Comments on: Mansaf 101

By: Disaffection

Disaffection — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 23:42:42 +0000

never had a mansaf, and wouldnt mind to, but the truth is, the photos at the top don’t shed good light on the delicacy. I cannot stand squashing and sqeezing food in such grotesque manner wheather its Jordanian or khaliji style of eating rice…
btw, is there rice in mansaf?
Come to think ofit, this really put me off. lost my appetite completely… no offence to mansaf fans, but whats wrong with using spoons guys? you can scuff more using spoons…
:)

By: Bilal - Black Jack

Bilal - Black Jack — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:47:50 +0000

LOL. bare hands meant without utinsels. I don’t think you are ‘tant’ to assume that bare hands means without gloves. since you eat mansaf, I assume you are masculine enough to know the difference.

i love your sarcasm… wait, did I just say something sarcastic? :D

btw I forgot to say that the short movie clip at the end of the mansaf blog is freakn hilarious. he says and i quote ” a7san laymoot SHAHEEDAN MANSAFFYYAN”. that is so cute. LMAO

By: الأب الموجود

الأب الموجود — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:14:49 +0000

Not withstanding the core of Bilal’s comment, and the valuable info about the real traditions as they relate to jameed dripping down the arm and the reason behind inventing forks and spoons, I was left wondering who the Jordanian “founding fathers” were. Is Bilal referring to Al Shareef Hussein and later Prince/King Abdullah I? I am yet to see a picture of either one eating mansaf or read a jameed-related speech by any one of them.

By: منسف مش بل إيد=منسف للطنطات

منسف مش بل إيد=منسف للطنطات — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:29:55 +0000

Bilal,
fool’ o hummous with your BARE hands…
man, that’s scary….

I think, and that’s just me, that “bare hands” , proper usage fits better in a context like say:
“OJ Simpson carved up his ex-wife and her boyfriend with his bare hands”

But I have to agree with you, the fool and hommos bare-hand eating practice needs to stop because it belongs to a different era before the invention of automatic taghmeess-ing machines and other utinsels.

Man, I cannot believe that some people still eat pizza and burgers using their BARE hands. Thats simply barebaric!! Hello? we are people here, not polar bares. This is unbareable.

Pass the knife Bilal, but watch out, you may break a nail.

By: Bilal - Black Jack

Bilal - Black Jack — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:09:23 +0000

Mansaf is the most disgusting dish I ever had. I only eat it if its cooked with regular yoghurt and if its absolutely necessary to attend a social gathering of some sort.

not only it stinks the house, but also so messy that we look so uncivilized while eating it. YES I love to eat ‘finger foods’. I love to eat za3tar and labeneh with bread, i love to eat ‘fool’ o hummous with my bare hands and some bread. but at least, we know table etiquitte when we eat such finger foods, and usually doesnt involve squishing the bread, or making balls of hummos or letting the olive oil drip to your elbow as a sign of satisfaction. (yes, the real mansaf tradition requires men to show that the jameed is dripping to their elbows as a sign of good hosting)

its one of those traditions that I hope one day Jordanians will dump. its the new millennium people, move on. there are forks and spoons nowdays. what if some of the eaters don’t groom their nails? or wash their hands, or even hair falling on food since everybody is standing looking down at it? spoons and forks were invented for sterilization and etiquette.

if you want to keep eating mansaf the same way our founding fathers did and argue its ‘the’ Jordanian tradition, then why most of those people do not wear dashadeesh and 3abayas on a daily basis, and the women have their chins tattooed with green ink like the real traditions require them to?

but yeah most wear jeans, and the guys wear the best suites and ties and look ‘western’ on their best celebration days! THAT, ofcourse, they accept and love. but when it comes to eating, HELL NO, its our tradition u guys.

move on.

By: Talal

Talal — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:52:37 +0000

I’m sorry, but msa55an is happiness incarnate, not mansaf. Msa55an makes the house smell, but in a good way. And it’s deliciously messy. And it’s the only dish I’ll eat with my hands.

God, I wish I was home.

By: khalid jarrar

khalid jarrar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:40:11 +0000

Mansaf is when happiness decided to take a materialistic shape.

its happiness!

By: Life

Life — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:58:28 +0000

ME LOVE MANSAF indeeeeeeed..

By: Sultan Ibrahim

Sultan Ibrahim — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:08:45 +0000

I too wonder why people in Jordan do not eat more sea food. I mean, sea food is, like…very abundant, like…in my neighborhood, everyone raises fish and shrimp in their water tanks.

You know what? I bet mansaf was invented by someone who hates sea food.

By: za3tar

za3tar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:54:07 +0000

As a Palestinian city-boy, i have convinced myself that i have a legitimate excuse for not mastering the mansaf etiquettes. However, i do notice some awkward looks when i sit down at a Jordanian mansaf feast and i pull out my plate and spoon.

So i don’t know Isam …. i do feel it is (righfully ?) considered abnormal to eat mansaf with spoons in Jordan. ….