When Amira Khalil fed me my first plate of mansaf, lamb braised in yogurt, I was blown away. Turns out fermented sheep’s milk yogurt and lamb make one of the world’s greatest gravies.

On Thursday, April 2, she’s making mansaf again. It’ll be the star dish in Amira’s Kitchen 101, a Four Bites event dedicated to her Palestinian cuisine. 

In her Cheektowaga dining room, you’ll get to try mansaf, tahini salad, and the beef-and-bulgur fritters called kibbe. Plus Amira’s rice pudding for dessert.

While I fill you in on what you’re eating, how it’s made, and where to find the ingredients to make it at home. 

Tickets are $30, or $37 if you’d also like a copy of my Buffalo eating guide, at half price. Get tickets here at fourbites.net/shop.

Mansaf has its roots in the searing sun of the Arabian Peninsula.

When Bedouin tribes have too much milk from their goat herds, they can’t throw it in the fridge. They make it into yogurt, add salt, and dry it in the sun. The resulting jameed looks like lumps of chalk.

When you dissolve it in water and use the broth to braise lamb, you get mansaf, rich with centuries of wisdom about how lactic acid can glorify lamb fat.

Served with toasted almonds over pilaf and pita bread, mansaf is the national dish of Jordan.

Amira’s Kitchen 101: 6 p.m. April 2, 1500 Cleveland Drive, Cheektowaga

$30 (including tax and tip) or $37 with book. GET TICKETS HERE