🍗 Chicken mandi

Name: Chicken mandi
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Yemen · Hadramaut
Ingredients: 1.2 kg chicken, halved; 400 g basmati rice; 1 tsp each ground cumin and cardamom, 4 cloves; A pinch of saffron in 2 tbsp warm water; 1 onion, chopped; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; Salt, black pepper; A piece of charcoal for smoking (optional)

Origin: Yemen · Hadramaut

700kcal

per serving · 400 g

175kcal

per 100 g

44 gProtein11 g / 100 g

22 gFat5.5 g / 100 g

84 gCarbs21 g / 100 g

Chicken mandi is spiced chicken slow-roasted over long-grain rice so the juices drip into the grains, giving the dish its tender meat and smoky aroma. The rice is fragrant with cardamom, cloves and cumin and tinted with saffron. It is served on a large shared platter with the chicken on top, often with a spicy tomato sauce on the side.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

High protein11 g protein per 100 g — 25% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken

Not keto21 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

ricechickensaffroncardamomclovecumin

Recipe

4 servings120 min

Ingredients

1.2 kg chicken, halved
400 g basmati rice
1 tsp each ground cumin and cardamom, 4 cloves
A pinch of saffron in 2 tbsp warm water
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt, black pepper
A piece of charcoal for smoking (optional)

Method

Rub the chicken with oil, cumin, cardamom, salt and pepper and leave for 30 minutes.
Fry the onion in a deep oven dish or pot, add the rinsed rice, cloves, salt and 700 ml water and bring to the boil.
Set a rack over the rice, place the chicken on it, cover tightly and cook at 180 °C for about 75 minutes so the juices drip onto the rice.
For a smoky flavour, place a hot piece of charcoal in a small foil cup on the rice, pour a few drops of oil on it and cover for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the saffron water over the rice, fluff and serve with the chicken on top.

How to make it lighter

Remove the skin before eating to cut a good share of the fat.
Take a smaller scoop of rice and add a salad or tomato sauce.
Use only a tablespoon of oil for the onion instead of more.

History

Mandi comes from the Hadramaut region of Yemen, where meat was traditionally cooked in a pit oven dug in the ground. It has spread across the Arabian Peninsula and is now a staple of Gulf restaurants and family gatherings.

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Similar dishes

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 →