Nabulsi Fteet El Ors (Mansaf Bandora)

INGREDIENTS

For the lamb + broth:
• 1 lamb shoulder, cut into large pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 large cinnamon sticks
• 5 bay leaves
• 10 cardamom pods
• 1 tbsp safflower
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 8 cups hot water total

For the tomato mixture:
• 6 large tomatoes (about 2 lbs)
• 1 tbsp allspice
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 3 green squash, trimmed and halved (optional but beautiful on the tray)
• 1–2 whole hot peppers
• 1 can chickpeas

For the rice:
• 4 cups jasmine rice, washed and drained
• 6 cups broth (top off with water if needed)
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp safflower, rubbed between your hands until fine

For garnish + assembly:
• Shrak bread
• ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
• ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 bunch parsley or cilantro, chopped

METHOD

I started by adding oil to the bottom of my Instant Pot and setting it to sauté. I browned one lamb shoulder cut into large chunks, then added my chopped onion, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cardamom, safflower, salt, and pepper.

I poured in 6 cups of HOT water, brought it to a boil, skimmed the top, then added 2 more cups of hot water. Pressure cooked on high for 35 minutes.

While that cooked, I toasted my pine nuts and almonds, chopped my herbs, and prepared the tomatoes.

For the tomatoes: wash them, remove the stems and core, quarter them, and blend them just until smooth. Not salsa. Not juice. Think tomato smoothie.

After the meat finished cooking, I removed the lamb and strained the broth to remove all the onions and whole spices. I returned the meat to the pot with about 3 cups of broth, turned sauté back on, and added the blended tomatoes, allspice, pepper, tomato paste, squash, and whole hot peppers.

Let that cook down until the tomatoes become dark, rich, and concentrated — about 30 minutes on sauté. Add the chickpeas and cook another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.

For the rice: cook the jasmine rice in 6 cups of broth (or broth topped off with water), salt, and safflower. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and cook until fluffy.

To assemble:
Tear shrak bread into the bottom of a tray. Ladle over the tomato broth until soaked. Add the rice, arrange the meat on top, spoon over more tomato and chickpeas, decorate with the squash, then finish with herbs and LOTS of nuts.

Serve extra tomato chickpeas on the side.

And don’t be scared to let the bread and rice soak. That’s the whole point.