Home Schooling

Sometimes I get so frustarted with the homeworkthat is issued. Jordan’s class is doing a project on other countries… part of this assignment is to make some kind of food from that country. Having 3 children go thru this class, you think that ONE child would pick INDIA!!!

Jordan is doing the country JORDAN! He looks up the country’s popular food dish and then calls me and says “Could you make this for Monday?” Mansaf. Never had it… never hear of it. Being that cooking isn’t on my favorites of things to do… it is another “chore” that is on my list. Who is doing to school?

I realize that we are suppose to do this together… but I’d rather build a gingerbread house. (Something I have never done yet… but plan to do with the kids this year).

Here is the recipe:
Chicken Mansaf Recipe

Chicken Mansaf Notes
This recipe is the Jordanian national dish. This is an Americanized version:

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 1/2 quarts plain yogurt
1 egg
1 cup almonds, freshly toasted
1/2 cup pine nuts, freshly toasted
to taste, parsley, finely chopped
to taste, salt
to taste, pepper

Chicken Mansaf Recipe

6 servings long grain white rice (like basmati)
Serves / Yields
4 – 6 servings

Preparation Instructions
Place chicken in large pot with enough salted water to barely cover it.

Cook over medium heat until almost done, about 3/4 hour.

In a separate pan, cook enough rice for 6 large servings.

In a large saucepan, stir yogurt until it is quite smooth. Add beaten egg and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly.
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Add enough of the liquid from the cooked chicken to make a thin sauce, about the consistency of very heavy cream.

Heat until it almost comes to a boil and thickens slightly.

Add the cooked chicken pieces to the yogurt sauce and finish cooking the chicken in the sauce, at a low temperature.

On a large platter, mound the rice in the center.

Arrange the chicken pieces on the rice and pour most of the yogurt sauce over it, reserving the remaining sauce to be added, as desired, by the diners.

Garnish with the almonds, pine nuts and parsley around the edges of the mound of rice and chicken.

Serve warm accompanied by warmed pita bread.

( Mansaf is traditionally made using lamb.)

Guess what we are having for supper one night this week? Got to test it out… before serving it to a class!