Name: Chicken Mandi
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Saudi (Hadhrami origin)
Ingredients: 1 whole chicken, halved or quartered; 2 tbsp mandi spice mix (black pepper, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric); 3 tbsp oil; Salt to taste; 500 g (2½ cups) basmati rice, soaked 30 min; About 1 litre chicken broth; Pinch of saffron soaked in 3 tbsp warm water; 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cardamom, 4 cloves, 1 bay leaf; 1 piece of natural lump charcoal; 1 tbsp ghee; 3 tbsp fried almonds and raisins

Method

Tick a step to mark it done.

Step 1: Rub the chicken with the mandi spices, salt and oil.
Step 2: Make a broth: simmer the chicken in water with a little salt until just cooked, about 25 minutes. Reserve about 1 litre of broth; keep the chicken.
Step 3: Roast or grill the spiced chicken at high heat until browned and tender.
Step 4: Cook the drained rice in the measured broth with saffron and whole spices: boil, then cover and cook low 15 minutes.
Step 5: Make a well in the cooked rice and sit the chicken on top (or a small heatproof bowl in the centre).
Step 6: Dukhan: heat the charcoal until red-hot, place it in the bowl, drizzle the ghee over it so it smokes, and immediately cover the pot tightly. Leave sealed for 5–10 minutes.
Step 7: Remove the charcoal, garnish with fried nuts and raisins and serve.

To serve

Serve with sahawiq (Yemeni green chilli sauce) or daqoos.

Chicken Mandi

Ingredients

Method

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