Yemeni Chicken Mandi – Yemen is a beautiful country, and its people are generous and kind. Yemen is called (Al yaman Al Saeed) it means The Happy Yemen.
Unfortunately, Yemen is not happy right now, not with all the killing that’s taking place there, but I thought in celebration of the kindness of its people and the beauty of that country, let me share with you a delicious and popular Yemeni delight Chicken Mandi Recipe.
How to Make Yemeni Chicken Mandi
Mandi is cooked under the ground. In Yemen, they dig a hole in the ground, fill it with hot coals and place a big pan of mandi on top, cover the hole with sand and leave it for hours.
I will not ask you to ruin your backyard to make mandi.
There is a simple way to make it, although, no one can beat the taste of underground cooked Yemeni Chicken Mandi, but we are going to use the stove and oven.
Before anything, you have to prepare a Yemeni spice mix, which is easy. No need for you to roast cumin seeds, etc. If you have the spices in powder form, mix them all up.
Now before the recipe.
Yemeni Chicken Mandi
Ingredients
- *Yemeni Spice Mix:
- 2 ½ tablespoon cumin powder
- 2 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon cardamom powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ½ teaspoon cloves powder
- 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder Optional
- *For the chicken:
- ½ chicken with skin
- 2 tablespoon Yemeni mix spice
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon butter
- *For the rice:
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 to mato chopped
- 1 green chili
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon Yemeni mix spice
- 1 cup long grain rice – Basmati is the best Washed and soaked
- 2 cups boiling water
- Salt to taste
- Raisins and sliced almonds for garnish optional
Instructions
- *For the spice:
- Mix them all up and keep in airtight container.
- *For the chicken:
- Season the chicken with salt. Mix butter with spices and brush the chicken. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- *For the rice:
- In a pan add the olive oil, when hot add the onion and fry until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and green chili, stir on medium heat for 4 minutes.
- Add the Yemeni spice mix, stir for two minutes. Pour the water and season with salt.
- When the water comes to a boil, add the rice. When it starts to boil again, cover tightly. Heat should turned down to the lowest.
- After 15 minutes, uncover the rice and gently stir, just to bring the bottom rice to the top. Cover tightly and cook for another 15-17 minutes.
- When serving, place the chicken on top of the rice and garnish with almonds and raisins.
I have used these products:
I love that how flavorful this chicken is!! All those spices – omg I can’t wait to try this out!!
Thanks Ami, do let me know how you like it whenever you make it 🙂
This looks amazing and what a wonderful combination of spices. It must smell incredible as it cooks!
Oh yes, the spice mix is just amazing!
This looks like a wonderful chicken dish. The chicken and rice sound like they would have a lot of flavor.
Thanks Dawn 🙂
It looks fingerlickingly delicious. I have to try that spice rub.
It’s amazing how every country has its own unique blend of spices, but I think you’ll like it 🙂
I loved this recipe! I cheated a bit and got the open Mandi mix you get here in the UAE. Added a few of your recommendations and followed the rest of the recipe. Came out perfect! In the add I gave it a little coal smoke to it too.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your feedback Hiba, glad you liked the recipe 🙂
I made this the other day. I love sauteed vs raw veggies in my rice dishes so I sauteed the green chili peppers, onions, and the yellow bell peppers (ran out of chili peppers). I also added shredded fresh carrots and the raisins to the rice when I added the broth so they were cooked together. Lastly I decided to top it with some sauteed onions with a side of plain yogurt. The family loved it! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if I had been able to top it with sauteed almonds.
This chicken looks amazing, look at this perfectly browned skin! I can almost smell the spices just by looking at it!
Thanks Melanie, hope you give it a try 🙂
Hi Munaty… I tried your chicken mandi recipe and turned out perfectly yummy. My husband and my kid love it. Thx for the recipe. Please do visit my chicken mandi using your easy recipe. http://myhomediaryinturkey.blogspot.com.tr/2016/05/yemeni-chicken-mandi-recipe.html
Wow! Thanks for trying my recipe and I’m glad that your family loved it 🙂
Hi
I tried your recipe and it came out yum. Except that I shallow fried the chicken since I couldn’t bake it and it was very dry inside. Maybe baking it would had made the chicken more tender and delicious.
Thank you for the recipe, it’s amazing.
Thanks for trying my recipe 🙂 … When frying the chicken make sure to fry the breast part first since it takes less time to cook and keep the heat medium high. Hope it turns better next time!
Flavours were really good. 1 1/2 cups of water to every cup of rice in my opinion, a little less cooking time as well. Followed the recipe, despite my suspicions and the rice (basmati) hmm was very sticky/clumpy.
Hi Alex, thanks for trying my recipe and for the feedback. I agree with you, some basmati rice brands require less water. If you are using a brand for long time you’ll know how much water it will need, so go by the measurement that worked for you. Also if you soak the rice for long time it will take lesser time to cook. I’m glad you shared your experience, it will help other readers too 🙂
soo delicious recipe i must try this one thanks for sharing keep it up dear
Hi
Can you tell me any good brand of Mandi spice available in stores? I am in Dubai.
Recipe and pic looks yummy and I will try it soon after getting hold of the mandi spice.
Thanks
Hi Sameera! I always mix the spices at home. I’m not aware of any good Mandi spice mix in Dubai!
Girl! I have made this recipe about 10 times. My mother who is an excellent cook even asked me for it! We made it when we invited friends over and it was a huge hit! I followed the recipe exactly the way you posted it, no changes because idk better lol but seriously this recipe is the best! I even made extra spice mix so I can make it faster whenever I have chicken on hand!
Hi Eman! Thanks for your feedback you just made my day. I’m happy that you and your family enjoy this recipe 🙂
Hi,
I really enjoyed this dish. I skipped out for the chicken and had ribs on the side. I’m having it again tonight. It’s been about a month since I made it.
Definitely a five-star winner.
Best Regards,
Becky
Hi Becky, Thanks a lot for your feedback 🙂