🍖 Lamb Madfoon
Lamb madfoon is a slow-roasted lamb and rice dish from Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Lamb seasoned with baharat and cardamom is cooked in a sealed pit or covered pot until it falls off the bone, picking up a light smoky note, and is served over rice cooked with onion and the meat juices. It is a festive dish for gatherings and weddings.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg lamb shoulder or leg, in large pieces
- 500 g basmati rice, soaked
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 tbsp baharat
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tbsp oil
- Salt
Method
- Rub the lamb with baharat, cardamom and salt.
- Wrap the lamb tightly in foil and roast at 160 °C for about 3 hours until very tender.
- Fry the onions in the oil, add the rice and 1 litre water with the meat juices and salt.
- Simmer covered for about 20 minutes until the rice is cooked.
- Serve the lamb over the rice on a large tray.
How to make it lighter
- Choose leg rather than shoulder for a leaner cut, and trim visible fat.
- Skim the fat from the meat juices before adding them to the rice.
- Keep rice to about a cup cooked and add a large salad.
History
The name means 'buried', after the old technique of cooking meat in a sealed pit dug in the ground and heated with embers. Today it is also made in ovens and is common in Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →