Mensaf

Dressed in the dark blue, flowing garment of the Mazir, he looked as if he had been born to wear the desert clothing. No longer the English lord, he was as lean and predatory as a leopard.

—Alex Talbot observations on Sheikh Altair Mazir from Mirage by Monica Burns

Mensaf  - Serves up to six or eight

A Bedouin dish that is often served on special occasions.

Ingredients

4 kilos of lamb or chicken
1 Kilo of Whey (jameed or yogurt)
Onion
2 Kilos of Egyptian Rice
Pine Nuts and Fried Almonds

Directions

Whey is washed and soaked in water for an hour, then mashed with the blender then dried out.
Wash the meat and bring to a boil in water. While meat is cooking, peel and chop an onion into squares. Add to meat. When meat is partially cooked, remove from broth. Mix whey juice with the soup and boil, it can be thickened with cornstarch as desired. When soup is of the consistency desired, add meat back into the pot. Cook the soup and meat until cooked well. Cook rice in a separate pot, and place two or three Arabic loaves of bread on a serving tray. Pile rice onto the bread in a pyramid fashion then arrange pieces of meat are on top of the rice. Finish the dish off by decorating the Mensaf with the pine nuts and almonds.Mensaf is served with hot whey juice and sprinkled over mensaf as desired.