty. This will take around 3-5 minutes.
Add 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp ground cumin and stir through the rice. Add the 400ml of lamb/beef/chicken stock and stir until well distributed through the rice. Bring the liquid to a boil.
Once boiling, place a tight-fitting lid onto the pan and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the rice for 8 minutes (6 minutes if using long grain rice).
After 8 minutes, turn the heat off. Leave the pan off the heat, with the lid still on, for a further 8 minutes (6 minutes if using long grain rice).
Remove the pan lid and fluff the rice with a fork. It will have a silky, buttery feel to it and have a savoury, meaty smell. To serve, add some chopped parsley, toasted nuts or vermicelli and serve it with Jordanian mansaf, or any other Arabic dishes of your choice. Enjoy!
